3 July
2006 - Hobart's stunning bushland skyline will
be conserved for future generations with the purchase
of a 30 hectare property, Porter Hill, for Australia's
National Reserve System.
The Australian Government has
provided $1 million from the Natural Heritage
Trust to help buy Porter Hill, a belt of native
Tasmanian woodland with rare plants and animals
overlooking Hobart's CBD.
The purchase has been made in partnership with
the Hobart City Council.
"The purchase of Porter
Hill for the National Reserve System is a fantastic
investment for the people of Hobart and for all
Australians," Minister for Conservation,
Senator Eric Abetz said.
"Hobart's protected bush
now extends from the alpine heathlands of Mt Wellington,
down the densely-forested foothills and across
the skyline of Mount Nelson and Porter Hill towards
the River Derwent."
The Minister said the purchase was a unique opportunity
to protect the environment of a capital city.
"This beautiful property
just five kilometres from the CBD has woodlands
of White and Tasmanian Blue Gums, White Peppermint
and Drooping Sheoak as well as Tall Wallaby Grass
which is so rare in Tasmania," Senator Abetz
said.
"Threatened or vulnerable fauna such as the
Swift Parrot and the Eastern Barred Bandicoot
live here and it's one of very few sites with
recordings of all four of Tasmania's fungivorous
marsupials, the Tasmanian Bettong, the Poteroo,
the Eastern Barred Bandicoot and the Brown Bandicoot."
Lord Mayor Rob Valentine said
the purchase followed significant investment by
Council over several years to protect Hobart's
skyline environment.
"Porter Hill is a vital
addition to Hobart's Open Space Plan, which protects
our important natural, cultural, recreational
and scenic values," Alderman Valentine said.
"The property closes the
gap in the belt of 4500 hectares of native Tasmanian
bushland surrounding the city and managed by the
Hobart City Council. This continuous strategic
belt helps protect unique but threatened plants
and animals in their natural habitat."
Senator Abetz said the latest
addition to the National Reserve System comes
on top of the joint purchase in 2003 by the Australian
Government and the Hobart City Council of Lower
Porter Hill.
"This partnership with
the Hobart City Council highlights the growing
role of local government in protecting our environment
by contributing to our National Reserve System,"
the Minister said.
Australia's National Reserve
System is a nation-wide network of reserves especially
set up to protect Australia's unique natural environment
for current and future generations. Funds for
purchasing property come through the National
Reserve System Programme, part of the Natural
Heritage Trust.
"As the National Reserve
System Programme approaches its tenth anniversary,
Porter Hill brings to 286 the number of landholdings
added to the National Reserve System," the
Minister said.
"Since 1997, the Australian
Government has invested more than $80 million
to build the National Reserve System, adding more
than 20 million hectares to the nation's protected
land areas.
"More than 80 million hectares
- 10 per cent of Australia's continent - is now
protected under the National Reserve System,"
he said.
Rob Broadfield / Brad Stansfield
