cockies continue the crunch

I have been overwhelmed by calls from concerned residents reporting cockatoo damage to their homes after the article in last week’s local paper. It seems that most of the cockatoo activity is currently located in Kallista and Menzies Creek at the moment.

People are frustrated and agree that something needs to be done at a state level. It was reported to me last week that the cockatoos have started chewing the Kallista Mechanics Hall.









The Hall was opened in 1914 and came about after the formation of the Kallista Progress Association in 1910. It housed the first school in the township as well as Church of England and Methodist services for the area. It is a significant local building and part of our heritage.

It is sad to see such damage to our heritage buildings along with the damage to private and public property which is continuing at a rapid rate.

Council has agreed to urgently convene a meeting of local MP’s, Agencies, Shire Officers and Councillors to discuss the management of cockatoos so as to reduce ongoing damage to private and public property. I look forward to discussing the issue with our local MPs, the power to respond to this issue is in their hands.

There is the potential to blame the cockatoos for their actions, but they are responding to human interference with their natural environment. We know that feeding the birds creates these problems. We need to rethink how we interact with wildlife and change our expectations around what is appropriate. This is challenging and confronts many past practices, but when you look at the damage, year after year, how much longer can we condone feeding cockatoos?