Queensland boy heartbroken after church bulldozes habitat: 'Very worrying'
An 11-year-old Queensland boy is heartbroken after the Uniting Church bulldozed the feeding grounds of a bird species vulnerable to extinction.
For nine years, Spencer Hitchen has been enthralled by a population of glossy black cockatoos, living near his home at Sunrise Beach, near Noosa Heads.
Hoping to protect an adjacent block of land for the birds, he’s started a petition on the website change.org which has already attracted over 66,000 signatures.
He's calling for the church to rethink its plan and protect the site, which backs onto national park where endangered koalas live.
“We're going to basically kill ourselves off if we keep destroying the things that we need to survive,” he told Yahoo News Australia.
“It’s very worrying.”
Why are glossy black cockatoos threatened?
In August, south-eastern glossy black cockatoos were declared vulnerable to extinction by environment minister Tanya Plibersek, but that hasn’t stopped the developer's determination to bulldoze its habitat.
UnitingCare Queensland’s health agency Blue Care has already cleared its 0.8 hectare site on Grasstree Court to make way for a nursing home earlier this year.
It has permission to develop 5 hectares of adjacent land for a retirement home.
That’s despite the both blocks being abundant in she-oak — a plant species the federal government has committed to protecting and regenerating because it is the cockatoos’ main food source.
LendLease partnering with church on development
The 5-hectare site will be developed on behalf of Blue Care by LendLease, which is spruiking the project's closeness to national park and position in a "community defined by its nature-rich location".
The company told Yahoo News Australia project stakeholders are collaborating with ecologists "to ensure the future of the glossy black cockatoos’ habitat is secure".
“We understand the fragility of biodiversity in Australia has radically increased, due to many factors, and our commitment to its protection and enhancement remains fundamental to our operations," a LendLease spokesperson added.
It's not the first time a LendLease development has caused controversy. The company is also behind the Figtree Hill housing project situated on a koala corridor near Campbelltown.
Critics of Figtree Hill have warned its construction will harm NSW's last chlamydia-free population of koalas — a species now listed as endangered.
A spokesperson for the company said it agrees "more needs to be done to protect Australia’s wildlife", adding it has a plan to increase koala habitat in Campbelltown through a $35 million investment.
How has the church responded to concerns about the cockatoos?
Blue Care did not respond directly to questions from Yahoo News Australia about the glossy black cockatoos, or their vulnerable listing, but issued a statement.
“Blue Care is committed to delivering positive social, cultural and environmental outcomes for the Noosa community through development of our integrated aged care and retirement living precinct,” it said.
Before the glossy black cockatoo’s federal listing under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, Blue Care referred its project to the Commonwealth to ensure its “environmental management actions adhere to all statutory requirements”.
“Blue Care can confirm the Department has determined our development is not a controlled action; that is, we are not required to take any further environmental management actions beyond what we have committed to the State and Noosa Shire Council,” it said.
Government urged to overhaul endangered species protections
Spencer's battle to save the glossy black cockatoos caught the attention of Josh Meadows from Australian Conservation Foundation who has backed calls to protect the Noosa habitat.
Mr Meadows said its destruction is "another example" of why national environment laws must be overhauled by the environment minister.
“If we keep letting the glossies’ essential habitat get knocked over for housing estates, retirement villages and highways, this amazing cockatoo will go the way of the thylacine. We cannot let this happen," he said.
In 2021, laws designed to protect threatened species in Australia were independently reviewed and found to be "ineffective”, “weak” and “tokenistic”.
On Tuesday, the government announced an Action Plan aimed at stopping new extinctions, however critics have questioned whether its goal can be achieved given the "inadequate" level of funding attached to it.
Mother’s faith tested by Church’s decision
Last year, around 40 of the birds flocked to the Blue Care site, but since works began their numbers have dipped significantly.
Spencer’s mother Maxine Hitchen is a committed Christian, and she has struggled with the church’s decision to destroy the cockatoo habitat.
The church’s action initially left her “angry at God”. But she soon concluded that it was actually a human decision, and early this year she began going to her local Uniting Church to better understand the congregation.
“Once they annihilated the trees on Lot 6 I was just beside myself,” she said.
“I didn’t know how I could possibly help my son and all the other children who had watched that and were horrified that a church could do something like this.
“That was my driving point, that I didn't want to be angry at God. I wanted to understand this more but we can't blame the people in the congregation either.”
Blue Care did not respond to a direct question about how its decision aligns with Christian thinking.
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