Ministers must act to save Manning Road gums: Greens

South Metropolitan Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren has urged federal and state environment ministers to intervene with the felling of trees along Manning Road.

Ms MacLaren made the appeal in the hours before conservation activists took direct action to stop the chainsaws.  

“I urge you to find a way to stop the trees’ removal at least long enough for officers to review the plans and reports and determine whether or not the loss of these trees will impact on the Red Tailed Black Cockatoo,” wrote Ms MacLaren in an 11th hour bid to avoid the conflict.

“As you know the Red Tailed Black Cockatoo is a threatened species. And as the Western Australian Auditor General found in his report on the conservation of threatened species, ‘habitat destruction undermines DEC’s recovery activities.’”

"Today, we have a chance to help threatened cockatoos by protecting at least some of these mature trees from destruction.”

Yesterday, Ms MacLaren visited the conservationists engaged in a standoff with the contractors who were ready to cut down 168 spotted and lemon scented gum trees marked for imminent destruction.    The trees are a known foraging habitat for Forest Red Tailed Black Cockatoos.

Ms MacLaren expressed concern that the Police Tactical Response Group was being used to deal with activists who had taken direct nonviolent action.

“It is worrying that an armed response group is being utilised against nonviolent activists.  Police authorities must show restraint towards the activists.”

The threatened trees are on along the median strip of Manning Road between Lawson Street and Leach Highway in the City of Canning.

“I spoke with the Mayor the night before urging him to take action. It is clear that any offsets the City of Canning has planned do not satisfy Red Tailed Cockatoo expert Chris Phillips.”

“I can’t see how the Council has come to this decision when the numbers of petitioners calling for the trees destruction were outnumbered by two to one.”