Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times

Pest Management

I RECENTLY sat on the panel for the community input workshops for the new Sunshine Coast Regional Councils first “Pest Management Plan”, that is in its planning phase at present.

It’s great to see all levels of government, business, academia industry and community of course, coming together to discuss the issue of pest management. This regional plan will provide the framework which oversees pest management at a local level in the Sunshine Coast region.

Pest management plans are required by state legislation for local government areas, to ensure that we are all making some sort of effort to control our pests. The plan defines the pests i.e. what invasive weeds, feral animals, insects etc… threaten our economic, domestic and recreational wellbeing.

If the pests are declared pests under state legislation – they must be managed as per the requirements of this legislation (a handy little fact sheet which summarises and outlines the weeds and their management is available by searching for “declared plants of Queensland” on the internet – I’d provide you with the link, but that would literally use up my word count for the rest of this article!).

Pest management plans also enforce the control requirements for the state declared pests and any others that are seen to be locally significant, which of course extends to you – if you have declared pests on your block!

I hope that the above hasn’t made you too comatose, but if you are a landowner then this is very relevant. To my mind it doesn’t matter how much legislation, management plants and experienced pest management professionals we have, if the knowledge of pest management doesn’t trickle down to the landowners themselves, who actually have the pests on their block, we still have a problem.

If the first thing you know about pest management is when you get a letter from Council stating you have a class 2 weed such as groundsel (pictured) on your block and that it must be controlled – we all have a problem!

One of the greatest hurdles I think we face in pest management is the focus on the pests themselves, (which don’t get me wrong, pests do need control!). However in my usual role as devil’s advocate, I’d offer the perspective that pests that are running rampant are often merely the symptoms of poor, bad or at least inadequate land management.

This is in no way a criticism of rural land owners and managers, who are often most knowledgeable and passionate about pest management on their land. The gaps in land management often fall at the feet of recent arrivals with no background in land management, and not surprisingly the vast estate of under resourced crown lands such as roadsides.

As always we could best address pest management by supporting sustainable rural industries and residents, educating and empowering residential landholders, managing roadside weeds and properly resourcing natural area land managers.

Do your bit and educate yourself about your land and the “pests” that might call it home – check out your local council website for more information.

Ph 0428 130 769
spencer.shaw@brushturkey.com.au
www.brushturkey.com.au