The Carroll Labor Government’s H5 vaccination plan has prioritised tourism over wildlife and food production, focusing only on penguins at two tourist attractions.
Today’s announcement that 5000 penguins will be vaccinated covers only the Phillip Island Penguin Parade and the St Kilda Penguin Colony, both major tourism drawcards.
The announcement completely ignores poultry and threatened bird populations across regional Victoria, including Brolgas currently in their breeding season.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and The Nationals Member for Lowan Emma Kealy said the announcement showed Labor’s priorities were firmly fixed on Melbourne’s tourist attractions, not the regions.
“Labor has found the time and the resources to protect penguins that pull in the tourists, but Victoria’s threatened birds out in the regions don’t even get a mention and free-range chickens remain in lockdown,” Ms Kealy said.
“Brolgas are breeding right now in western Victoria and there is still no word on any plan to protect them. If this Government can vaccinate penguins for visitors, it can tell regional Victorians what it’s doing for the birds in their own backyard.”
“Victorian free-range poultry producers are also struggling to comply with mandatory H5N1 housing orders, but the government just wants to talk penguins.”
Ms Kealy said the government needed to urgently publish its full vaccination priorities, not just the ones that make good headlines.
“This isn’t good enough. Labor needs to tell us which threatened species and populations across the state will be vaccinated, where and when, and guarantee there are enough wildlife, veterinary and field staff to actually deliver it,” she said.
Victoria has numerous bird species already facing a serious risk of extinction, including the endangered Brolga and critically endangered Australasian Bittern and Bush Stone-curlew, while other threatened Victorian birds include the Helmeted Honeyeater, Orange-bellied Parrot, Plains-wanderer and Regent Honeyeater. For some of these species, a significant H5 outbreak could be devastating.
Of immediate concern in western Victoria are Brolgas, which are already in their breeding period. Communities and landholders who have watched and protected these magnificent birds for generations are deeply concerned about what an H5 outbreak could mean for an already endangered population.
“The vaccines need to be matched with enough trained people on the ground to protect vulnerable populations across the whole state, not just the ones on the tourist trail,” Ms Kealy said.
“Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act is designed to prevent threatened species from disappearing from the wild, and the Carroll Labor Government now has a responsibility to explain exactly how it intends to meet that obligation for every threatened bird in Victoria, not just the ones at St Kilda and Phillip Island.”
Ms Kealy said the approach would be vastly different under a Liberal and Nationals government but Victorians could not afford to wait for that change.
“An elected Liberal and Nationals Government will make agriculture and our regions a top priority, but this matter cannot wait until the November election. It is up to today’s government to act now, and to act for the whole state.”
