Qld: Queensland tops for pest invasions

AAP General News (Australia)
08-13-2008
Qld: Queensland tops for pest invasions

By Steve Gray

BRISBANE, Aug 12 AAP - Queensland farmers need to be made aware that their state suffers
more pest invasions than other parts of the country, the horticulture body, Growcom, says.

Growcom chief advocate Mark Panitz said a review of Queensland's draft biosecurity
plan with government officials on Monday had been "pretty productive".

But farmers were unprepared for attacks by exotic pests, as seen in the citrus canker
outbreak around Emerald in 2004, he said.

"Queensland has historically had more pest incursions than other states, so it's absolutely
critical we get biosecurity in Queensland done properly," Mr Panitz said.

"Biosecurity incursions don't just affect farmers, but they have flow-on effects to
the communities in which there are problems.

The citrus canker outbreak cost the Emerald district millions of dollars, and had wider
effects including the removal of fruit trees from household blocks in town, he said.

"We need to make other industries that haven't had a biosecurity issue aware of the
importance of the issues and processes," Mr Panitz said.

"Before we had citrus canker, growers were relatively unaware and unprepared for the
calamities that occurred."

The workshop went through details of the draft plan, which covers improving Queensland's
emergency response and surveillance, management of established pests and diseases, and
identifying gaps in the state's biosecurity arrangements.

AAP stg/jl/bwl

KEYWORD: BIOSECURITY

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