A MEETING between local and state government officials to resolve Mount Isa's ongoing bat problems has resulted in more finger-pointing and buckpassing.
A senior Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) official recently met with city councillors, affected groups and Member for Mount Isa Betty Kiernan, but attendees could not agree on who would take the initiative to resolve the issue.
Mount Isa Mayor John Molony said the responsibility should not fall with council.
"Why can't Parks and Wildlife care for them (bats), like they do crocodiles?" Mr Molony asked.
"It's just another impost on council.
"Why the devolution of responsibility?"
Cr Molony said council staff were too busy with other tasks to deal with the bat problem.
"Council resources are limited for this," he said.
QPWS senior director of conservation and planning Clive Cook said other towns in Queensland had successfully applied to the Department of Resource Management (DERM) for permission to move bats on.
Mount Isa City Council applied for such a permit in August, but the application was knocked back, as it failed to identify an alternative location for the bats to roost.
"The applications and the to-ing and fro-ing with you guys (Mount Isa City Council) has been a bit fraught," Mr Cook said.
"We're not asking council to do the impossible," he said.
Mr Cook rejected suggestions DERM assume greater responsibility for the issue.
"DERM and Queensland Parks and Wildlife are not the department of moving flying foxes."
Mr Cook said the animals would leave of their own volition within the next two to three weeks as part of their migration cycle, but would return next year unless council was able to submit to DERM an appropriate damage mitigation plan.
Member for Mount Isa Betty Kiernan suggested Southern Gulf Catchments be called upon to assist with the process.
"They run a whole lot of programs across a lot of areas and they do it very successfully," Cr Kiernan said.
Cr Molony agreed, but was less diplomatic.
"Why can't Southern Gulf Catchments do it?" he asked.
"They don't do anything else; they clean their fingernails, they comb their eyebrows."
Southern Gulf Catchments chief executive officer Don Pollock said the group had not yet been approached for the involvement.
He said the group had never dealt with bats before.
"We could consider the matter only when we have the appropriate resources to do it," Mr Pollock said.
"If we were to do it, it would be in conjunction with and under the direction of state and local governments," he said.
Mrs Kiernan ended the meeting by saying she was confident a solution could be reached by the end of January.
Email a friend