EXTINCTION CIRCLE

IN 1876, Thomas Reibey, a conservative northern landowner and partially defrocked cleric, presided over the awarding of 2180 bounties for the slaughter of the now extinct thylacine. The state government paid 1 for full-grown animals, and 10 shillings for juveniles. Now 145 years later what have we learnt?

Conservative Premier Peter Gutwein, a week or so ago, was reported saying anybody who objected to the salmon industry was ruining our brand. I would argue farming salmon in our bays is the antithesis of how the the world views Tassie. One glaring example is Macquarie Harbour. Who would have thought a government would allow salmon farms in that shallow basin, with an average depth of 15m.

Here we come full circle, because in that harbour is a marine equivalent of the Tassie tiger. The maugean skate. Recent research by IMAS said: “The current environmental state of the harbour, coupled with the effects of climate change, appear to be challenging the skate’s capacity to cope with it’s changing habitat.”

The natural world is an extremely low priority with “conservatives”, which, literally, means the opposite to how they view the natural world.

Nev Rodman

South Hobart