cockies wreak havoc

report from the roundtable – 9th June

As reported in an earlier blog story the cockatoos have been relentlessly chewing their way through public and private property at an alarming rate. The damage seen at Kallista Village Green over the space of a couple of weeks has been extraordinary.

In an effort to raise awareness and seek much needed assistance from the State Government I moved the following motion:
That Council urgently convene a meeting of local MP’s, Agencies, Shire Officers and interested Councillors to discuss the management of cockatoos so as to reduce ongoing damage to private and public property.

There is no doubt that this is a State Government responsibility as it involves the management of Australian native wildlife. The situation has become untenable with residents facing large repair bills every year due to cockatoo damage.

There is an intrinsic link between feeding cockatoos and cockatoo damage, confirmed by the DSE’s cockatoo expert, Ian Tenby. After last year’s attack from cockatoos the Shire embarked on an education program. This may have worked to a small degree, however whilst large numbers of cockatoos are being fed, particularly at Grant’s Picnic Ground (in a national park no less), we will continue to see damage across the region.

We need the State Government to take responsibility. At the moment it is not illegal to feed the cockatoos (or any native wildlife for that matter), this is something that needs to be urgently addressed, no longer can we accept the continued damage to buildings and our natural assets as cockatoo populations explode out of all proportion.

Native bird feeding has been stopped in other national parks due to problem wildlife, Wilson’s Promontory is a good example of this. This needs to happen here, how much longer can residents endure the annual attacks to property, forking out hefty amounts to replace chewed timber, mortar and all manner of fixtures. How resilient is our forest to the continued chewing of trees and tree ferns.

I know that many residents also get pleasure out of feeding the birds, but given the extreme damage the cockatoos cause this must stop, they have become a problem that is well out of hand.

I am pleased to say that the motion was supported unanimously and I look forward to a positive way forward from our local MPs.

Note: the photos in this entry were taken on Tuesday 9th June, 2009.

what to do with the cockatoos?

Last Thursday’s public meeting to discuss cockatoo damage saw a huge community turn out, at last count it was 137 locals who took the time to attend. The crowd was a mix of residents whose houses/decks had been chewed, environmentalists who were concerned about the destruction to Sherbrooke Forest as well as the proprietors of Grant’s Picnic Ground Café.

Ian Temby, DSE’s cockatoo guru (aka: Senior Policy Officer Wildlife Damage Control Flora & Fauna Program), had much to say about this very intelligent bird.

I have long campaigned to try and change the laws in relation to feeding of wildlife, with cockatoos being top of the list. It was one of the first issues I raised when elected to council. In the past I have spoken and met with Parks Victoria and James Merlino (MP for Monbulk), but all to no avail. I welcome the reinvigorated debate about feeding cockatoos, perhaps this time government will listen and make the legislative changes required to stop this outmoded practice.

Ian’s key message was around the relationship of backyard feeding of cockatoos and how that impacts on local neighbourhoods. In the wild cockatoos need around 2 hours of foraging to get their fill of food, from a backyard feed they can get their fill in 15 minutes, this leaves cockatoos with a lot of spare time to wreak havoc.

I have long been concerned about feeding of all wildlife and Ian’s presentation confirmed my concerns. As a starting point the community needs to be aware of the impact feeding the birds has on their neighbours. I have asked the shire to start an education campaign so people know the impact of feeding, it’s not going to be easy, some people have been feeding birds for many, many years. In some cases it’s a tradition that’s been handed down from generation to generation. The difficulty will be further compounded by the fact that feeding of birds is allowed at Grant’s Picnic Ground, an activity that is supported by the state government, locked in by lease agreement until 2019! But knowing what we know today, it’s time to stop this outdated and obsolete practice.

Public meeting organiser, Kaz Mckay, asked people to write down the dollar value of damage to property caused by gnawing cockatoos, a total of 61 people had $240,000 of costs, that’s around $4,000 per property. The cost of damage to Sherbrooke Forest - how will we ever be able to quantify that?

I will also investigate whether there is any capacity under the nuisance provisions of the Health Act for enforcement action. Ian mentioned this is a possibility and I’m keen to see if this is an avenue the Shire could pursue.

If you want to help the cause write to your local MP, ask them to outlaw feeding of wildlife, tell them how it impacts on you and your environment, they need to hear your voice in order to act, make sure they do.

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?

cockatoos still crunching

I visited Kallista Market this weekend, the weather was terrible and stall holders thin on the ground, but the visit gave me a good chance to inspect the latest damage by the cockatoos.

Sadly the birds are continuing their chewing at the Kallista Village Green, they've also started on the Kallista Community House and the Preschool.

A meeting will be held this week to see what can be done to address the issue. So far confirmations have been received from James Merlino MP - Member for Monbulk, the DSE, City of Knox and the Shire of Yarra Ranges. Watch this space for outcomes of the meeting.

Many residents have told me they have visited James Merlino's office to discuss the issue, I'm advised by them his counter staff have requested photos of the cockatoo damage. I will be sure to send him copies of the many photos I have of the extensive damage I have seen over the last month, I encourage you to email him your photos and stories too at(james.merlino@parliament.vic.gov.au).

cockie campaign to commence

Council started up its regular schedule of meetings for 2010 last week, up on the agenda was discussion about the cockatoo issue (see blog).

Last year the community met to discuss the ongoing issue with cockatoos and their chewing. I was there along with Parks Victoria, DSE and the local state MP.

It is a challenging issue for council, last year the birds were voracious in their chewing of Kallista and surrounds. But it didn’t stop there, I had reports of chewing in Belgrave, Menzies Creek, Tecoma, The Patch and Monbulk too. In conversations with the DSE it is clear that there is a direct link between feeding cockatoos and this chewing behaviour. Rather than foraging for food in the wild, the cockatoos get a full belly very quickly from bird seed, leaving them with plenty of time to chew fixtures, fittings, mortar, power supply lines, you name it, to hone their beaks.

Kallista Kindergarten suffered countless attacks by cockatoos in 2009, much of their playground was made unsafe and parents had to spend precious funds to repair the damage.

In discussing the issue it was decided that a concerted education campaign be the first step in changing people’s attitudes to feeding cockatoos. I think it is important that people are given the opportunity to understand the issue, how it affects the birds and the consequences to neighbours and their property.

I have been working with the DSE and the Shire’s environment department to produce a flyer to distribute to residents across the Dandenongs.

Along with written material, signage will be placed in picnic grounds to discourage people to feed the birds. At the moment is only illegal to feed wildlife in national parks, except for the birds at Grant’s Picnic Ground where there is a legally binding lease in place to 2019 to allow this practice to continue.

It is a difficult issue, bird feeding is something that many people enjoy. It is possible to enjoy our wonderful wild birds without feeding them bird seed. Providing habitat and natural food sources is a great way to ensure your backyard has a thriving bird population.

After twelve months the success of the education campaign will reviewed and a local law considered. I think it is very important to start with an educative approach as the first step, enforcement should be a secondary measure. People must be given the opportunity to learn how detrimental feeding cockies can be.

The cockatoo issue will come before council for formal resolution, watch this space for more details.