A GHOST of political battles past has returned to haunt Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, but it's not Tony Windsor, nor is it Malcolm Turnbull; it is in fact the rare Booroolong frog.
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Mr Joyce's history with the amphibious creature stretches back nearly a decade, when it contributed to a two-year delay of the $43 million Chaffey Dam expansion, because the project would impact its habitat.
The Member for New England declared it was 'green tape' gone mad and intervened to push ahead with the project. Then in January 2020, the frog was declared locally extinct.
Fortunately, the critically endangered critter has now found a happy home at Sydney's Taronga Zoo where a purpose-built breeding habitat has been created, and Mr Joyce said he was happy to see it live on.
"The Booroolong frog lives on, despite us building Chaffey Dam, despite the statements of its imminent demise, it's still there," he said.
While researchers had stated they could only find two frogs in the Peel River above Chaffey Dam in 2020, down from the more than 2300 they had identified in 2013, Mr Joyce denies they are locally extinct.
In fact, he went as far as to say he actively goes looking for them in his spare time, and regularly spots them - although would not reveal where.
"I'm not going to say where, but I've seen quite a few Booroolong frogs in quite a few places," he said.
"I get a fascination with flora and fauna and as odd as it is... I actually do go looking for Booroolong frogs, and I do find them, and that's why I'm so skeptical at times."
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