Mayor welcomes Federal Government flying fox assistance
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Eurobodalla Mayor Lindsay Brown has welcomed the removal of Federal Government greentape preventing the early dispersal of the Batemans Bay flying fox colony, and says he will brief councillors today on the next steps towards a dispersal attempt starting as soon as possible.
This follows last night's community meeting in Batemans Bay where Federal Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt pledged $50,000 as a start towards dispersal actions and the removal of any Federal Government impediments to approve the dispersal.
Clr Brown is now calling on Member for Bega Andrew Constance to mirror the Federal Government’s actions at NSW government level to assist the Eurobodalla community.
"I have this morning at 9am applied to Mr Hunt's department for a national interest exemption, which means that council will not have to obtain approval from the Australian Government to disperse flying foxes.
"I thank Minister Hunt for his commitment to remove the legislative impediment facing Council, and for understanding this issue is a bigger one than Eurobodalla Council can manage alone.
“Andrew Constance’s commitment to provide NSW Government funding for the flying fox dispersal is also very welcome, however, I call on Mr Constance to do what he can to remove the NSW Government impediments that delay and constrain Council’s ability to disperse the flying foxes.
“I am hopeful the Federal Government will match any commitment from the NSW Government beyond Mr Hunt’s announcement of $50,000 last night.
"I also call on my councillor colleagues to support me and our community to implement an active dispersal as soon as we get NSW Government approval."
Clr Brown said the outcome of last night's meeting was a big step forward for Council in managing the flying fox problem.
"This is an unprecedented and terrible situation for our community and I've said all along we needed help from all levels of government. That help is now coming."
"I am pleased that both the NSW and Australian Governments have now responded positively to my requests for a collaborative response to this dreadful challenge facing our community."