‘Urgent action needed’
Pests must croak, says candidate
Cane toads are a “significant danger” on the southern Gold Coast and urgent intervention is needed to stop the spread of the pest, warns a council candidate.
Division 14 candidate Kath Down, the leader of Save Our Southern Gold Coast, in a response to a community survey put cane toads as one of three top priorities.
While she has used the survey to continue her campaign against light rail and overdevelopment, Ms Down listed the pests as a “key concern”.
Ms Down has been emailing residents with photographs of tadpoles after discovering an “infestation” when exploring complaints about water quality in creeks. She said she had stumbled upon the pests while taking water samples in Flat Rock Creek.
In her response to the Community Alliance survey, she said the critical environmental wildlife issues in Division 14
were water quality, koala conservation and cane toads.
“Cane toads are well-known for their toxicity, posing a significant danger to our wildlife and pets,” she said.
“Urgent intervention is crucial at the earliest stages of infestation, whether it involves harvesting eggs, treating areas with tadpoles or implementing humane trapping methods. I have deep concern regarding the apparent lack of
proactive measures taken by the Gold Coast City Council in addressing this issue.
“I have undertaken extensive research, and it is evident that thousands of cane toad tadpoles pose a serious threat to the delicate balance of our environment.”
Ms Down accused the council of shifting responsibility for managing toads to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
“DAFF have stated that Gold Coast City Council holds the primary responsibility for managing infestations on its own land. I will advocate to have this finger-pointing exercise come to an end and push for solutions,” she said.
In response to Ms Down, the City provided an update from Biosecurity Queensland, which confirmed that the cane toad was not a prohibited or restricted invasive
animal under the Biosecurity Act 2014.
Biosecurity Queensland said the cane toad was not a declared pest in Queensland, “so there is no legal requirement to control them” and no “available effective broadscale control”.
“As there is currently no known effective broad-scale management method, the City does not have a cane toad program,” an officer wrote.