Page 576 - Week 02 - Thursday, 24 March 2022
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That this Assembly:
(1) notes:
(a) in June 2020, Minister Gentleman (the then Minister for the Environment) was approached by representatives from Geoscience Australia, the Australian Marine Sciences Association, and the Geological Society of Australia (ACT Division) proposing the adoption of a fossil emblem for the ACT;
(b) Minister Gentleman endorsed the proposal put forward;
(c) during September and October 2020, the public voted on five expertly selected fossils relevant to the ACT. A total of 1135 votes were cast;
(d) on 21 October 2020, Minister Gentleman announced the trilobite Batocara mitchelli as the winner of the public selection process;
(e) fossil emblems have been adopted in Western Australia, New South Wales and South Australia, with Victoria set to ratify a fossil emblem following a public vote; and
(f) a fossil emblem will complement the existing suite of Territory emblems including the Royal Bluebell (floral), Southern Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby (mammal) and the Gang-Gang Cockatoo (faunal) in representing the ACT’s rich and diverse natural values;
(2) agrees to refer consideration of the adoption of an ACT fossil emblem to the Standing Committee on Environment, Climate Change and Biodiversity; and
(3) calls on the Standing Committee on Environment, Climate Change and Biodiversity to inquire and report on the adoption of a fossil emblem, with due regard to the publicly voted fossil emblem, trilobite Batocara mitchelli.
I am pleased to table a motion for consideration of a fossil emblem for the ACT. Fossil emblems are a relatively new concept. In Australia, they have been adopted by Western Australia, New South Wales and South Australia, with Victoria soon to follow suit. They join the ranks of other natural history emblems such as the floral, faunal and mammal emblems which have been adopted by all Australian states and territories.
The ACT has a diversity of natural history values. Should the ACT government decide to adopt a fossil emblem, it will complement our existing natural history emblems: the gang-gang cockatoo, our faunal emblem; the royal bluebell, our floral emblem; and the southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby, our mammal emblem.
Generally, fossil emblems are chosen to capture the public’s imagination and encourage the community to learn more about the planet and their environment. Fossils show how the earth, its flora and fauna have changed considerably over the evolutionary time frame. Fossil emblems, much like our other emblems, try to capture something unique about our local context. They have particular appeal to members of the community with an interest in our regional geological history and our geodiversity.
In the latter half of 2020, Geoscience Australia, the Geological Society of Australia and the Australian Marine Sciences Association, with the endorsement of the ACT
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