Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Ian Redmond of the Friends of Lee Point group is involved in walks to learn about endangered species who need the area to be saved from development

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Ian Redmond of the Friends of Lee Point group is involved in walks to learn about endangered species who need the area to be saved from development · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now real change of pace because we know that there
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  Speaker 1: is a flock of endangered Gouldian finches they've moved into
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  Speaker 1: the Lee Point area, and advocates for saving Lee Point
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  Speaker 1: from housing developed from that housing development of pointed to
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  Speaker 1: that fact that the endangered bird thrives in mature trees,
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  Speaker 1: making it habitat in Lee Point important for their survival.
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  Speaker 1: Now we know that there are some walks being conducted
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  Speaker 1: at the moment in an effort to try to make
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  Speaker 1: more people learn a bit more about the presence of
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  Speaker 1: these finches. And I am joined on the line right
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  Speaker 1: now by Friends of Lee Point member in Redmond. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Ian.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Ian, tell us a little bit more. Well, firstly, you're
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  Speaker 1: out there doing a walk as we speak, aren't we.
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  Speaker 1: Aren't you or you were earlier this morning?
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  Speaker 3: Oh, that's true.
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  Speaker 2: Most people are gone now that's sort of unfortunately you
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  Speaker 2: have to get.
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  Speaker 3: Up early a lot of times with the birds.
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  Speaker 2: But yeah, there would have been over one hundred people today,
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  Speaker 2: came out and there was probably about seventy eight Gulian
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  Speaker 2: finches seen in a flock. And that's been there pretty
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  Speaker 2: much most days, fifty to one hundred. Yeah, and so
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  Speaker 2: it's a regular sighting of gooley and finches, but unfortunately
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  Speaker 2: you have to get up early or go later in
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  Speaker 2: the afternoon to see them.
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  Speaker 1: Now, how important is it to learn about these species
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to, you know, to this push to
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  Speaker 1: save Lee Point from the residential development in the area.
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  Speaker 2: There's a I used to say that there are only
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  Speaker 2: one species here.
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  Speaker 3: This area has always.
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  Speaker 2: Been a great area for finches and other birds when
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  Speaker 2: you talk about this is part of Lee Point Peninsula
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  Speaker 2: and that gets about eighty percent of the bird species
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  Speaker 2: in Kakadu. So it's really been a rich biodiverse area.
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  Speaker 2: And that's why I think it's really important to preserve
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  Speaker 2: the whole area. What happens here. If this development goes
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  Speaker 2: ahead as planned, you'll lose a lot of these grasslands
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  Speaker 2: and the reason why these inches have come in, which
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  Speaker 2: includes the goolean finch.
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  Speaker 1: Tell us a little bit more, and you said that
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  Speaker 1: there's are you know, there's obviously a number of different
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  Speaker 1: species out there. What is you know, what's going to
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  Speaker 1: essentially happen once this development goes ahead, Well.
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  Speaker 2: Having thousands of people out here, it's going to have
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  Speaker 2: a well a severe impact on the area. One of
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  Speaker 2: the big things. I think the bird watches are really
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  Speaker 2: concerned or about the migratory shorebirds that are over in
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  Speaker 2: Sandy Creek, and you know they'll be less than a
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  Speaker 2: half a kaok co a few hundred meter is really
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  Speaker 2: from where these houses are directly and saying with the
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  Speaker 2: on the lee point and you know there already there's
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  Speaker 2: two species out there that are critically endangered. It's an
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  Speaker 2: internationally significant bird habitat and this is all going to
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  Speaker 2: be impacted. So it's taking out what is essentially what
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  Speaker 2: city have do and call a biodiversity corridor because of
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  Speaker 2: it allows animals to move up and down, like say,
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  Speaker 2: like the endangered blackfooted rat that's being corded in. That's
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  Speaker 2: an area that's going to get bulldozed. Next stage will
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  Speaker 2: take out some of their habitat. This has gone forever,
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  Speaker 2: So it's like and it needs a really proper planning
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  Speaker 2: study to look at its ecological value and also the
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  Speaker 2: value of eco tourism to Darwin. You know, Darwin could
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  Speaker 2: be called the city of Verse. We're so lucky to
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  Speaker 2: have this on our doorstep and we're just not valuing it.
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  Speaker 1: So and what is the process now? I understand that
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  Speaker 1: there is currently a legal case being put together.
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  Speaker 3: That's correct.
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  Speaker 2: I think the environment is looking at that. I'm not
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  Speaker 2: really up with it, but there is a legal case
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  Speaker 2: put together because to look at the well, the impact
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  Speaker 2: of having environment when they did they have done an
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  Speaker 2: impact statement, but the Guilians weren't really considered in that
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  Speaker 2: impact statement. And I got to say, I have to say,
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  Speaker 2: the only report that's really been done around this is
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  Speaker 2: the Environmental Report. There's been no reports done on public
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  Speaker 2: benefit on and there's been really no discussion papers done
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  Speaker 2: on the public benefit. It's developing out here, either at
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  Speaker 2: a territory level or a federal level. So here you
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  Speaker 2: have is this development that's basically going ahead. It's up
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  Speaker 2: towards of planned up towards four hundred million, which really
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  Speaker 2: hasn't demonstrated the public benefit. And we've asked consistently both
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  Speaker 2: at the territory and federal level for these reports on
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  Speaker 2: public benefit, but no luck so far.
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  Speaker 1: People keep trying, yeah, well, let's wait and see whether
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  Speaker 1: you know whether that does does indeed happen.
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  Speaker 2: Ian.
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  Speaker 1: I know that you've you know that you have had
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  Speaker 1: a number of walks out there, lots of people involved.
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  Speaker 1: I was even told that you might have had Ray
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  Speaker 1: Martin out on one of those walks this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Well, that's true, you've heard right, Yes, yes we had
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  Speaker 3: a bit of a Ray was very interested and he
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  Speaker 3: saw a lot of gooley and finches and the like,
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  Speaker 3: as did all the other people that sort of came
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  Speaker 3: out here. And yes, he thought that he thought it
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  Speaker 3: was a great area.
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  Speaker 1: And if there is anybody out there listening this morning
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  Speaker 1: who is keen to maybe get involved in one of
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  Speaker 1: these walks, is it something that you are doing quite
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  Speaker 1: regularly in an effort to sort of educate people.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll probably run another this is the second. Well,
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  Speaker 2: you know, when I say walk, you can just come
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  Speaker 2: out here and self guide probably if you can just
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  Speaker 2: go there's a website called fave Le Point and just
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  Speaker 2: go into that and they'll probably just follow maps. You
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  Speaker 2: don't need to. The reason we do these walks is
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  Speaker 2: that we sort of have experienced bird watchers out here, so.
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  Speaker 3: They pretty far.
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  Speaker 2: They find the Gulian finches very fast and other things,
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  Speaker 2: so and then we direct people to them. But they're
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  Speaker 2: pretty much around here most days. Painting has to come early,
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  Speaker 2: and if you want to know where they are, just
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  Speaker 2: look with someone with a really big camera lens, and that.
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  Speaker 1: Look he'll be able to tell you well, Ian, I
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  Speaker 1: really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you very much
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  Speaker 1: for having a chat with us and and raising those
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  Speaker 1: concerns and and please let us know how things progress.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you very much.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks, Thanks Cattie, thank you Ian