Mr WOOD - 2013-10-09
You recently announced there will be eradication of all bananas within 1 km of nine banana plant sites infected by banana freckle in the Howard Springs and Batchelor areas. Could you please explain where these nine sites are, how many parcels of land will be affected by the eradication program, including any compensation details, how those affected landholders will be notified that plants will be removed, what will happen to those banana plants, and when will landowners be able to grow bananas again?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for a very sensible question. It is probably the most sensible question we have heard from that side this morning.
The banana freckle is a disease that is exotic to the Northern Territory in the way it has attacked Cavendish bananas. It has been detected on other banana varieties in the Northern Territory previously, but now it is on Cavendish. Moves will be made to eradicate it because this government is serious about protecting the commercial banana industry in the Northern Territory. The government is moving swiftly and decisively to deal with the incursion of banana freckle and its effect on Cavendish.
The member for Nelson rightly pointed out there are nine affected properties, six of which are in the Howard Springs area, and a further three in the Bachelor region.
In answer to some of the specific questions the member for Nelson raised, I cannot give you the exact number of properties that will be affected by the eradication campaign. There will be 1 km radius around each infected premise which will be subject to an eradication order. However, there will be communication with each and every property owner who will be affected by it. If they have not been contacted already, they will be contacted in two ways; there will be a letter and a phone call made to each property to advise them their property if subject to eradication.
The effect of the eradication will be that each banana tree within that 1 km radius will be cut down. The stump will be painted with a herbicide, and the affected material will be bagged and removed to a site where it will be buried.
The member for Nelson did not ask it in the question, but mentioned previously to me the powers that inspectors have. Those powers exist under the act to enter, search, and remove material and issue all sorts of orders about the treatment of these pests.
As I said, we take this incursion very seriously. We need to protect not only our $400m banana industry in the Northern Territory, but we also need to be cognisant of our responsibilities to the broader banana industry across Australia, noting that Queensland and New South Wales have significant banana industries and our commercial crop here is also exported into South Australia. We are taking this incursion extremely seriously and working with the affected landowners to deal with it.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for a very sensible question. It is probably the most sensible question we have heard from that side this morning.
The banana freckle is a disease that is exotic to the Northern Territory in the way it has attacked Cavendish bananas. It has been detected on other banana varieties in the Northern Territory previously, but now it is on Cavendish. Moves will be made to eradicate it because this government is serious about protecting the commercial banana industry in the Northern Territory. The government is moving swiftly and decisively to deal with the incursion of banana freckle and its effect on Cavendish.
The member for Nelson rightly pointed out there are nine affected properties, six of which are in the Howard Springs area, and a further three in the Bachelor region.
In answer to some of the specific questions the member for Nelson raised, I cannot give you the exact number of properties that will be affected by the eradication campaign. There will be 1 km radius around each infected premise which will be subject to an eradication order. However, there will be communication with each and every property owner who will be affected by it. If they have not been contacted already, they will be contacted in two ways; there will be a letter and a phone call made to each property to advise them their property if subject to eradication.
The effect of the eradication will be that each banana tree within that 1 km radius will be cut down. The stump will be painted with a herbicide, and the affected material will be bagged and removed to a site where it will be buried.
The member for Nelson did not ask it in the question, but mentioned previously to me the powers that inspectors have. Those powers exist under the act to enter, search, and remove material and issue all sorts of orders about the treatment of these pests.
As I said, we take this incursion very seriously. We need to protect not only our $400m banana industry in the Northern Territory, but we also need to be cognisant of our responsibilities to the broader banana industry across Australia, noting that Queensland and New South Wales have significant banana industries and our commercial crop here is also exported into South Australia. We are taking this incursion extremely seriously and working with the affected landowners to deal with it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016