Professor Tasman Crowe:

It is tricky. That struck me as well. Even in our current situation, I have had these conversations with people who asked exactly that question as to who do they call. Some people have tried calling several different numbers and have got various different answers. The idea of a kind of biodiversity hotline would not be too far wide of the mark, that there is someone at the end of the line who knows how to connect a person depending on what the concern is. We are faced with the challenge that there is a diversity of interests in biodiversity and the environment. Those interests and authorities that reside in different Departments are not easily dislodged or undermined and reasonably so, I suppose. The joined-up thinking piece is a real challenge. Everyone would like to see a more coherent, clear-cut and transparent process for driving and making decisions in this space but realistically, it is quite a difficult thing to make happen. That aspiration has come up in every forum that I have ever been involved with. I can see it is a challenge so I agree it is an area to try to work on. I read through that with some care as well and it looks like a fix for that sort of situation.