Federal candidate joins clean-up

Liberal candidate for Robertson Ms Lucy Wicks joined Brisbane Water Secondary School students on Tuesday, June 18, to help clean up Brisbane Water foreshore as part of the Brisbane Water Foreshore Project.

The project was run by MacMasters Beach Surf Life Saving Club member Graham Johnston and saw volunteers remove rubbish and debris from the mangrove swamps on Pelican Island Nature Reserve opposite Woy Woy foreshore.

Local oyster growers and MacMasters Beach Surf Life Saving Club ferried volunteers over to the island, with the group collecting more than three tonnes of rubbish, including 1500 plastic bottles, 33 old car tyres, 1850 bits of plastic and a large number of old oyster trays.

"It's really alarming to see the amount of rubbish which gets washed up - a lot of which presents a major hazard to local wildlife like the pelicans," Ms Wicks said.

"That's why it's great to see local initiatives like this one getting in there and tackling the problem head on, utilising the goodwill that exists in the community to clean up our environment.

"It's through local initiatives like the Brisbane Water Foreshore Project that see real environmental results which is why the Liberal Party has plans to establish a 15,000 strong Green Army charged with the clean-up and conservation of our environment."

Mr Johnston said it was great that Ms Wicks came out to see firsthand the scale of the problem.

"From a distance the Brisbane Water foreshores look pristine and it's only until you get direct access to them via a boat that you see the amount of rubbish that has accumulated.

"That's why our work here is so important," Mr Johnston said.

Media release, 24 Jun 2013

Lucy Wicks, Liberal candidate for Robertson