Five State Government agencies have joined forces to improve the management of pest plants and animals on 10.8 million hectares of State land in Queensland. All government agencies in Queensland have an obligation under the Rural Lands Protection Act 1985 to control declared plants and animals on land under their control, DNR Land Protection project manager Jim Willmott said. In an effort to step up the way against pests, the five State Government Departments with the largest land areas to manage are participating in the State Land Pest Management Project. These departments collectively manage 10.8 million hectares of State land, including land of significant economic, cultural and conservation value.
Declared pests place a large burden on the community in the form of control costs.
They also reduce productivity, threaten environmentally significant areas, contribute to land degradation and impact on health, recreational use and social amenity. It is essential Government agencies remain responsive to industry, community and local government concerns about the presence of declared pests on state-owned land. Mr Willmott said the project aimed to establish a planning framework for better use of on-ground resources to control pests such as parthenium weed, feral pigs, prickly acacia and lantana. A series of trials of the project are being conducted in Calliope Shire, Kuranda township, Dalrymple Shire, and south east Queensland.