❓ A WA parliamentary question addresses the government's cane toad control strategy following the cessation of funding for the Kimberley Toad Busters, inquiring about the state coordinator's role, island refuges, app accessibility, toad arrival predictions, and tourism operator preparedness.
AnsweredQoN 923Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
CANE TOADS
— CONTROL
923. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the
minister representing the Minister for Environment:
I refer to a statement made by the Minister for Environment
in Hansard on 20 August 2013
regarding the government's decision to cease funding the Kimberley Toad
Busters in the current financial year.
(1) What is
the role of the state cane toad coordinator and what is the budget he or she
has to work with?
(2) Which
islands off the Kimberley coast are being used as wildlife refuges and how is
the health and wellbeing of wildlife being monitored?
(3) With
limited mobile phone coverage in most parts of the Kimberley, will the minister
please explain how Kimberley communities and visitors will be able to access
the cane toad app he launched a few months ago?
(4) Kimberley
Toad Busters is continuing aspects of its work on a voluntary basis, especially
the community education and biodiversity conservation parts of the program, in
an effort to slow the ''cane toad front'' as it moves westwards.
When are the cane toads expected to reach the major river systems of the West
Kimberley and when will they arrive in the tourist town of Broome?
(5) What is
the government doing to prepare tourism operators and resort managers for the
arrival of the cane toads?
— CONTROL
923. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the
minister representing the Minister for Environment:
I refer to a statement made by the Minister for Environment
in Hansard on 20 August 2013
regarding the government's decision to cease funding the Kimberley Toad
Busters in the current financial year.
(1) What is
the role of the state cane toad coordinator and what is the budget he or she
has to work with?
(2) Which
islands off the Kimberley coast are being used as wildlife refuges and how is
the health and wellbeing of wildlife being monitored?
(3) With
limited mobile phone coverage in most parts of the Kimberley, will the minister
please explain how Kimberley communities and visitors will be able to access
the cane toad app he launched a few months ago?
(4) Kimberley
Toad Busters is continuing aspects of its work on a voluntary basis, especially
the community education and biodiversity conservation parts of the program, in
an effort to slow the ''cane toad front'' as it moves westwards.
When are the cane toads expected to reach the major river systems of the West
Kimberley and when will they arrive in the tourist town of Broome?
(5) What is
the government doing to prepare tourism operators and resort managers for the
arrival of the cane toads?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question.
(1) The state
cane toad coordinator manages the implementation of the cane toad strategy for
Western Australia. This includes coordinating the implementation of the
Kimberley islands project within the Kimberley science and conservation
strategy. The budget is $750 000 a year.
(2) The
Kimberley islands have been prioritised for their conservation value and
representative species that are most likely to be impacted by cane toads.
Thirty islands are considered to be a priority. A biosecurity strategy is being
developed and will identify quarantine and surveillance activities. Six of
these 30 Kimberley islands will be surveyed and monitoring plots established in
2014.
(3) The cane
toad app was a joint project with the University of Western Australia's
centre for excellence in learning unit, the Department of Parks and Wildlife
and the Kimberley Toad Busters. The app complements community education
programs and resources developed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife. All
major towns in the Kimberley have mobile phone coverage.
(4) The rate
of expansion of cane toads will be determined by rainfall, terrain and
temperatures. Based on the current rate of expansion of 50 kilometres a year,
there is potential for cane toads to reach Halls Creek during this wet season,
Fitzroy Crossing and Derby in two to three years and Broome in five years or
more. Cane toads potentially could reach the upper parts of West Kimberley
rivers this wet season but they have not arrived on the western shore of the
Cambridge Gulf to date.
(5) Information
is available to community members, tourism operators and resort managers from
the Department of Parks and Wildlife offices in Broome and Kununurra, as well
as the department's website. A cane toad newsletter is produced
quarterly, providing information on the state cane toad strategy. It is
available from the Department of Parks and Wildlife offices in the Kimberley,
is published on the department's website and is emailed to key stakeholders.
(1) The state
cane toad coordinator manages the implementation of the cane toad strategy for
Western Australia. This includes coordinating the implementation of the
Kimberley islands project within the Kimberley science and conservation
strategy. The budget is $750 000 a year.
(2) The
Kimberley islands have been prioritised for their conservation value and
representative species that are most likely to be impacted by cane toads.
Thirty islands are considered to be a priority. A biosecurity strategy is being
developed and will identify quarantine and surveillance activities. Six of
these 30 Kimberley islands will be surveyed and monitoring plots established in
2014.
(3) The cane
toad app was a joint project with the University of Western Australia's
centre for excellence in learning unit, the Department of Parks and Wildlife
and the Kimberley Toad Busters. The app complements community education
programs and resources developed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife. All
major towns in the Kimberley have mobile phone coverage.
(4) The rate
of expansion of cane toads will be determined by rainfall, terrain and
temperatures. Based on the current rate of expansion of 50 kilometres a year,
there is potential for cane toads to reach Halls Creek during this wet season,
Fitzroy Crossing and Derby in two to three years and Broome in five years or
more. Cane toads potentially could reach the upper parts of West Kimberley
rivers this wet season but they have not arrived on the western shore of the
Cambridge Gulf to date.
(5) Information
is available to community members, tourism operators and resort managers from
the Department of Parks and Wildlife offices in Broome and Kununurra, as well
as the department's website. A cane toad newsletter is produced
quarterly, providing information on the state cane toad strategy. It is
available from the Department of Parks and Wildlife offices in the Kimberley,
is published on the department's website and is emailed to key stakeholders.
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