Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Minister of Conservation): Last week, I announced Jobs for Nature funding for a two-year project aimed at reducing lead poisoning of the endangered kea, the world's only alpine parrot. Lead poisoning is a serious threat to this charismatic and cheeky mountain parrot, as it is attracted to the sweet-tasting but toxic metal commonly used in building materials prior to the 1990s, and the effects can be devastating. Kea are a taonga, an icon in the mountains of Te Waipounamu, but they are in trouble and need all the help we can give them to overcome threats like lead and predators.