Queen St Mall welcomes wildlife for Threatened Species Day

Queenslanders were encouraged to get up close to some of our rarest animals in the lead up to Threatened Species Day on Monday, September 7.

Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles joined zoos, conservationists, theme parks and a menagerie of wildlife in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall to raise awareness for Queensland’s native animals.

“It’s not every day you have to share the Queen Street Mall with a dingo or a crocodile but these animals are increasingly having to share their habitat with us,” Dr Miles said.

“One way we can ensure native wildlife continues to have habitat, as development continues, is working with trusts and private landholders to protect the areas these creatures call home.”

Dr Miles told the crowd the Palaszczuk Government had entered into seven voluntary partnerships with dedicated conservationists on private land since coming to office.

“We’ve worked in partnership with many private landholders to secure or expand nature refuges as part of our long-term goal of ensuring that 17 per cent of Queensland is protected,” he said.

“Four million hectares of private land is now dedicated to protecting threatened species.”

The Queensland Government has also partnered with Dreamworld on the Gold Coast to coordinate a captive breeding program, with the hope of reintroducing more bilbies into Currawinya National Park.

“The greater bilby once ranged over most of mainland Australia, but is now found at only a few locations,” Dr Miles said.

“The Dreamworld breeding program is a collaborative approach to save this rare and endangered species.

“It will also supplement the government’s feral animal control programs in national parks.

“The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has been working with the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee to use English Springer spaniels ‘Sophie’ and ‘Rocky’ to sniff out feral cats at the Currawinya enclosure.

“Protecting Queensland’s biodiversity cannot be left to the government alone, and partnerships like these play a vital role in preserving our unique flora and fauna for future generations.”

Background

The nature refuge partnerships recently approved include:

• Talaroo, in North Queensland, protecting threatened black-necked storks, radjah shelducks, unique thermal mound springs and threatened salt pipeworts, as part of an agreement to add another 21,830.5ha to an existing nature refuge.
• Garanyali, 9km north-west of Maleny, protecting vulnerable koalas, tusked frogs and Richmond birdwing butterflies on 38ha between two sections of Maleny National Park on the Sunshine Coast.  
• Bryn Glas, 24km north, north-west of Maroochydore, protecting vulnerable koalas over 5ha.
• Hollow Log, 23km south of Kilcoy in the Somerset region, protecting vulnerable koalas and glossy black cockatoos on 64ha. 
• Tuan Environmental Reserve, 5km south-west of Kenilworth, protecting koalas, powerful owls, giant barred frogs and glossy black cockatoos on 27ha.
• A nature corridor 20km north-west of Cairns, covering 63 hectares, which will protect double-eyed fig parrots.
• Craig’s Pocket, 150km west of Georgetown, in Far North Queensland, an existing nature refuge now secured in perpetuity to protect unique vine thicket habitat associated with some of the youngest volcanic basalt flows in the region. 

Nature refuges are established as voluntary agreements with landholders on suitable properties.

Media contact: Katharine Wright, 0422 580 342