Double the pest trouble
Everywhere I go lately, people are wanting to talk about the two W’s: wallabies and wilding pines. This may have something to do with the fact that I’ve recently become the National Party’s spokesperson for conservation, and it may also have something to do with both pests being particularly problematic in the Waitaki electorate.
Regardless of the reason, they’re both issues that I’m keen to address. We’re all familiar with the threat posed by possums and rabbits, but the two W’s are proving more than a handful, dealing some hefty blows to our biodiversity and our economy.
Wallabies are prolific breeders and have been spreading like wildfire. This comes despite the best efforts of farmers, who’ve gone to great lengths at their own expense to contain and control the population, and the efforts of regional councils, which have been exhausting all options at their disposal.
Reports of the ravenous marsupial infiltrating new locations is a serious concern. They’re decimating native bush and productive land.
But there’s only so much farmers and councils can do without support.
The Otago Regional Council, along with the Ministry for Primary Industries and other councils and Crown entities, pushed for the Government to include funding for a national wallaby control strategy in its last budget. This was unsuccessful.
I just don’t think the Government sees it as a priority. When you look through the Department of Conservation’s annual report for the year ended June 2019, wallabies don’t even rate a mention.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has publicly spoken of a biodiversity crisis and admitted that there needs to be an improvement in the commitment to controlling wallabies, yet there is still no national strategy in place. I fear that a lack of leadership has allowed the situation to get out of hand.
It’s hard to have confidence in a government that is reluctant to listen to what experts are saying and that appears to be struggling to meet expectations on another serious pest control problem – wilding pines.
DOC’s reporting of the control programme for the year ended June 2019 showed that 135,567 hectares of control work was completed, well shy of the 383,500ha target. I have asked the conservation minister for an explanation as to why the target was missed by so much, whether they are on target for the coming year and if she intends on developing a strategy beyond 2021. I eagerly await her response.
On the face of it, it’s a big miss that could have serious ramifications due to the significant threat posed by wilding pines to the economy.
A report from Biosecurity New Zealand stated that, if allowed to spread, wilding pines could cover 7.5 million hectares of vulnerable land over a 15- to 30-year period. Over a 50-year period they could cause the loss of over half a million hectares of productive land, and a cumulative loss in productivity of about $5.3 billion in GDP.
These are big numbers. Thankfully, work is being done to combat wilding pines, but if targets aren’t being met then it doesn’t inspire confidence that the problem is under control.
Cabinet ministers are aware of the situation. They’ve been asked to increase funding in the next Budget and there have been calls for a long-term plan. They need to up the ante and they need to do it now.
Wilding pines and wallabies are just two of many pests that are a blight on the local landscape.
While I appreciate that there isn’t an endless supply of money to throw at every problem, we desperately need strong leadership. The minister needs to accept there is a problem and put proper planning in place.
There are some very clever and passionate Kiwis who know so much more about the finer details of wallabies and wilding pines than all the bureaucrats in Wellington combined. Bring them in, hear their thoughts and take up the challenge.
New Zealand’s natural heritage is too important not to.