❓ WA Parliamentary Question on Notice regarding the government's $44 million response to the Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer outbreak, including funding sources, budget allocation, and staffing.
AnsweredQoN 971Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
POLYPHAGOUS SHOT-HOLE
BORER
971. Hon Dr BRAD PETTITT to the Minister for Agriculture and
Food:
I refer to yesterday's media
report titled ''Premier Roger Cook vows to 'throw everything'
at stopping shot hole borer'', and specifically the $44 million the
government is spending.
(1) How much of the $44 million
government spend is funding by the federal government?
(2) How much of this budget is spent
on communication strategies?
(3) How much of this budget is spent
on chopping, chipping and hot composting?
(4) How many FTE entomologists has
the department employed to work exclusively on this pest?
(5) How many of the entomologists in
(4) have expertise in wood-eating pests?
BORER
971. Hon Dr BRAD PETTITT to the Minister for Agriculture and
Food:
I refer to yesterday's media
report titled ''Premier Roger Cook vows to 'throw everything'
at stopping shot hole borer'', and specifically the $44 million the
government is spending.
(1) How much of the $44 million
government spend is funding by the federal government?
(2) How much of this budget is spent
on communication strategies?
(3) How much of this budget is spent
on chopping, chipping and hot composting?
(4) How many FTE entomologists has
the department employed to work exclusively on this pest?
(5) How many of the entomologists in
(4) have expertise in wood-eating pests?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) It is $19.995 million.
(2) Communication
strategies make up $1.001 million of the total polyphagous shot-hole borer
national response budget.
(3) The budget for PSHB tree management makes up
$12.656 million of the total PSHB national response budget.
(4)–(5) The
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has employed 14.5
additional scientific staff to work on the PSHB response. These staff have a range
of expertise across entomology, plant pathology and molecular diagnostics. This
wide range of expertise is required, given that we are dealing with a symbiotic
pest complex made of the borer and a fusarium fungus.
some notice of the question.
(1) It is $19.995 million.
(2) Communication
strategies make up $1.001 million of the total polyphagous shot-hole borer
national response budget.
(3) The budget for PSHB tree management makes up
$12.656 million of the total PSHB national response budget.
(4)–(5) The
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has employed 14.5
additional scientific staff to work on the PSHB response. These staff have a range
of expertise across entomology, plant pathology and molecular diagnostics. This
wide range of expertise is required, given that we are dealing with a symbiotic
pest complex made of the borer and a fusarium fungus.
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