TMI’s CEO Managing Director Carolyn Hall introduces the Australian Conservation Foundation to the ground-breaking Mulloon Rehydration Initiative.
The Mulloon Institute was delighted to host Shar Molloy (ACF Acting President), Kelly O’Shanassy (ACF CEO) and the Board of the Australian Conservation Foundation (including Miles George, Sarah Reid, Leon Cermak, David A Hood AM HonFIEAust CPEng and Melanie Birtchnell PhD) on a tour of the Mulloon Creek home farm and catchment.
Our CEO Carolyn Hall showed off the institute’s landscape and creek interventions which form part of the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative, and explained our partnership with the 23 local landowners to rehydrate and rehabilitate the catchment. The results are sensational. We can repair and rehydrate this country with diligent, thoughtful interventions.
The group couldn’t stop talking – we discussed drought and flood resilience, improved water quality, increased biodiversity, the return of native plants and animals, rising water tables, improved soil and farm productivity, and building social capital amongst landowners and traditional owners. All good, gritty stuff.
The technology and knowledge is here to repair our land, landowners are keen and funds are available. We now desperately need state and federal governments (no pressure Anthony Roberts and Tanya P. Plibersek!) to radically streamline the costly and energy sapping regulatory impediments to this work. Governments need to facilitate, not hinder, landowners to quickly and efficiently repair and rehydrate their land.
Viewing landscape rehydration infrastructure installed along Mulloon Creek as part of the MRI.
Thanks to the recent amendment to the NSW Infrastructure SEPP (State Environmental Planning Policy), the need for a Development Application to Council has been removed. Landholders will still need State Government approvals for most installations, however, taking the approval process from under-resourced local councils to better resourced NSW state bodies, is a significant improvement on the current approval process.”
There is much to do but lots of hope. Thanks ACF for the visit!
* The Mulloon Rehydration Initiative is jointly funded through the Mulloon Institute and the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, with assistance from the NSW Government’s Environmental Trust.