On The Land
16 December, 2021
Joint taskforce to tackle weed issue
A JOINT taskforce has been established between Mareeba Shire Council and Tablelands Regional Council to survey and treat pond apple and Siam weed along Rocky Creek near the shared boundary.
Plants were found and treated in the area and Mareeba Shire is hopeful the outbreak has not established into the Barron River.
“Land protection generally takes on some form of partnership, whether that is with neighbouring local government authorities, residents or traditional owner groups, we are seeing more and more evidence that working together results in much greater outcomes for the land,” Mareeba Mayor Angela Toppin said.
“Weed management and land protection are critically important to this council and we are deeply concerned by the presence of Amazonian Frogbit in local catchments and will continue to advocate to the State Government to take drastic action to address this issue.’
Amazonian Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) was declared a local pest under council’s local laws following an emergency declaration made by Mareeba Shire Council in February 2021.
Following the declaration, councillors have continued to lobby the State and Federal Governments to have the weed recognised as an invasive plant.
Council recently wrote to the Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs, Meaghan Scanlon, seeking further assistance to have the pest declared by Queensland Parliament as an invasive plant and to request funding to assist council in its eff orts in containing the weed.
Mareeba Shire Council spends $20,000 annually in a bid to contain and monitor the fast-growing pest which will have a catastrophic impact on local waterways.
“Despite eff orts of council, Amazonian Frogbit is now increasingly evident in Chinaman Creek, Atherton Creek, Granite Creek and the Barron River,” Mayor Toppin added.
