We would like to be completely transparent about our cause and plight to Save Granite Island’s little penguins. The purpose of this page is purely to build awareness for the cause. Funds that have been raised to date are securely in trust with the Victor Harbor & Port Elliot Lions Club. We would like to confirm that no money has been spent to date, nor have any researchers have been paid from the fundraising, nor has any money been given to Flinders University. We are certainly very appreciative of their support thus far, however until a suitable program has been established for research to support our Granite Island penguin colony, no funds will be distributed. We do sincerely thank everyone for their support and donations thus far and continue to request that you try and bring attention to the fact that Granite Island’s penguins desperately need our help. We wish to confirm that we 100% support the efforts of both the paid employees and dedicated volunteers at the Granite Island Penguin Centre. We recognise their ongoing commitment to rehabilitate injured penguins and their attempt at a breeding program. We can assure you that, in our opinion, our cause is very much the same. Our plight to Save Granite Island’s penguins encompasses the complete picture, to ensure not only the nurturing of the current colony, but to ensure the longevity of the colony for years to come. We believe that this can only be achieved through research – to not only understand why the colony numbers have declined so significantly and rapidly over recent years, but to distinguish what makes Granite Island’s colony distinct from others, so that actions can be taken to maintain and grow the colony. An important part of this is lobbying the relevant government departments to ensure that appropriate funding is committed for research to be undertaken through to strategic action, and also to lobby for policy change, so that breeding programs can be further developed. We are in no means trying to mislead anyone and we support the efforts of the penguin centre to further develop themselves by fundraising for a new infrastructure – furthermore, we hope we can enhance the valuable work that they are already doing by bringing much needed political attention to the cause. More than just the environmental issues, we also recognise that Granite Island has long been a favoured tourist attraction of visitors to Victor Harbor and the penguins on Granite Island and penguin centre are a large part of that attraction. We want to ensure the longevity of both. We act with no malice and would be happy to have open dialogue with anyone who has any concerns otherwise. With regards to the image being questioned, we can honestly say that no copyright was deliberately infringed, as it was a photo given to us at the time of starting this page, if we are advised by the manager of Granite Island Penguin Centre that this is the case, we will endeavour to remove/change as soon as we can find an alternative from another source and we apologise if this has caused distress to anyone. At this stage, we would sincerely like to thank everyone who has supported and continues to support our cause to try and save the species of little penguins on Granite Island. Extinction is forever and we definitely do not want this to happen. To everyone who has signed and shared the petition to date, thank you again, and thank you in advance for doing everything you can to continue drawing attention to our cause. Here is the link again: change.org/en-AU/petitions/ian-hunter-mlc-south-australian-minister-for-sustainability-environment-and-conservation-1-initiate-a-breeding-program-of-local-little-penguins-and-2-introduce-a-management-plan-with-implemented-strategies-for-the-management-of-new-zealand-fur-seals-?share_id=mqaNYhqApr&utm_campaign=friend_inviter_chat&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=permissions_dialog_false We need government to support the existing infrastructure, to commit funding for research and to change policy to establish a sustainable way forward that will ensure the longevity of Granite Island’s little penguins for our children and grandchildren’s sake. Ian Hunter MLC, South Australian Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation: 1 -... change.org
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:57:59 +0000
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