Biodiversity bunfight

I attended a colourful and impassioned gathering in Martin Place yesterday, within earshot of NSW's Parliament House. It was organised by the Nature Conservation Council, and it was to protest the Government's proposed 'Biodiversity' legislation.

In fact, far from protecting biodiversity or endangered species, it's really all about allowing open slather land clearing in rural areas, and open slather tree removal in urban areas too. Huge areas of now-protected habitat would be removed, and several more native species could become extinct. So-called 'offsets' would be made, whereby allegedly similar areas would be found and 'improved' in return for destroying the land you want to develop. That would preserve overall environmental value. Yeah, sure.

Speakers included the state Labor leader, Luke Foley. The Labor Party is always an environmentally wonderful party while it's in opposition.










I thought I saw Premier Mike Baird there for a moment, but no, it was a fake. The real one wisely kept well away.






The Greens' Mehreen Faruqi did a good job, as ever.









The Animal Justice Party's Mark Pearson gave an excellent and constructive speech about possible legal challenges to the legislation, along the lines of excessive and unnecessary animal cruelty due to vegetation clearing.








Among the colourful props on hand were several life-size koalas. But I was rather taken too by some (endangered) red-tailed black cockatoos, fashioned out of old umbrellas.