Parliamentary Procedure

GOULD GROUP

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (11:31): I move:

That this house commends the Gould Group on its environmental work since the Gould League was established in 1909 and, in particular, the formation of National Bird Day.

Time clearly overtook the parliament in probably more ways than one in relation to this motion. I was trying to get it up before National Bird Day, which was held on 29 October. The Gould League, now called the Gould Group, is not as well known in South Australia as it is in some other states. It was founded, as I indicated, in 1909 as a result of the efforts, in particular, of a school teacher, Jesse McMichael, who suggested a bird protection league. Her comment at the time was:

The thoughtless destruction of birdlife would lead to an increase in numbers of insects, which would, if left unchecked, take a disastrous toll on crops of all kinds.

Jesse McMichael had strong support from the Australasian Ornithologists Union, incidentally, with the Prime Minister of the day, Alfred Deakin, who became the first president of the Gould League. The Gould League has more recently become the Gould Group, because it is involved in a whole range of environmental activities which extend beyond what is still an important role of seeking to protect birds. The Gould Group is involved in marine education, waste reduction, recycling, and wildlife education. As a result of those activities, it has won numerous awards both nationally and internationally.

The concept of the Gould League and, in particular, the focus on schools was reflected in the Bird Lovers Pledge 1909. I do not want members to get the wrong idea: we are talking about the feathered variety. The children were asked to sign the pledge which states:

1. I hereby promise that I will protect native birds and will not collect their eggs.

2. I promise that I will endeavour to prevent others from injuring native birds and destroying their eggs.

It is a very simple pledge. Some may be sceptical about children signing pledges, but some years ago I had a chap come into my office, who signed a pledge when he was at primary school never to drink alcohol, and he said that he never has since. I am not sure that it will work for everyone in relation to alcohol or not collecting bird eggs, but we should not underestimate the impact of the early years at school in inculcating positive values.

Members may have even experienced Arbor Day in schools. It is a pity that it was ever phased out. I believe that the state government has brought it back, or is about to, and I commend the government if it does. I remember Stan Evans, the former member for Davenport (the current member's father), saying that he was deeply impressed as a youngster planting an avenue of trees in upper Sturt in year 1 (I think). Even to this day, he still recalls with great affection that time of planting trees at the Upper Sturt Primary School. I think it is important that we recognise that young children are very impressionable, and that things they do and commitments they make can often last a whole lifetime.

Specifically, in relation to the protection of birds, sadly, in Australia many of our native birds have become extinct. I have some statistics. Australia is home to between 600,000 and 700,000 species—which seems a lot, but that is what the Gould Group tells me—many of which are found nowhere else in the world. That is plants and animals; not just birds. About 84 per cent of plants, 83 per cent of mammals, and 45 per cent of birds are endemic; that is, they are found only in Australia.

Sadly, 23 birds are now extinct; six, including the famous orange bellied parrot, are on the critically endangered list; and another 40 birds are on the endangered list. If members want to read about the natural environment and the history of Adelaide, I suggest they have a look at the book which was co-edited by Professor Chris Daniels and Catherine J. Tait, entitled Adelaide: Nature of a City. The book details the number of birds which are extinct in the Adelaide area. From memory, I think about 21 native birds in the local Adelaide area are extinct. The challenge is to try to protect those birds.

I remember that, as a child growing up in the Adelaide Hills around Hawthorndene, we used to see blue wrens, robin red breasts and other birds like that quite frequently, but now, living not far away from the area where I grew up, I have never seen either of those in recent years. They are increasingly threatened primarily by loss of habitat but also by feral animals. Ironically, one of the pieces of flora which has helped save them is the blackberry (a pest plant) because cats and other feral creatures cannot get into the blackberries easily to get to the birds or their nests.

The role of the Gould League (now the Gould Group), I believe, is very important in schools. Years ago at Underdale at the South Australian College of Advanced Education we had people in the science area under the leadership of Neville Forde who interestingly is a descendant of former Prime Minister Forde. I think he was the shortest-serving prime minister on record. Neville was a very strong supporter of the Gould League and the Gould Group, as were others there, namely Richard Smith, Brian Brock and Bob Sharrad, many of whom have gone on to do famous things. They instilled in primary school teachers who came under their care a passion for science and the natural environment, and they imparted skills and techniques for analysing and understanding science.

I think it is fair to say that there is a push on at the moment by some people who want to restrict the curriculum purely to mathematics, English and a few other subjects. That is fine, we need those, but I am sure that our school system can cope with teaching young people science and, in particular, teaching them about ecology based on scientific principles. Those key principles, as I have mentioned here from time to time, are interdependence and interrelatedness. If people understand those, they understand why you do not throw rubbish in rivers, why you do not pollute and so on. If you understand those two principles, you are halfway to understanding why global warming is such an important issue and why plant associations are important.

At the Adelaide University, one of the best-known experts in ornithology is Associate Professor David Paton, who continues a family tradition of expertise in studying birdlife, and he is passionate about trying to safeguard what is left of our native bird population. He recently put forward a proposal to the university and the state government in terms of creating more habitat for not only birds but other native fauna. I have not read the reply which came today from the minister for the environment after I wrote to her and the Premier, supporting the very good concept put forward by David Paton.

A lot of people might think, 'So what?' It might be a few parrots here and there and a few other birds. What does it matter? Too often Australians take their natural environment for granted. I make no apology for being critical of the way we collectively have treated our natural environment. We are a lot smarter now, and I must say that I interact with people in the country virtually every week. I have a lot of relatives on farms who are involved in a whole range of horticultural and agricultural practices, and it is pleasing to see amongst the younger generation of farmers a greater recognition of the need to protect native flora and fauna. We cannot undo what happened in the past. Some of it, unfortunately, was the result of ignorance. Some was the result of government policy and some was simply unacceptable greed.

If you talk to visitors to our country, they will tell you how delighted they are to be able to see our wildlife and birdlife. I do not know whether members realise how important birdwatching is as a tourist activity. There is a pecking order, if you pardon the pun, in relation to birdwatchers. I think the top category of birdwatchers are 'twitchers'—they are the very sophisticated birdwatchers—and then it descends in order of sophistication depending on how they watch birds.

Out on the salt pans, people come from around the world to birdwatch. I wrote to the Minister for Tourism recently, asking what the state government is doing to promote this area of tourism, and she is very supportive of it. She sent back brochures and so on to highlight the fact that people come from around the world to have a look at our fantastic birdlife. I know a lot of people go up to Bookmark Biosphere to look at birds. They go to the wetlands and all around the state. Clearly, if you do not have any birds, there is not much point trying to be a birdwatcher and there is not much point in trying to attract tourists. If you have—

Mr Venning interjecting:

The Hon. R.B. SUCH: When you get to my age, that is probably—no! It is important that we recognise the importance of protecting our native birds. This is a simple motion. It would be good if the Gould Group were more widely recognised in South Australia. I think it would be great if more schools took on some of the roles enunciated by the Gould Group because, as I said at the start, impressions at a young age are often lasting and commitments made at an early age are often lasting as well. I commend the motion to the house and I ask members to support it.

Mr KENYON (Newland) (11:43): I rise to indicate briefly that the government supports what is an excellent motion moved by the member for Fisher. The Gould Group has an interesting history, originating as the Gould League based on a pledge centred on not collecting eggs, which goes to show the role that mortality in the young plays in the population of species. So, it was quite a strategic resolution to be protecting the eggs, allowing the birds to reproduce more thoroughly or, at least, to allow their survival rates to increase.

One simple pledge to stop people collecting eggs had a large effect and it is admirable that it has been carried through over time to evolve into the Gould Group, which is moving into some other areas of environmental concern in our society, including waste and aquatic care. It is a good thing to be recognised by this parliament, so I am happy to support the motion.

Motion carried.