Jamie, the last page of this has been to do just that so if you know where to familiarise ourselves with all of these reasons why not share rather than being condesending?
Your point abot PNG genetics is a good point.
I wasn't being condescending at all Gruni, just stating the bare facts. Firstly, the bureaucrats that manage the system as it is now, are not neutral in their stance (even though they perhaps should be) - they are not waiting around for reasons why things should be changed. They are part of an entrenched philosophy (which I might add I have worked in & around for the past 40 years), and as Wokka intimated, you'll need years and maybe a generational change before any review is even possible. The likelihood of that is remote - any bright spark with new and rash ideas of change will be quickly moved to an area where he/she can do little "damage" to the existing structures/protocols.
I'm not sure about the bird imports in recent days, but was closely associated with the parrot (mostly Macaw) imports in the early 90s. Imports then were (and probably still are) limited to species which were already in the country legally - I heard on this morning's news that a consignment of chickens from overseas, still in quarantine, will have to be destroyed because some of the are positive for Salmonella. Pigeons would be in the same boat, but are a species already deeply established in Oz. The processes involved in bringing in species which are not already LEGALLY in Australia (that's an important proviso), even for zoos and scientific institutions, is complicated and very time consuming, and follows complex arguments about the benefits to the country if it is allowed. In the case of pet reptiles - there is almost no benefit other than appeasing the squawks of keepers who want more than they already have, and there could indeed be some significant environmental risks, of which Australia already has a large number of examples. This extends way beyond vertebrate pests, and includes a range of insects and a large number of seemingly innocent garden plants which are taking over various parts of the country.
If importation of pet reptile species were allowed, it would NOT eliminate smuggling into the country, it would probably increase it, at least for a time, and it would be far more difficult to differentiate what was legally acquired and what was not. As things stand at the moment, ANY private individual with an exotic reptile (barring a few with special circumstances such as those licenced during the NSW amnesty) is holding it illegally, and the case for confiscation and possible prosecution is clear and easy to make. No jurisdiction in the country, Federal or State, will want to change that for the sake of a few reptile keepers.
Having said all that, I know that change is possible, having been fundamentally involved in the WA change to legal keeping of reptiles & frogs, from the late 1980s till it became law in 2003 - yes... it took that long...)! However, it was only possible because we gained POLITICAL support from both the Libs and the ALP, which remained even after a change of Government. The significant factor there was that WA was the outlier of all states & territories - the only one where it was still not possible to have reptile pets, so there was a good POLITICAL argument for bringing WA into line with the rest of the country, and in the end, reluctant bureaucrats were forced to capitulate to their political masters.
This is EXTREMELY unlikely to happen with exotic reptiles across the country... indeed, so unlikely as to not even be worth the effort of trying. There are too many cons...
I know this is off-topic re the OPs query...
Jamie
