Senate backs call for urgent federal funding for cassowary rehab centre

The Senate has backed a Greens push for the federal government to consider urgent funding for a struggling far north Queensland cassowary rehabilitation centre.

Greens senator Larissa Waters called on the federal government to help the state government keep the centre open and to expand its operations to treat adult birds. Photograph: Robert Tidey/AAP/Rainforest Rescue

The Garners Beach Rehabilitation Centre at Mission Beach had been earmarked for closure but the state government this week stepped in with up to $50,000 interim funding to keep it open for another three months.

Only chicks will be admitted during that time, prompting concerns that injured adults would have to be put down at the roadside.

In a Senate motion submitted on Wednesday, Greens senator Larissa Waters called on the federal government to help the state government keep the centre open and to expand its operations to treat adult birds.

Waters said the government needed to update and commit funding to a national recovery plan for the endangered species, the last of which was published in 2007.

“Not only do we have a duty to protect the cassowary for its intrinsic value but this iconic species is also an important tourism drawcard,” she said.

“If passed, it [the motion] will send a powerful message to the federal environment minister about the need to work with the state government to properly fund the rehabilitation centre.”

The motion was carried on the voices, despite the government maintaining it is already taking action to save the endangered cassowary through the threatened species strategy.

“In response to the motion, the federal government said it would write to the state government about funding,” Waters said.

Outspoken far north Queensland vet Dr Graham Lauridsen, who is involved with the centre, said the facility would not need federal funding if the state government did “its job”.

“Why reinvent the wheel when it was working fine a year or two ago?” he said.

Queensland’s environment and heritage protection minister, Steven Miles, has written to Lauridsen to assure him the department is working to reinstate normal ranger services amid a number of staff movements.

But the vet said he was still concerned his staff would have to pick up the slack after he was told the rangers were not to respond to calls outside normal work hours.