ROY LEWISSON is a member of Wilbinga Advocates and a White Gum Valley resident.
WITH the current global geo-political state of play, action on climate change seems to have ground to a halt on all levels.
Planetary environmental damage is obviously accelerating and with the Perth tree cover being the lowest of any Australian city(1) – it is a rarity for an idea to come along which is environmentally positive, socially inclusive, supports rewilding and has no downsides.
Enter Wilbinga National Park.
First question – where is Wilbinga ?
Answer – on Perth’s northern doorstep.
Eighty per cent of the area which is proposed to become Wilbinga National Park, is currently gazetted as “conservation” or “recreation”, or is under the custodianship of the Yued Aboriginal Corporation; there is a tiny percentage still under “forestry”.
The primary reason Wilbinga should become a national park is due to the outstanding condition of the flora and diversity of the fauna.
There are also a number of endangered species, some which are endemic to this area.
The main secondary reasons for a park rezoning:
• it will prevent an unsustainable proposed development on the south side of the Moore River Estuary;
• it has the support on the Yued Aboriginal Corporation and Traditional Owners of the area, the Conservation Council of WA, the Urban Bush Council, Friends of Moore River Estuary and several other organisations;
• it will provide a recreational ‘green’ belt for the people of Perth – i.e. be a Kings Park of the North. All inclusive – not a complete conservation area; and,
• it will produce a natural boundary to the northern suburban sprawl – brought on by the insatiable appetite for crappy, coastal, residential development.
The gazetting of the Wilbinga National Park would appear to be a complete no-brainer.
The proposal is not banning anything, closing anything down, trying to a reduce a corporation’s profits – simply – ensuring this land remains as it is, for current and future Western Australians.
What has been of real interest has been the grassroots, non-political, non-religious, citizen driven campaign – which hasn’t even really started yet.
Documentary
So far less than a dozen or so Perth folk who are advocating for a Wilbinga National Park – and loosely calling themselves Wilbinga Advocates – have managed to make a documentary, file an e-Petition to Parliament, launch a website, fire up the socials and come up with a strategy for getting this proposal across the line.
The strategy is borrowed from the WA Forest Alliance and involves organising supporters to complete a survey, supported by a guide on how to complete the survey.
The mantra for this campaign is “No cost, no membership, no spam …. just a really good idea.”
On the wilbinga.com website – people are requested to make a pledge to complete the survey.
The Pledge asks for your name and email address.
Later this year, you receive a survey and a guide to completing the survey. That’s it.
It is essentially an email campaign and we are relying on completed survey numbers, votes and “ ….. just a really good idea.”
The premiere screening of the documentary “Wilbinga” is on Thursday May 21 at Luna Leederville – 06.30pm start.
Tickets to the documentary are free – however you need to register.
There was only 20 per cent of available tickets remaining – as the Chook headed to the printers.
Go to https://events.humanitix.com/wilbinga-national-park-screening