Take Action

Write to Environment Minister Tony Burke urging him to develop a foresighting unit within the Federal Environment Department (as recommended by the Hawke review of the EPBC Act) to identify and recommend responses to emerging invasive species risks to biodiversity.

Part of the role of this foresighting unit should be to monitor proposed and emerging products and industries for their potential to contribute to Australia’s invasive species burden.

Recent examples documented by ISC include weeds as biofuel crops, invasive pasture plants for salinity mitigation, new variants (conventionally bred or genetically modified) of existing invaders bred for disease resistance or tolerance to drought, new hybrid pet breeds, and proposed invasive crop species such as date palms.

It is important that governments respond to these risks before a new pest is released or an industry becomes established.

Please let us know at isc@invasives.org.au of other examples of emerging risks and if you need further information for your letter to the environment minister.
 

Why we need to tackle the growing threat of feral deer now

Before the 2010 Victorian election the Coalition promised to set up a new organisation to represent the interests of hunters, and said that it would look at increasing the role hunters play in "controlling pest animals in national parks".

The Victorian Labor party planned to increase deer hunting on public lands by 30 per cent and give hunters $800,000, claiming that deer can be controlled by recreational hunting.

These policies are completely at odds with the facts:

• The previous Victorian Government already admitted that hunting is not effective for controlling sambar deer and that this feral pest is flourishing.
• To slow sambar deer population increases about 40 per cent of individuals must be killed annually, such a kill rate is far beyond the capacity of amateur recreational hunting - recreational hunters typically kill only a few per cent of feral animal populations.
• Trophy hunters shoot males but effective control requires reduction in numbers of females.

We urgently need your help in convincing both parties to rethink their stance on this issue.

Please use our simple letter writing tool to ask both parties to craft real policies that will protect Victoria’s natural environment and agricultural sector from the growing feral deer plague.

The Victorian Government is promoting one of the state’s worse emerging weeds for salinity control.

Tall Wheat Grass (Lophopyrum ponticum) has the potential to invade more than half the state and is a far greater threat than the salinity problem it is meant to solve.

The lack of controls on this rogue grass highlights the failings of current weed laws and policies.

You can help by asking the Victorian Government to declare Tall Wheat Grass a weed and for governments to reform weed laws.

Using our simple letter writing tool it will take you just a couple of minutes to send a message to both the Victorian Premier John Brumby and federal environment minister Peter Garrett about this important issue today.