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  4. 14 November 2000

Locust Plague Control

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About this Item
SpeakersAmery Mr Richard; Slack-Smith Mr Ian; Black Mr Peter
BusinessMatter of Public Importance


    LOCUST PLAGUE CONTROL
Page: 9833
    Matter of Public Importance

    Mr AMERY (Mount Druitt—Minister for Agriculture, and Minister for Land and Water Conservation) [4.50 p.m.]: I bring to the attention of the House as a matter of public importance the control and management of locusts in the far west and Riverina regions of New South Wales. Farmers in New South Wales and in other States are currently facing a locust plague. Some weeks ago I referred to what was considered to be potentially the worst locust plague that this State has seen in 25 years. Honourable members might be aware that today I announced the drought figures for New South Wales, which remain the same at about 6 per cent. However, figures for the marginal areas of New South Wales have considerably improved. In making that announcement, I highlighted the fact that the potential locust plague is still an issue of concern to people in rural areas. Whilst there have been some improvements in the climatic conditions of this State I am still issuing warnings to farmers and primary producers throughout the regions, particularly in the far western parts of New South Wales, about this potential locust plague.

    I would now like to give a further report on this issue, which is closely monitored by the New South Wales Department of Agriculture, the rural lands protection boards and the Australian Plague Locust Commission. Land-holders, of course, stand to lose the most from locust plagues. Land-holders in this State have played a valuable role in reporting the extent of the problem to the 48 rural lands protection boards in New South Wales and in carrying out control operations on their properties. I believe they deserve the recognition of the House for the work that they are doing not only in co-operation with the Plague Locust Commission and New South Wales Agriculture but also the rural lands protections boards. This State is ahead of all other States in its control of locusts. Land-holders can also access the bigger picture of what is happening in other districts by logging onto the New South Wales Agriculture web site, which is continually updated as a result of ever-growing concerns about the movement of plague locusts.

    New South Wales Agriculture staff have contributed to a Meat and Livestock Australia leaflet on plague locust control for livestock producers and they have reviewed the "Locust Control Manual" and a leaflet entitled "Landholders Control of Plague Locusts in NSW". That control operation has been progressing extremely well. Following a burst of warm weather in the west, heavy hatchings of plague locusts have been reported in a wide area stretching from north of Broken Hill, south to Wentworth and east to Hillston. Hatchings have also been reported from South Australia and Victoria. Fortunately, cool conditions with numerous weather changes bringing significant rainfall have delayed the development of plague locust nymphs in the southern half of the Western Division and the Riverina.

    There are large populations of locust nymphs in these areas which will be dispersed and masked by heavy vegetation. This is making the task of aerial surveys and control very difficult. North of Broken Hill early hatchings have now fledged and aerial control of some flying swarms has commenced. Further north around Tibooburra the dry conditions have delayed hatchings and have caused the nymph populations to die, reducing the risk of further swarms in thoese areas. Significant rainfall over the next few weeks would rapidly change that situation and result in a large number of hatchings. Control spraying of nymph bands commenced north of Broken Hill on 27 September and has moved progressively south to the Wentworth area where band spraying commenced on 3 November.

    Wet, overcast weather has delayed control in all thoese areas. The major insecticides used are fenitrothion and fipronil. Sufficient quantities of these insecticides are available for the remaining control operations. The rural lands protection boards play a vital role in co-ordinating the supply of these chemicals to land-holders. A total of 17,702 litres has been aerially applied to 913 square kilometres to control nymph bands. A total of 1,021 litres has been used to control over 43 square kilometres. The other insecticide being used is the most exciting development resulting from the locust plague. Green Guard is the commercial product of the biological control agent metarhizium. To date 411 litres of Green Guard has been used over 93 square kilometres in environmentally sensitive areas. These include organic farms, national parks and locus infestations near water bodies. This is the first time that Ggreen Gguard has been used in the control operations.

    The development of this biological control agent is extremely promising and deserves a brief mention. It was developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Australian Plague Locust Commission, the Tablelands Wingless Grasshopper Committee—it is difficult to become a member of that committee!—the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, New South Wales Agriculture and the New South Wales Rural Lands Protection Boards, and was funded through the noxious insects levy. It was developed from a naturally occurring fungus found on spur-throated locusts. Those involved in the control operations have been taking advantage of the best possible knowledge to maximise the locust kill and minimise the amount of chemical used.

    Accordingly, locusts have been sprayed in what was called the third instar stage, which usually occurs three weeks after hatching. This is when the insect has shed its outer shell and increases in size for the third time. The control of flying locust swarms prior to migration is more difficult but it can occur in extensive grazing areas. With the organic farming industry on the rise in recent years and a corresponding demand for biological control rather than pesticides, the development of Green Guard has been most timely. Discussions have been held with organic grower organisations to develop suitable protocols to maintain organic accreditation and reduce the risk of large populations in these areas by the use of Green Guard. In 1998 New South Wales Agriculture and the Australian Plague Locust Commission demonstrated that this was the case. Training of New South Wales Agriculture and rural lands protection board staff has been a high priority, with more than 80 officers attending workshops on locust control at Cobar, Nyngan Dubbo and Wagga Wagga.

    Despite the control operations progressing well, and despite land-holders reporting locust activity in a timely way, the extent of damage that will be caused depends largely on factors beyond human control, mainly the weather. Climatic conditions will determine how many millions of dollars worth of damage to crops and pastures the land-holders of New South Wales will sustain. Unfortunately, in recent days, some parts of the State have had to delay harvesting crops due to rain. This, of course, brings with it the possibility that grain will be downgraded. Rain also improves pasture conditions for locusts which in turn leads to increased locust survival and development. Those locust eggs that have so far been waiting for more moisture to bring on the hatching process may also be stirred into action through these rains. So while we can be satisfied that everything that can be done is being done to control the locust problem land-holders and authorities still have a lot of work to do.

    Land-holders in New South Wales can be assured that the State rural lands protection board system, in conjunction with New South Wales Agriculture and the Australian Plague Locust Commission, is proving to be the best possible system to deal with this locust problem. I understand that the honourable member for Murray-Darling will contribute to debate on this matter of public importance and talk about some of the concerns that have been expressed by farmers in many of the places to which I referred earlier. This locust plague is greatly affecting his electorate. I understand that he has been lobbied by a number of people in his electorate who have brought to his attention growing evidence of this locust plague.

    When I spoke in this House some time ago I said that it was feared that this would be the worst locust plague that we have seen in 20 years, and possibly the worst locust plague in the history of this country. However, that has not yet occurred. But there now appears to be a growing concern not only in this State but in other States that this locust plague will result in millions of dollars worth of damage to our agricultural industries. With that in mind I urge honourable members to lend their support to this matter of public importance. I ask all honourable members, particularly those representing country electorates, to work with country communities to ensure that everything that can be done is done to assist farmers in this difficult time.

    Mr SLACK-SMITH (Barwon) [4.59 p.m.]: This side of the House supports this matter of public importance, in particular the control of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera. Australia has three locusts that cause damage: the Australian plague locust, the migratory locust and the spur-throated locust. The spur-throated locust is found mainly in the northern part of New South Wales and Queensland. The only thing we can say about the program to combat the Australian plague locust is so far so good. The worst is yet to come. The co-operation between the Australian Plague Locust Commission, the Department of Agriculture, the rural lands protection boards and the land-holders who, as the Minister said, have the most at stake, has been commendable. There is no way in the world the locusts can be controlled except through the vigilance of the land-holder. There is only one time that locusts can be controlled, and that is when they are on the ground. Once they take to the air it is impossible to control them. That is why the vigilance of the land-holders and the rural lands protection boards is necessary to ensure the nymphs are spotted before they take to the air.

    Green Guard, metarhiyium, is a very exciting concept and an exciting chemical. This is another one for the CSIRO. The CSIRO, since its inception a long time ago, has done some great things for agriculture, with the number of developments and scientific tools it has been able to create. This is just another one of them. It will be a very sad day when the CSIRO ceases to exist. The main worry about the CSIRO is the big one of funding. This chemical is another example of the fine work it does, and it should be commended for it. The old product, fenitrothian, has been around for about 20 years and is also a very good product. It has worked very well on the three types of locust we have in Australia. As well as pressure from organic farmers and land-holders, Australia is always facing problems from customers overseas, and if we can dispel what are mostly myths about chemical residues and chemical applications that will go well for our foreign trade for years to come.

    As the Minister said, the biggest problem is in the Hillston, Wentworth, Broken Hill and Kilgerry areas. They are the pressure areas now. Tibooburra is still dry, and with any luck it will remain fine up there and the locusts will have a delayed hatching. If that is the case, a further concentration can be placed on that area at a later time. When there are predictions of plague locust outbreaks it is very iffy, because quite often mother nature takes a hand and whatever one thinks is going to happen does not happen. That is why the Australian Plague Locust Commission has come into being, to continually monitor the conditions and egg laying in all areas of Australia. This is necessary, because if these locusts get out of control completely they can cause hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage not only to the grazing industry but to horticulture as well. That will affect production, which affects our exports and the wealth of Australia. So the money we are now pouring into this plague locust control in the west and south-west of New South Wales is money well spent. I do not believe anyone can begrudge the Government spending what in real terms is not a lot of money in preserving our very vital export industries in New South Wales.

    The weather is very tricky. As I speak there is rain in a lot of areas. That is going to create more hatchings because the ground gets moist and soft, and the biggest problem we will have is observing the locusts when they hatch because of the ground cover. It is easy to spot grasshoppers when the country is bare, but when there is grass cover one can virtually drive over the top of them and not see them. They are tricky little devils. I sincerely hope with the surveillance that the land-holders are completely committed to and with the rural lands protection boards working with the land-holders in smaller areas to make sure that every outbreak is reported we can eliminate the hatchings. Of course, if the ground is inaccessible, it is a good feeling to know one has aerial support as well. One aeroplane with the products we are using today can cover a huge area. Also, with the technology of global positioning system mapping an area can be pinpointed with one-square-metre accuracy, and the efficiencies of having this technology available now, which was not available 10 years ago, makes this eradication program a little bit more successful.

    I sincerely hope that the land-holders, the rural lands protection boards and the Department of Agriculture, who have been working very hard and doing a great job with this particular problem, along with the Australian Plague Locust Commission, get on top of this problem. We do not want to see any more of this devastation. We have seen enough devastation in the past week or so with the wheat crops in the north and the cotton season has started off very badly due to the inclement weather, particularly with black root rot. Wheat has been downgraded to virtually feed value. This means that some producers will have to walk off their properties because of pressure from the banks, as this is the third year in a row they have missed out on getting a decent crop. We do not want this to happen to our colleagues in the west and far west of New South Wales. We support this matter of public importance and we hope that the good work continues. As I have said, so far so good.

    Mr BLACK (Murray-Darling) [5.07 p.m.]: I am always prepared to support and salute the Minister, my coalition colleague from Mt Druitt. I also salute the honourable member for Barwon, who gave an eloquent speech. In four sitting days in a row that contained a question time not one question came from the Opposition about a single country issue. I am sure that if the honourable member for Barwon were allowed to have his way he would come forth and ask questions about the bush. I recognise two of the Minister's staff—workers for the bush and truth—who have done great work on this matter, Don Stewart and Les McDermott, who have been arduous in their campaign to make sure that things go well for people who live in the bush. I am pleased to speak on this matter of public importance before the House concerning the current plague locust situation facing farmers and graziers, particularly in the west of the State and notably in my electorate of Murray-Darling, as was acknowledged earlier by the Minister.

    The Minister for Agriculture has already indicated that the problem is most serious in parts of the Western Division and south to the Riverina. Much of the area with dense locust population is to the north, in my electorate of Murray-Darling. Heavy hatchings have been reported in a wide area, stretching from north of Broken Hill, south to Wentworth and east to Hillston—all places within Murray-Darling. The hatchings have been reported from South Australia and Victoria—not places in Murray-Darling. The latest aerial surveys conducted by the Australian Plague Locust Commission have located bands of second and third instar nymphs—locusts that have shed their outer shell two or three times. These have been found north of Broken Hill and south of Wilcannia. However, heavy vegetation cover as a result of favourable weather conditions and heavy cloud cover have made detection difficult.

    The above average rainfall in the locust breeding areas of the Western Division, such as Cobar and Broken Hill, last summer and autumn allowed plague locusts to lay large numbers of eggs, despite a very active control program at the time. Those eggs are now hatching. Control spraying with fenitrothion is under way in Broken Hill and Wilcannia. Fortunately the recent dry conditions around Tibooburra have delayed hatchings, and the problem may not be as severe as originally thought in that area. Like here in Sydney today, it is raining in Broken Hill and further to the east. I recognise the problems caused by rain in terms of bringing forth locusts. I also recognise that many of my farmers have still not completed the wheat harvest, and this rain may be coming at a very bad time, particularly given the fact that the seasonal conditions were looking so good only a few weeks ago.

    New South Wales Agriculture and Rural Lands Protection Board staff have benefited from training days in Dubbo on 3 and 4 October, in Wagga Wagga on 5 and 6 October and at earlier sessions in the more important communities of Cobar and Hay. Fortunately, New South Wales also benefits from the co-regulatory partnership arrangements that are permanently in place to control locusts. This partnership is between rural lands protection boards—or the PB boards, as we still call them out west—New South Wales Agriculture and the Australian Plague Locust Commission. A study conducted in the early 1980s demonstrated a positive cost benefit of 24 to 1 on activities of the commission in controlling locusts in the four States concerned. In 1982 an outlay of $5 million saved $120 million worth of fodder and crops. Fenitrothion, the main chemical used to kill locusts, is supplied free of charge to land-holders, with the cost being met by the Noxious Insect Advisory Committee.

    The last major outbreak occurred in 1992, and I am pleased to report to the House, on the Minister's assurance and that of his staff, that we have enough chemical in stock to handle that and more. As I said earlier, out west this season looked to be arguably the best season for many, many years. As has been acknowledged by honourable members on both sides of the House, farmers out west have gone through seven years of drought. We had huge rains in December of last year and in February of this year. Notwithstanding it being a great season, we now face two problems. Locusts have already been mentioned, and earlier in another place we heard about the bushfire brigades. Unfortunately, the amount of fodder on the ground will seemingly make this season a problem in terms of fires. In conclusion, I do not know about fires, but the situation in terms of locusts is in hand. Again, it is pleasing to see bipartisan agreement across the House, with the guidance of my coalition colleague the Minister, for this motion.

    Mr AMERY (Mount Druitt—Minister for Agriculture, and Minister for Land and Water Conservation) [5.12 p.m.], in reply: I thank the shadow Minister for Agriculture, the honourable member for Barwon, for his positive contribution in support of the motion. As far as the locust control program is concerned, I take on board his comment of "so far, so good". Obviously I reserve the right to say something if things do not go as planned. I thank also the honourable member for Murray-Darling for his contribution and his general knowledge of what is happening in his electorate. Earlier I referred to the issue of chemical use and biological control. The honourable member for Barwon also referred to the use of a biological control product. I am pleased to advise the House that testament to the importance of the development of this project—the honourable member for Barwon highlighted it as a great success for the CSIR0 and other participants—it should be noted that a locust expert from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Dr Clive Elliott, has travelled to western New South Wales to observe the world's first large-scale operational use of this product.

    Dr Elliott was involved with the co-ordinating and monitoring control of desert locusts in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and he will observe control operations in the Riverina and Broken Hill areas. Early indications are that Dr Elliott is very impressed with the control methods being used in this State. The previous speakers mentioned the cost of the locust plague. Figures show that in 1984 expenditure of $5 million on control averted damage to problem pastures worth an estimated $103 million. That highlights the point made by the honourable member for Barwon and the honourable member for Murray-Darling that money spent is returned many times over in benefits to our agricultural industries. An outlay of $5 million in 1984 produced estimated savings of $103 million. We expect those figures to be even more of a contrast when the final report on the current locust plague is concluded. I thank honourable members for their contributions.

    Discussion concluded.

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