23:47
If there is one thing beef cattle farmer Ted Rowley has learned while trying to manage feral deer on his property, it is this: for every deer that you see, there are at least another 10 that you can’t.
“In the beginning you see a few deer and think that’s pretty cute,” he says. “But what you don’t see is the very large number that are across the landscape.”
Australians have increasingly become used to the idea that deer will turn up in places they shouldn’t, including near and in major cities. Last week, two men were reportedly startled by a deer while sunbathing on a beach in the Royal National Park south of Sydney – an event that prompted them to flee into the bush, get lost, need rescuing and end up fined for breaching coronavirus restrictions.
Last month a deer was seen running through the streets of Fitzroy, a short stroll from the Melbourne CBD, during the city’s lockdown. It was later captured and euthanised. Back in October, two deer roamed through streets in the inner-Sydney suburbs of Leichhardt, Balmain and Annandale.
While they may have been in the headlines recently, feral deer have not had the same profile as other invasive species – think cats, foxes and pigs – but they have had a similarly destructive impact on vulnerable ecosystems. They also pose a biosecurity threat as potential carriers of disease and are a road safety risk in and around towns and cities.
You can read the full (and fascinating) story below:
Updated
23:11
International airlines claim they could be forced to suspend services to Australia from next week after national cabinet agreed to halve the number of people allowed to enter the country – and say any suggestion of price gouging is “insulting and bizarre”.
From 14 July, overseas arrivals will be slashed from 6,070 to 3,035 a week – crushing the hopes of thousands of Australians stuck overseas and looking to get home.
Barry Abrams, the executive director of the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia, said on Sunday he sympathised with those caught overseas. But he said airlines still flying to Australia and struggling to break even would face tough choices.
“It is going to be a very difficult situation for many airlines to maintain their frequency of flights to Australia,” Abrams said.
“Many will be asking whether or not it makes more sense to suspend their passenger flights or just run cargo flights. I wouldn’t see it as cutting Australia off [but] I would see reduced connectivity and availability of flights to and from Australia.”
You can read the full story below:
Updated
22:49
The top US diplomat in Australia has declared both countries need to set “more ambitious climate goals” and tackle the climate crisis “head on”, as international pressure mounts on the Morrison government to act.
Mike Goldman, who is chargé d’affaires at the United States embassy in Canberra, emphasised that the US and Australia had a shared obligation to protect the planet.
The Australian government is facing growing international pressure to formally commit to net zero emissions by 2050 and to ratchet up its 2030 target in the lead-up to this year’s Glasgow climate conference, despite resistance from the Nationals.
The United Kingdom – which is the host of the Cop26 conference in Glasgow – has also made clear it wants Australia to join other countries in lifting their medium-term targets to align with the Paris goal of seeking to limit heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
You can read the full report below: