Through my work with the Stop the Eastern Terminal Substation, I became acutely aware of how endangered the Perth Hills are to continued urban development, mining and public work projects (Western Power and the Water Corporation).

The Hills are viewed as being rich for the pickings. We have good bauxite (Aluminium) mining reserves 8km east of Mundaring Weir Dam. The Hills can be considered “cheap” land by Western Power and the Water Corporation (to name a few government entities). Developers also see the opportunity to carve up blocks close to precious water catchment areas for high density living as a cash bonanza!

So why should the people of the Perth hills and all Western Australian’s fight to stop the same over development that the rest of Perth has to suffer with? Essentially, the Perth hills ARE the vital lungs and rain belt for the greatest amount of population in Western Australia.

The Darling Scarp forms part of the South West Ecoregion.  Globally it is recognised as one of the planet’s major biodiversity hotspots and the only hotspot in Australia. To be considered a hotspot, high levels of natural diversity, particularly for plants and amphibians, together with high levels of threat to that diversity is taken into consideration. To put that into perspective, just 2.3% of the earth’s surface, is home to more than half of the planet’s living species!

Picture:

Darling Scarp, Perth, and Swan Coastal Plain. Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA 

To quote the South West Ecoregion Initiative report, “The Southwest Australia Ecoregion is thus a significant part of the planet’s natural heritage, and the conservation of the biodiversity of this globally significant area is the responsibility of all Australians.”

Only 7% of the original vegetation is intact, with the remaining vegetation scattered in fragmented remnants of bush land that vary in sizes, condition and degree of isolation. Land clearing is the major driver of habitat loss and the fragmentation that results generally results in the continuing loss of species, which occur long after the land has been cleared.

We are only just beginning to recognise the importance of the role that vegetation plays in rainfall and the decline of rainfall within Western Australia. A recent study by Murdoch University focussed on the rabbit proof fence that divides the wheatbelt from the Great Western Woodlands, and found that clouds stayed over native vegetation and not the cleared agricultural land. The implications of this study are giving scientists new insight into how land clearing affects climate change and drought conditions.

So from an environmental perspective alone, it is vital that the Perth hills has some form of protection. This form of protection has come from Giz Watson MLC (Greens Upper House - North Metro), as the draft Perth Hills Planning Bill. It was conceived after requests to Giz Watson from hills residents to find a way to better protect and plan for the future of the Perth hills. You can read more information about the Bill at the Save Perth Hills organisation’s website.

I fully support Giz Watson’s Bill and if elected would seek to support it’s finalisation and passage through the Parliament. I would also seek to support the extenuation of the National Parks boundaries throughout the Darling Scarp, in order to further the protection of our endangered remnant bushland.