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Main Committee Green - Federal Parliament
Garrett urges Commonwealth action on cane toads
Turn 21 at 23/06/2005 11:10:00
Mr. GARRETT (Kingsford Smith) (11:10 am)
I rise to speak on a matter of great urgency, namely the relentless
march of cane toads across Australia. As the house would know, cane
toads can be found throughout eastern and northern Queensland, and
have move west to the river catchment areas around Kakadu National
Park. In New South Wales, cane toads have spread as far south as
Yamba on the northern New South Wales coast. They now cover an area
of some 500,000 square kilometres.
The female cane toad can lay up to 40,000 eggs a month, with up
to half of those expected to become tadpoles. I draw to the attention
of the House the fact that cane toads are now steadily advancing
towards Western Australia, which is the last part of the Northern
Australia yet to be infested by these noxious pests. According to
sightings this week, they are as close as 200 kilometres to the
Western Australian border. By next March cane toads could be in
the Ord river wetlands, by which time the precious Kimberley region
will be all but beyond saving. This special region faces an environmental,
social and economic crisis and, for this government and in this
financial year, it will happen on our watch.
Since first released in Queensland in 1935, cane toads have proved
to be extinction in motion. They have no predators. A toad kills
any native animal that tries to eat it or pick it up. In turn, it
eats whatever if can fit into its enormous mouth. It is an aggressive
competitor for habitat that forces other species into local extinction.
For 70 years, this poisonous menace has spread unchecked and, as
I have mentioned, has already infested Kakadu – one of our
great national parks – and is on the suburban outskirts of
Darwin.
The precious biodiversity of the Kimberley region is now in peril.
One of Australia’s most significant bioregions, with hugely
important cultural and natural values, is under siege from the cane
toad. An infestation will result in the regional extinction of species
such as monitors, freshwater crocodiles and native frogs –
all integral to the environment of this region. Because of the immediate
extinctions, the Kimberley economy itself is at grave risk –
particularly its outstanding nature and culture based tourism operations,
which rely on a toad free-free habitat for their distinctive point
of difference from the rest of tropical Australia. This will cost
people their jobs. It will impact on rural townships finding their
feet after September 11 and the collapse of Ansett.
Rapid extinctions will have a cruel social cost. Indigenous communities,
who depend on native species for their cultural and spiritual wellbeing,
will be left with nothing. After every indignity that Aboriginal
people in Northern and Western Australia have endured and suffered,
the loss of bush tucker on their hard-won native lands promises
to be yet another cruel dispossession. The local Miriuwung-Gajerrong
people have cried out for help. They are committed to joining there
fellow citizens in fighting off this menace. I draw to the House’s
attention the bipartisan community action involving two state governments
– the Northern territory state government and the Western
Australian state government – and several NGOs, that has been
undertaken to prevent the toad from entering Western Australia.
This is an issue beyond race or class or politics or man-made borders;
it is an issue of the moment.
In August last year the environment minister, Senator Campbell,
committed the federal government to match the Western Australian
government dollar for dollar in its Kimberley cane toad initiative.
The Western Australian government has earmarked $1.5 million and
the Northern Territory government $1.4 million. Non-government organization
Stop the Toad Foundation has set itself the goal of raising $1.5
million for a groundbreaking trapping campaign in the Victoria region
of the Northern Territory to stop the toad in its tracks. I call
upon the minister and the government to make good its promise to
match state moneys and to join the efforts of two state governments
and their communities to halt the westward spread of the cane toad
while there is still time. Failure by this government to support
the actions now will have irreversible consequences. The community
is ready to act, the state governments are ready to act. I strongly
urge the federal environment minister and this government to commit
the necessary funds to halt the cane toad and to protect the Kimberley
region.
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