shocked by the cockatoo chew

report from the roundtable - 14th July

Council reserves a place on the agenda for councillors to report back on their activities since the last council meeting, it's called report from delegates.

I reported on a number of things, including the recent Treasure Vase Ceremony (see blog) and the ETC Monster Petition being launched next week, but foremost I wanted to highlight to my fellow councillors the latest turn of events in relation to the cockatoo problem and their continued attacks on infrastructure in Kallista.

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I recently attended the Kallista Mechanics Hall AGM (see blog) where I was presented with an extreme example of the recent cockatoo damage. The committee presented me with their chewed power supply line, the line that runs from the main power lines on the street to the power supply connection on the hall. The cockatoos had chewed through the outer casing, the insulation and into the power supply line itself, the peck marks in the metal self evident. I thought it important that my colleagues saw the line for themselves and the extent of the damage done so I brought it in to the meeting to show them.

This latest episode is alarming and the potential risk to the public is worrying. Clearly there needs to be an urgent education campaign around the consequences of feeding cockatoos. Although in the case of the Kallista Mechanic's Hall, Kallista Community House, Kallista Pre School, Kallista Village Green, Kallista businesses and nearby residents it's going to be very problematic to get the neighbours to stop feeding the cockatoos, given that the neighbours, Grant's Picnic Ground, is within the 200 metres of this area, the range that the DSE believes cockatoos will cause damage from human feeding.