WITH a new state parliament, Save The Black Cockatoos coordinator Paddy Cullen says he wants to seize the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective on how WA looks at conservation through a rally outside parliament house, held on Wednesday.

“We need to get in early with the new WA government and get them to seriously look at the issue of conservation and climate change, which they have completely ignored,” he said.

Mr Cullen said it was an impromptu rally and was intended to be a symbolic action.

“We’re not looking at large numbers of people but we’re looking at doing something bold that will demonstrate the situation to the politicians in a visual way.”

At the rally, Mr Cullen said campaigners wore black wings and laid on the steps of Parliament House.

“Each (set of wings) has a different word or phrase on it like endangered or save the black cockatoos.”

Mr Cullen referred to an independent review of Australia’s environmental laws, conducted by Monash Business School professor Graeme Samuel.

In Mr Samuel’s report, he said the commonwealth was failing its core responsibilities for protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act needed reform.

Mr Cullen said the federal government made a promise last year to create nature positive laws (NPL) and to set up an environmental protection authority to protect endangered species and critical habitats.

“Sadly, that was blocked by the WA government,” he said.

At the end of last year, Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA) said it consulted with the state government and emphasised the risks associated with the NPL.

“On November 27, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reportedly stepped in to scrap the deal, shelving the legislation, in one of the final days of parliament for 2024 and just months out from the federal election,” it said.

CCIWA chief executive Chris Rodwell said the shelving of the NPL was a win for WA but warned the campaign was not over.

Mr Cullen described WA as the big sticking block for when the federal government revisited the laws.

“It’s crucial that this time around, we reset our conservation priorities in favour of saving the environment,” he said.

“This is something that goes across party lines and WA has to fall into line with other states.”

Echo News asked federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek about the status of Labor’s 2022 promise to introduce stronger environmental laws and what she thought about the rally but is yet to receive a response.

West Swan resident Jan Zeck attended the rally and said the state government’s lack of environmental action was emphasised.

She said the rally was intended to pressure authoritative figures to take action but the work of campaigners was still a work in progress.

“For people within the government agencies, it’s about getting them to start doing what they’re supposed to be doing and following the laws that we have, rather than pretending that they don’t exist,” Ms Zeck said.

“(The state) have now succumbed to developer pressure with the excuse that we’re running out of housing,” she said.

“It’s become a monoculture where it’s only developers who get the ear of government.”

Ms Zeck said the results of this year’s Great Cocky Count revealed two previously unidentified night roosts in Henley Brook.

One site was found within the Swan Valley Rural residential area and the other in the property reserved for the Brooklands development.

Ms Zeck said both roost sites were within 500m of the proposed controversial Henley Brook Avenue alignment.

“Community members have repeatedly asked the City of Swan to refer the proposed work to the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for assessment but so far the city has refused,” she said.

Mr Cullen said prevention was the key to protecting the black cockatoos.

“We’ve got to do much more than this,” he said.