2017-09-28
Greens MLC to open State dieback conference
Media Release
Greens South-West MLC Diane Evers will open a Statewide conference in Perth tomorrow (Fri 29/9/2017) on the urgent need to stop the spread of Phytophthora Dieback across southern WA.
Phytophthora cinnamomi is a plant pathogen introduced by early European settlers that lives in soil and in plant tissue and is spread through infected soil and mud, especially on vehicles and footwear. Affected plants die because they can’t take up water and nutrients.
“More than one million hectares of native bushland between Jurian and Esperance is now infected with Phytophthora dieback, with banksias, jarrah and grass trees among the worst-affected species – that’s an area 500 times the size of Rottnest,” said Ms Evers, who is the WA Greens’ Forests and Agriculture Spokesperson.
“The fungus also affects agricultural crops and garden plants. With more than 40 per cent of WA native plants susceptible to this disease, Phytophthora dieback poses a genuinely frightening prospect for our State and the South-West in particular, where many susceptible plants live. The cost of not controlling its spread includes losing ecosystems on which nature tourism depends, risks to the horticultural industries and plant nurseries and increased management costs to control it in new areas.
“Throughout much of the year, there is a risk of people inadvertently spreading dieback into new areas.
“However, about 20 years of research and community work has created a lot of knowledge about how to stop dieback spreading, and even eliminate it in small areas.
“The Greens are calling for the Government to build on this work and ensure that there is a well-coordinated landscape-scale response now, with adequate investment.
“Whether its trials with phosphate, better vehicle wash down practices, boot cleaning stations including signage in Mandarin or other languages to cater for our international tourists, general community awareness and better dieback practices by industries such as logging and mining, there are still many ways by which we can control this disease and save our wilderness areas that remain dieback-free.”
The all-day conference is organised by the Dieback Working Group and will hear from academia, community groups, the mining industry, natural resource managers and the State Government.
Conference website: https://www.dwg.org.au/dig-conference