Despite months and months of painstaking, tireless work by ASK, local volunteers and our legal team, and the investment of thousands and thousands of dollars in legal costs, donated by our members and supporters, unfortunately we were unable to suspend the five permits issued by the QLD Department of Environment and Heritage to kill 1660 Agile Wallabies and their joeys at Mission Beach Far North QLD. The judge rejected every one of our applications and grounds for review including the fact that the department issued permits for more than the estimated population of Agile wallabies at Mission Beach, despite the fact that the permits had the potential to exterminate the entire Cassowary Coast Agile wallaby population, despite the fact that wallaby proof fencing was a reasonable non lethal alternative to trial before lethal means were employed according to the legislation, but which wasn’t used before killing was authorised.

The judge also rejected our argument that two of the permits were issued to mitigate damage to pasture for cattle grazing yet these property owners did not have permits to graze cattle as it was world heritage protected land. We also argued that the permits put at risk the public’s fair and equitable access to nature, which according to the law must be taken into account, particularly because the wallabies serve a very important role as a tourist attraction at Mission Beach and the permits had the clear potential to wipe out this asset.

Instead the judge felt that because the department decision maker did not have any of this information in front of him at the time, that he was not expected to be aware of wallaby proof fencing, or the fact that two of the permit holders did not have permits to graze cattle, or that the wallaby population was at risk of extinction as a result of the permit despite the fact that he failed to conduct proper population counts, therefore he was not in breach of the law, despite the law stating that before a permit is issued, non lethal alternatives must be considered, the conservation of the species must be protected, and the associated precautionary principle must be considered, along with a long list of other legal considerations that must be made by the decision maker before he makes his decision and that we exposed in our legal application. The judge also rejected our application to not have costs awarded against us, instead ordering that we pay for all the legal costs of the Queensland Dept of Environment and Heritage. He was clearly not sympathetic to this cause in any way shape or form.

We would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in this landmark legal challenge against the Queensland government, particularly Ruth Hatten (BAWP) who did absolutely everything in her powers to help us with this case and save the wallabies, including securing the pro bono legal assistance of renowned Barrister Stephen Keim and Barrister Paul Smith. She also secured us Tracey Jackson paralegal from Couper Geyson. Tracey is truly one of the most hard working committed and caring lawyers we have ever known who truly has the interests of the animals in her heart at every step. These four people are truly legendary and we can never ever thank them enough for their dedication to this case and to justice in general. We feel truly honoured to have met and worked with them.

We must also thank David Pollard and Dan Ramp who, as our expert scientists committed hours and hours of work and writing without pay to help this case. These two incredible men are assets to this cause who have truly changed the path for our wildlife in Australia. We could not have even got this case off the ground if it wasn’t for their compassion and commitment. Thank you so much guys.

We would also like to dearly thank Tanya Jones, Robert and Sue Tidey, Bruce Smith and Mark and Sissy Vine, who without their brave contribution for their witness statements, we could not have launched this case at all. They are all truly incredible Mission Beach wildlife carers who are fighting for the lives of these precious wallabies at Mission Beach day after day in the face of unimaginable adversity and violence. They are the true heroes here and we thank them for everything they did to assist us in this case and for giving thousands of wallabies another chance at life at their wonderful shelters at Mission Beach.