New Plan to help save Swift Parrot

The Albanese Labor Government has today released a new Recovery Plan to boost the long-term survival of the critically endangered Swift Parrot.

Once found widely across eastern Australia, there are now only about 750 mature birds left in the wild.

The Plan will guide recovery work including improving and increasing breeding habitat in Tasmania and reducing the number of Sugar Gliders, a key predator, in breeding areas. 

Protection and recovery of the Swift Parrot requires the cooperation of state and local governments and support for on the ground work in local communities.

The Tasmanian and Queensland governments have signed onto the Plan. New South Wales and Victoria have been invited to join also.

The Albanese Government is investing more than $1.3 million in projects to support Swift Parrot recovery.

The Swift Parrot was listed as critically endangered in 2016 and is one of the 110 species prioritised under the Government’s Threatened Species Action Plan. 

Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP:  

“The Swift Parrot is one of just two migratory parrots in the world. They breed in Tasmania during the summer and then they fly across the Bass Strait during the winter. 

“While their rainbow feathers were once common across southeastern Australia, they are now critically endangered due to population decline. 

“This new Recovery Plan will help all governments protect and revive this iconic species.  It will help protect them from predators, support their habitats, and promote their future breeding”.