A division of the Liberal Party of Australia
OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL WEED DETECTION PROJECT
24 March, 2006
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Thank you Dr Mcfadyen and Dr Gordon Guymer Director of the Queensland Herbarium and other distinguished guests here today.
It’s interesting to look around the hall today and see many learned and distinguished people here who can play a real part in the fight against weeds in Australia. And I particularly acknowledge Cr Dave Mather from the Townsville City Council, Cr Pierina Dallecort from the Burdekin Shire Council, my notes say Cr Deanne Bell from the Thuringowa City Council but I’m not sure that I can see Deanne here, but as well as that a lot of people involved in science and involved in the fight against weeds in the north. It’s great to see you all here participating in this very special project.
I also acknowledge Jessica Weber, one of the candidates in the state election who has come along to understand, like the rest of us, just how important it is to identify and do something about the weeds that we bring into our gardens but then let escape where they cause great damage to our country.
Regrettably it’s not often thought about, but it is very real. These pests or series of pests have a huge negative impact on Australia’s quite unique, quite special biodiversity. And as well as destroying our very special Australian biodiversity they also have an economic cost to our country. Something like $4 billion annually is lost to the nation in the fight against weeds and on lost production in our farming communities. So this is a very, very important project. Unfortunately not often do our fellow Australians understand and give it the emphasis that’s needed.
But today we take another step forward in the fight against the weed menace.
A group of very dedicated people have been fighting this invasion for some years now and as I say, it is a delight for me to be with Rachel and her team in launching this project today.
Rachael lives, breathes and I suspect almost eats weeds. When I was the Minister in this area we had a little altercation at one stage about the slowness that the Department, the Commonwealth Government Department, about the time the Department was taking in assessing which seeds could be brought into Australia. Rachael made a pest of herself, which she’s very good at doing when she needs to achieve something and she jumped up and down and encouraged others to do the same and as a result of that the bureaucrats found it wasn’t quite so hard to do the work and that project of identifying which seeds could be banned from coming into Australia did get a real boost.
I don’t think it’s quite finished yet but certainly it’s much further advanced than it would have been if Dr McFadyen hadn’t really made a point about that procrastination and I thank her for doing that.
I do want to congratulate the CRC for their involvement and leadership. The team at the CRC includes all of those, the board members, the researchers, the scientists and the coordinators who have played a part. Congratulations on your involvement and your leadership.
Through this National Weed Detection Project many other groups and individuals are being drawn into the fight with training and support.
Unfortunately, increasing international trade, human movement around the globe and our continuing desire for new ornamental plants, places Australia at some significant risk of new plant invasions.
As Dr McFadyen has said, prevention is always better than a cure and is certainly the most effective and cheapest way of controlling the growing threat posed by invasive plant species.
This does require, I think, a new approach, that provides for early detection of high risk, emerging and sleeper, invasive plant species. That’s where this National Weed Detection Project, which we are launching today, comes into play.
Through the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust, the national weeds detection project has been funded for 3 years for $138,000.
State Governments have also provided in kind and other support to the programme.
Locally both the Townsville City Council and the Thuringowa City Council have been active and their "weed spotters" have already had some early successes.
But we do need more and more people involved in the fight.
Already
• The weed spotters network has 142 people registered
• 94 of those are trained in weed collection techniques
• 18 people are trained in Weed recognition
• Seven Weed Collection training sessions have been held in Rockhampton and Townsville
• One Weed Recognition training session has been held in Rockhampton
• 14 local community groups are involved
• 12 local governments involved and it’s good as I say to see Local Governments represented here
• 5 State Government Departments that Dr McFadyen mentioned and
• above all of that there is a increased awareness of priority and alert weeds through the Weed Spotter Network newsletter which some 279 people receive in Queensland
There are many organisations represented here today and I notice Bob Fraser from the Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM Body. It will also be involved in the fight against weeds and in identifying and doing something about them.
Our weed spotters have collected some 20 weed specimens which are going to be incorporated into the Queensland Herbarium collection and by way of official launch of the National Weed Detection Project today, I am going to hand over to Dr Gordon Guymer, who as I mentioned is the Director of the Queensland Herbarium a bundle of these 20 weed specimens that have been collected by weed spotters throughout the country, including the Townsville and Thuringowa City Councils and the Queensland parks and wildlife organisation.
You have Ladies and Gentlemen, heard from Dr Mcfadyen, and Dr Guymer will follow me, highlighting the task at hand and the importance of a coordinated national approach firstly to weed detection, identification and ultimately, I am optimistic enough to hope, eradication of these weeds.
These two very learned speakers, Dr Mcfadyen and Dr Guymer, will be precise and accurate in the technical and administrative explanations of what happens. All I want to do today, with my lack of technical knowledge, is to add my voice in a layman’s way to identifying the problem and urging the mobilisation of the goodwill of the Australian public, to help in this very important battle.
I think it involves all of us, no matter where we stand in society, no matter what technical or lack of technical knowledge we have. We do need to involve ourselves and involve others in trying to identify weeds, reporting them to the appropriate authorities so we can make a further attack on what is really a very significant national problem.
And so with the presentation of these 20 weed specimens, I officially launch the National Weed Detection Project and I’ll hand these to Dr Guymer and ask him to address you.