Graham Skroo Turner’s seven-year battle with state government over threatened wildlife permit approval

Graham Skroo Turner has slammed state government bureaucrats over delays in approving permits to help save threatened native wildlife fearing it will drive critically endangered animals to extinction.

Graham "Skroo" Turner has a wildlife centre out at Spicers Hidden Vale and for years the State Government has knocked back a permit to allow them to breed endangered species for catch and release. Picture: Josh Woning

One of Queensland’s richest men, Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner, has come out swinging against the Miles government over “disgraceful” delays in approving permits to help save threatened native wildlife at an award-winning Brisbane sanctuary he and his wife funded.

Speaking exclusively with the Sunday Mail, Mr Turner slammed bureaucrats he accused of “blocking this every step of the way for seven years” and helping drive critically endangered animals to extinction.

“It’s disgraceful - it’s almost like some public servants want these animals to become extinct,” he said.

The Flight Centre founder launched the extraordinary spray over what he said were “tremendously frustrating” delays in getting approvals to breed and release threatened species at the Hidden Vale Wildlife Centre at Grandchester near Ipswich.

He and wife Jude, through the Turner Family Foundation, set up the $18.5m centre near their Spicers Hidden Vale resort in collaboration with the University of Queensland.

Spicers Hidden Vale resort.

The facility was officially opened by then-Environment Minister and now Premier Steven Miles in 2017.

The centre, which includes a 4500ha nature reserve, won a Zoo and Aquarium Association Australia koala conservation award last year and is regarded as a leader in researching and breeding threatened species including rufous bettongs (small marsupials), long-nosed potoroos, bilbies and eastern bristlebirds.

But the Turners said captive breeding agreements the centre had to breed and release 30 threatened species were rescinded before it opened and they have been battling “red tape” ever since to get them back.

“It’s tremendously frustrating - the public service has been blocking this every step of the way for seven years,” Mr Turner said.

“We’re at a loss to understand the paralysis of the government to act on this crucial conservation issue

“It’s quite frankly baffling, given we have this purpose-built research facility which has been funded by significant contributions and resourced with industry-revered expertise.

“We’ve got the vets, we’ve got the experience and we’ve got the facility. It’s the perfect facility to breed and release but at every step of the way, the Queensland public service has stopped every move to do it. It’s honestly a disgrace.”

Graham "Skroo" Turner said the decision was a disgrace. Picture: Josh Woning

Mr Turner said he suspected there were “a few key public servants who just don’t like the idea of breeding native animals”.

“I think their attitude is, ‘look, if they can’t survive against cats and dogs and foxes, they don’t deserve to survive’,” he said.

“They seem to think that they should be able to survive in the wild, and that breed and release is an artificial thing. It’s a ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality.”

Mr Turner said it had reached the “farcical” stage where the wildlife centre was able to breed rufous bettongs for release in NSW but not Queensland.

He said he and his team had met with Premier Steven Miles and Environment Minister Leanne Linnard and while there had been some progress, “we still don’t have a captive breeding agreement”.

A Department of Environment and Science spokeswoman said officials had met with Mr Turner’s Hidden Vale team earlier this month to try to progress the centre’s captive breeding agreement application.

“The time frame for this process was mutually agreed,” she said.

“We are committed to progressing the assessment as soon as possible.”

Originally published as Graham Skroo Turner’s seven-year battle with state government over threatened wildlife permit approval