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ABC NewsOnline
Petition urges WA Govt to get the jump on cane toads
Wednesday, 18 May 2005. 04:43 (AWST)
A petition calling on the Western Australian Government to do
more to stop the invasion of cane toads across the border will be
tabled in state Parliament today.
Hundreds of people from Kununurra to Port Hedland have signed the
petition.
It is expected to be the first to be reviewed by the new petition
committee.
Greens Member for Mining and Pastoral, Robin Chapple, says he is
confident the committee will recommend an inquiry be set up to investigate
how to stop the invasion of cane toads.
"Here we actually will be hoping that the parliamentary committee
will come up with a set of recommendations, which they can take
to Government, so the Government can be a bit more pro-active than
they have been," Mr Chapple said.
Mr Chapple is expecting several hundreds, if not thousands, more
people to sign a petition still circulating in the region.
Meanwhile, campaigners highlighting the threat posed by cane toads
will take their fight to a forum in Perth next month.
The event, being organised by the conservation council and the
University of Western Australia, aims to highlight the fact that
the toads are now close to the Northern Territory-Western Australian
border.
The university's Andrew Storey says a similar event was held in
the Kimberley town of Kununurra in March, but few of the invited
politicians turned up.
He says campaigners hope to boost funding for cane toad control
by taking the problem to the metropolitan area.
"That's really to bring it home to the local politicians
and also to the Perth population that it's not just a Kimberley
issue...once they're into the Kimberley...well, where are they stopping?"
he said.
"The climate modelling shows that the toads will be quite
happy in Perth backyards and do we really want that?"
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