STATE Parliament will soon debate the impact of flying fox colonies on communities like Inverell, as Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall and his colleague Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis lodged a state-wide petition containing more than 10,000 signatures in the Legislative Assembly last week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“I launched the petition in Inverell in May and it quickly spread to other affected communities in regional NSW, like Port Macquarie, Nambucca Heads and Orange,” Mr Marshall said.
“An MP who submits a petition with 10,000 signatures is entitled to a parliamentary debate on the subject and I am looking forward to putting our case to the government.
“The purpose of the petition is to highlight the impact flying foxes are having on urban and built up areas and to seek change.
“You aren’t permitted to have 20,000-30,000 domestic animals such as cats, dogs and poultry in urban or built up areas because of health risks yet the same number of flying foxes, with a far greater risk to health, is acceptable to government agencies. The only way to get them to act is with a clear directive from government that people are more important than bats,” he said.
“We need a simple solution to a problem made complex by bureaucracy and this petition will hopefully make that happen.”
Mr Marshall said he was very grateful to the Inverell community which provided around 2000 of the petition’s signatures, along with his Parliamentary colleagues in Clarence, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Orange, who distributed the petition in their respective electorates.
The date for the petition debate is yet to be scheduled by the Speaker but is expected before the end of the year.
