The myth of the alien cockatoos

A 1788 painting of a sulphur crested cockatoo by John Hunter

One of the arguments repeatedly trotted out by the proponents of sulphur crested cockatoo culls in the last year has been that it’s ok to kill these birds because they’re not native to the Sydney region. 

The argument goes that sulphur crested cockatoos were never found east of the great dividing range prior to European invasion, when changes in land use and possible deliberate introduction made them go from absent to thriving.

More than a sniff of trouble

Living near Redfern railway station I’m all too aware of how ubiquitous police sniffer dogs have become on our public transport network in recent years.  NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge has obtained figures on the limited effectiveness of this invasive means of law enforcement, and has written an article for the ABC’s online opinion page The Drum – http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3728678.html.  I highly recommend it to anyone concerned about civil liberties or the direction of the past and present state government’s “tough on crime” attitude.