Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The polyphagous shot-hole borer was first detected in Australia three years ago near my electorate of Curtin. Given the threat to Australia's biosecurity, it has been part of a national eradication plan since 2022. This plan relied on chopping down host trees to try to stop the spread. Since then, about 3,500 trees across Perth have been removed, with Curtin being the hardest hit. We've removed about 18 football fields of canopy cover across Perth, and we already have one of the smallest canopy covers of any Australian city.

This sacrifice would've been worth it if it actually worked, but, due to a combination of a slow and incomplete eradication response and a lack of understanding about the pest, the plan has failed. The borer has now spread across Perth in 170 different host species, including native species. We don't know enough about this biosecurity threat. We do know not all host trees are dying. We know the beetle can travel further than first known, and we know that the economic cost of this pest in California is estimated at nearly $16 billion.

We need a better plan and urgent action. The National Management Group must transition to a management phase. It must allocate funding so we can research how it's spreading and how to stop or slow it. This is a pest of national significance, and we must learn how to manage it effectively and stop chopping trees down in a vain attempt to eradicate it.