Thursday, 18 June 2026

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:37): (1371) My question is to the Minister for Environment. Minister, cases reported to Wildlife Victoria’s emergency response service, the only statewide 24/7 wildlife emergency response service, have increased by 204 per cent in the last five years, and in 2025 the service responded to more than 189,000 telephone calls. Despite this significant increase in demand, the most recent state budget confirmed that for the seventh year in a row funding for the charity continued to flatline, dwindling to 5 per cent of annual operating costs. This is a serious risk to Wildlife Victoria’s viability, and it could see Victorians lose access to timely, well-informed support when encountering sick, injured or orphaned native animals. Minister, Wildlife Victoria urgently need additional funds to continue their critical work. Have you discussed their critical funding needs with either the Treasurer or the Premier?

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Environment, Minister for Outdoor Recreation) (12:39): I thank Mr McGowan for his question and his interest in Wildlife Victoria. I do want to take this opportunity to thank Wildlife Victoria and their frontline team and volunteers for the amazing work they do. They are really leading the way in their field, and they are a really passionate team there. I also want to acknowledge their CEO Lisa Palma, who I met with recently to talk about the importance of Wildlife Victoria’s emergency response service and the year-on-year increase in demand, which they are concerned about. In many jurisdictions a lot of these wildlife services do not get government support, but our government has always shown a commitment to working with them. But we do understand that they do have increasing demand. I think that is tragic, to be frank, and a lot of it is because of the urban growth we are seeing in peri-urban areas where we are seeing new housing estates, many of which were approved under the former government, I might add, with no planning in place and roads in the middle of – anyway, they are on the outskirts of Melbourne and are now interacting with a lot of kangaroos and koalas and native animals. I am happy to do that work.

In terms of advocacy, I had an opportunity to meet with them last week. I know the Treasurer is aware of Wildlife Victoria. Many in government are passionate about their work.

Nick McGowan: On a point of order, it may assist the minister, but on relevance, President, the question was specifically: have you discussed their critical increased funding needs with either the Treasurer or the Premier?

The PRESIDENT: The minister was indicating a conversation with the Treasurer just then.

Enver ERDOGAN: I speak to the Treasurer about a whole range of issues in our portfolios. Wildlife Victoria is an important agency that I obviously am passionate about, because I know the work they do and the difference they make. As you would appreciate, we just had our most recent budget, and shortly, in the coming months, we will be preparing for our next budget from the Allan Labor government. I am committed to working with everyone and with the Treasurer. The Treasurer is across a number of issues in the environment portfolio. I want to thank Wildlife Victoria, their CEO and all their hardworking volunteers in our state.

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:41): Thank you, Minister, for your answer. You can thank them all you like, but come 1 July if they do not have sufficient funds, they will not be able to do their work. That is the seriousness of this issue. That has been completely ignored in your answer. If you have not asked either the Treasurer or the Premier for additional funding, they will cease some of the services they now provide to every Victorian, and that is of critical concern. While you congratulate the CEO and the others, those words are absolutely hollow if they do not have funds to do their work. Minister, is it your intention for your government to take responsibility for wildlife emergencies if and when Wildlife Victoria is forced to reduce their services?

The PRESIDENT: You might want to rephrase –

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Mr McGowan is happy to rephrase.

Nick McGOWAN: Minister, is it your intention for your government to take responsibility for wildlife emergencies because this organisation does not have sufficient funds to do its work?

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Environment, Minister for Outdoor Recreation) (12:42): I thank Mr McGowan for his supplementary question. I think Wildlife Victoria do amazing work, and I do understand that they speak with the department, with DEECA, regularly about opportunities to grow the partnership and obviously about sharing the responsibilities in relation to this work. I think that is a discussion between the department and Wildlife Victoria. I understand we need to look at the models in other jurisdictions as well going forward. That is something to consider. As a new minister, I am looking at what is in place in other jurisdictions and what we could do potentially differently. We are committed to working with them, and we are working with them. We in fact fund them to –

Nick McGowan: On a point of order on relevance, President, the question was whether the government intended to take responsibility for wildlife emergencies.

The PRESIDENT: I hate paraphrasing, but the minister did say he is happy to share responsibility with the services.

Enver ERDOGAN: As I said, eight weeks into the role, Mr McGowan, you can see that I am engaging with them. I am eager to work with them. Ultimately, this is about resourcing. Obviously they are having those discussions with DEECA, and they will continue those discussions, but ultimately I will also be looking at other jurisdictions.