Doorstop interview at Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria with Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek

SUBJECTS: Recovery Plan for Leadbeater's Possum.

ROSS WILLIAMSON, HEALESVILLE SANCTUARY DIRECTOR: Minister Plibersek. Welcome, everybody. Wominjeka. I'd like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners, the Traditional Custodians of the land in which we're meeting today, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. And to pay my respects to their elders, past and present, and express my hopes for the elders to come. But, Minister, welcome to Healesville Sanctuary. It's a very auspicious day and it's a pleasure to have you here.

TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: It's such a pleasure to be here at Healesville Sanctuary today, and I want to thank Ross and the team here for the great welcome they've given us. Today is a really exciting day and a day that many Victorian environmentalists have been waiting for and working towards for many years. Today we're announcing the recovery plan for Leadbeater's Possum. This is a critically endangered species. It is the faunal emblem of Victoria, and we know that this species has been under enormous pressure for many, many years. Of course, because of logging but also because of the shocking fires that Victoria has experienced. And, of course, climate change also impacts this species. Today's a very exciting day because it is a step forward with the Commonwealth Government and the Victorian Government committing to work together for the recovery of this adorable species. Leadbeater's possums are tiny. They weigh about as much as an apple. They're 40 centimetres in total, and that includes a tail of about 20 centimetres. And they were thought extinct at one time. This is a species really being brought back from the brink of extinction using science, conservation, many, many volunteer hours, and, of course, now, with support from both the Commonwealth and the Victorian Government to support those efforts. I think that's pretty much it.

JOURNALIST: Do you mind just speaking briefly about the $360,000?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Sure. Along with the announcement of the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments signing on to this recovery strategy, I'm delighted to announce a $360,000 contribution from the Commonwealth Government towards those conservation efforts. That $360,000 will do important things like extend the nesting box program for this species. We know that one of the real threats to the species is the loss of hollow bearing trees through forestry, through fires, through land clearing and so on. So, by providing nesting boxes we give this species an opportunity to breed and to - very importantly breed in the wild, which is obviously what we want to see longer term.

And the money will also investigate opportunities for translocating the species into areas where they previously roamed but no longer do. We obviously want to expand the range of the species into areas where they've previously existed. One of the important things to do, of course, is make sure that groups of Leadbeater's Possums are able to interbreed as well. We don't want to see the continued genetic intermingling of species only within their family groups. So, by expanding their range and making sure that we have different communities of possums breeding together, we give them the best chance of surviving and thriving in the future.