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Beyond roads rates and rubbish

Protecting our biodiversity was the focus of a two day seminar in August staged by the Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT) in conjunction with Environment Australia at Cradle Mountain Lodge, Tasmania.

Over 40 delegates heard from a range of speakers including Victorian Governor elect John Landy, Dr Sharman Stone MP, Carl Binning from CSIRO, and Douglas Shire Mayor Mike Berwick.

The purpose of the seminar was to provide elected members and Council officers with information on Local Government and biodiversity. It also enabled them to have input into the development of a national, natural resource management strategy.

A major issue raised by delegates was the need for some form of national environmental levy to address Tasmania's declining biodiversity.

A guest speaker was, Biz Nicholson, Project Manager for the Northern Midlands Council NHT Project.

The paper she presented to delegates highlighted some of the work that the Northern Midlands Council was doing in heritage preservation under the title Bushweb.

Biz Nicholson told delegates that Northern Midlands Council is offering incentives to protect natural remnants, particularly threatened species and revegetation.

"What land managers need is a financial incentive that is far greater and far more powerful than the present incentive to clear for higher value crops or push the landscape harder with grazing," she said.

"Land managers need an incentive to revegetate or protect the landscapes without subsidy, an incentive that provides a regular and reasonable income for farmers that enables them to provide employment opportunities for our rural communities so they too can thrive.

"Sounds unattainable? I believe we can achieve this vision but we all need to commit to achieving it. We need to focus on our opportunities rather than our problems.

"A thousand years of prosperity can be generated if we care for our environment and then we will all prosper socially and economically.

"And what better vehicle to make this happen than Local Government?"

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