Mrs MIRABELLA (9:39 PM) —We are told that very soon there will be a cull of some 400 kangaroos on a former naval site at Belconnen here in Canberra. In 2002 a kangaroo cull on a larger scale took place at Puckapunyal in Victoria just outside the electorate of Indi. It is one of the Army’s major training bases and the cull was an absolute necessity. At times the overpopulation can be in the tens of thousands, and I am informed that up to 100,000 kangaroos at Puckapunyal were dying of thirst and starvation. Obviously it is one of the highest densely populated areas of Australia with regard to kangaroos. Whilst very different in nature and in its reasons, there is one thing in common between the two culls: an outcry of epic proportions by rich and famous celebrities who have been the precursor to any cull. We are accustomed to celebrities jumping on popular crusades. We had punk rocker Pink joining the anti-mulesing brigade against Australian wool. Following hot on her heels was our very own Toni Collette, the woman who in 2004 said, ‘I will slit my wrists if Howard gets elected again.’ Thankfully, post election she returned to the US to make another film for Australian audiences. Thankfully again, both of them did their own research and changed their position on mulesing.

More recently, we have had Dick Smith become supporter and best mate of convicted terrorist David Hicks. Last year, in the middle of an election campaign John Newcombe, fresh from advertising support of housing estates, condemned the Gunns pulp mill along with fellow cheerleaders David Williamson, Rebecca Gibney and Kylie Kwong, to name a few. I do not know why the self-appointed arbiters of public opinion believe their opinion is worth any more than a member of the general public, whether that member lives in the electorate of Indi, in the country or in metropolitan Australia. I do not know why they believe that their opinion is worth any more than any other Australian who may not have the thousands of dollars to shell out on advertising campaigns to support the latest trendy cause.

The debate on the kangaroo cull in Belconnen slipped further into farce when former Beatle Paul McCartney threw his hat into the ring recently. He joined animal rights group VIVA, the British based Vegetarians International Voice for Animals, and labelled the commercial slaughter of kangaroos ‘a shameful massacre’. Sir Paul goes on to say:

As if it is not bad enough being told from afar how to run our country’s affairs—Sir Paul should stick to sorting out his own affairs before offering advice on Australia’s domestic, environmental and native grassland and flora and fauna issues—this farce is only made worse by the contribution from Senator Bob Brown in the other place who said:

I suppose jeering and howling down the President of the United States of America in this very chamber was not cause celebre enough for Senator Brown. The loopier wing of the environmental movement is notorious for its belief that the life of a gnat is of equal if not greater worth than that of a human being. This view is expressed in a bumper sticker distributed openly and proudly by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that proclaims ‘Rats have rights’.

All this talk might make some people in the community feel good, but we have to get real. The kangaroo cull in Belconnen, like the one previously at Puckapunyal, is part of a necessary environmental protection plan to protect grasslands and threatened species where overpopulation is damaging the landscape and other important flora and fauna. In the ACT, I am advised, kangaroos outnumber humans by three to one. Anyone in my electorate who has driven the Hume Highway in north-east Victoria or through thoroughfares such as the Three Chain Road in Springhurst, the Snow Road in Milawa, the Warby Ranges or near Lake McCowen knows the inherent danger of coming off second best to a kangaroo whilst driving. Some of these loopy environmentalists would want us to stop driving, because we interfere with the free movement of kangaroos. The cull at Belconnen is on a small scale. It is time to stand up for common sense; it is time to stand up for the good management of our natural environment and to listen to the good sense of the people of Australia.