Protecting Our Little Penguins Requires More Than Just Endless Paperwork

When a patient comes to my clinic with a condition that is rapidly deteriorating, I do not suggest we sit in a committee room for years to discuss the possibility of a treatment plan. We act. We use the best available science and we intervene before the damage becomes irreversible.

Our local little penguin population in the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park is in a similar state of emergency. These iconic creatures are a vital part of our coastal ecosystem, yet they are facing unprecedented pressures that threaten their very survival. We are witnessing a slow-motion collapse while waiting for the bureaucracy to catch up. In my years as a GP, I never saw a patient cured by red tape, and I doubt our penguins will be the first.

The missing diagnosis

A taskforce was established to report on the future of these penguins, intended to provide a roadmap for their protection. This report was expected to be in the hands of the Minister by the end of the previous year. However, word reaching me from the community suggested that things were stalling. Instead of a finished plan, we were hearing whispers of drafts and delays.

The risk here is visceral. If we lose the little penguins, we lose a piece of Western Australia's natural soul. It is an indicator of the health of our oceans. When the canary in the coal mine falls silent, you do not wait for a peer-reviewed study to tell you the air is toxic. You move. The government’s habit of delaying critical environmental reporting creates a vacuum of accountability that we simply cannot afford.

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A prescription for transparency

I stood in the House today to ask the Minister for the Environment for some straight answers. Has the final report been delivered? If not, why is it late? Most importantly, will the public actually be allowed to see what the experts have found? Transparency is the only way we can ensure the advice being given is being acted upon correctly.

The response was telling: the report is still being completed. We are now looking at the first quarter of this year before it even reaches the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. As for whether the public will see it, the government remains non-committal, stating that timing will be determined only after they have the document in hand.

This is not good enough for those of us who value science-first, forward-thinking policy. While the major parties play politics with timelines, we are looking at the evidence and the very real human and ecological cost of inaction. Frustration is growing among those who care for our environment, and it is a frustration I share deeply. We need the truth, and we need it now.

You can read the full exchange from the official record in this Hansard extract and if you believe in a future where evidence guides our laws, I invite you to join Legalise Cannabis WA today.