Mr MITCHELL - 1999-08-10
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about the encroachment of the cane toad into the Northern Territory. Just recently a cane toad was found in a Nightcliff garden. I believe the minister’s office has been monitoring that situation.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Member for Arnhem, please refrain from interjecting.
Mr MITCHELL: Have any more toads been found in the Nightcliff area? What really is the message for the public in this?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker,the message is a rather serious one. I don’t think anyone looks forward to the cane toad arriving in Darwin or other major centres in the Northern Territory. In this House I have previously indicated the enormous amount of work that is being done by Territory government agencies and Commonwealth agencies to try to prevent the northward and westward movement of the cane toad. What has happened over the past week or so is a classic example of what can occur to progress its movements in our direction rather substantially. In the first instance, last week, one cane toad was discovered in a Nightcliff garden. Now a total of six have been found. They came as a result of furniture, including some pot plants, being transported from Queensland. They survived over that long distance. We have to consider that others live in the Territory much closer to Darwin, within 500-600 km, along the Roper River. The potential for cane toads being transported and turning up in large numbers in Darwin and other regional centres is rather extreme.
I want to congratulate residents of the Nightcliff area on the level of cooperation that they have afforded Parks and Wildlife Commission staff.
Mr Toyne: Aren’t you doing any more research on it?
Mr REED: The honourable member with his mutterings demonstrates an incredible lack of awareness of what has been done to try to find a way to stop the cane toads from progressing this way. He fails to recognise that more research is being done on the cane toad in Australia than in the country from which it arrived. I think that demonstrates ...
Mr Toyne: Venezuela!
Mr REED: He isnot even prepared to listen. He might understand this [recorded sound]. That’s the cane toad. You might understand that. That’s the sort of language that you might be familiar with. Or else I couldask the member for Arnhem to say a few words.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I’m prepared to sit here all afternoon until you keep quiet.
Mr REED: I don’t know how Hansard will transcribe that call of the cane toad. That was, in fact, a recording of the call. It was used to attract the five more animals that have been caught. Residents of the area are continuing to cooperate. It’s a pity that members opposite, so free with their interjections, don’t lend support to the commitment that the residents of the Nightcliff area have shown to a serious problem, cooperating with the Parks and Wildlife Commission.
The toads that were captured were all about the same size. That means they haven’t been bred here. They came across in the cavities of self-watering pot plants, with a load of furniture. We hope that there are no additional toads out there hopping around. If there are, with the continued cooperation of the residents and a bit of forbearance from the member for Stuart, we may be able to catch them.
I think this demonstrates how careful we have to be. I speak as someone who goes fishing or camping in the area that is now infested by cane toads - the Roper River, the McArthur River and the Gulf region. They can perch up on the springs of a vehicle or in the frame of a trailer and they can withstand considerable amounts of heat and discomfort, hopping out when the vehicle stops and establishing a population in a place like Darwin.
We don’t want them here any sooner than we have to put up with them - that is, in 10 to 15 years. Unfortunately, they are a fact of life in some areas, and the only things that are not quite as intelligent as a toad are the mutterings of the member for Stuart.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Member for Arnhem, please refrain from interjecting.
Mr MITCHELL: Have any more toads been found in the Nightcliff area? What really is the message for the public in this?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker,the message is a rather serious one. I don’t think anyone looks forward to the cane toad arriving in Darwin or other major centres in the Northern Territory. In this House I have previously indicated the enormous amount of work that is being done by Territory government agencies and Commonwealth agencies to try to prevent the northward and westward movement of the cane toad. What has happened over the past week or so is a classic example of what can occur to progress its movements in our direction rather substantially. In the first instance, last week, one cane toad was discovered in a Nightcliff garden. Now a total of six have been found. They came as a result of furniture, including some pot plants, being transported from Queensland. They survived over that long distance. We have to consider that others live in the Territory much closer to Darwin, within 500-600 km, along the Roper River. The potential for cane toads being transported and turning up in large numbers in Darwin and other regional centres is rather extreme.
I want to congratulate residents of the Nightcliff area on the level of cooperation that they have afforded Parks and Wildlife Commission staff.
Mr Toyne: Aren’t you doing any more research on it?
Mr REED: The honourable member with his mutterings demonstrates an incredible lack of awareness of what has been done to try to find a way to stop the cane toads from progressing this way. He fails to recognise that more research is being done on the cane toad in Australia than in the country from which it arrived. I think that demonstrates ...
Mr Toyne: Venezuela!
Mr REED: He isnot even prepared to listen. He might understand this [recorded sound]. That’s the cane toad. You might understand that. That’s the sort of language that you might be familiar with. Or else I couldask the member for Arnhem to say a few words.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I’m prepared to sit here all afternoon until you keep quiet.
Mr REED: I don’t know how Hansard will transcribe that call of the cane toad. That was, in fact, a recording of the call. It was used to attract the five more animals that have been caught. Residents of the area are continuing to cooperate. It’s a pity that members opposite, so free with their interjections, don’t lend support to the commitment that the residents of the Nightcliff area have shown to a serious problem, cooperating with the Parks and Wildlife Commission.
The toads that were captured were all about the same size. That means they haven’t been bred here. They came across in the cavities of self-watering pot plants, with a load of furniture. We hope that there are no additional toads out there hopping around. If there are, with the continued cooperation of the residents and a bit of forbearance from the member for Stuart, we may be able to catch them.
I think this demonstrates how careful we have to be. I speak as someone who goes fishing or camping in the area that is now infested by cane toads - the Roper River, the McArthur River and the Gulf region. They can perch up on the springs of a vehicle or in the frame of a trailer and they can withstand considerable amounts of heat and discomfort, hopping out when the vehicle stops and establishing a population in a place like Darwin.
We don’t want them here any sooner than we have to put up with them - that is, in 10 to 15 years. Unfortunately, they are a fact of life in some areas, and the only things that are not quite as intelligent as a toad are the mutterings of the member for Stuart.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016