The LNP has declared war on tiny menace in Burleigh Heads National Park

The opposition has vowed to pour money and resources into tackling a tiny menace wreaking havoc in a Gold Coast national park. FULL STORY

It’s a tiny item most walk past without noticing, however according to the LNP it is wreaking havoc on Gold Coast national parks.

The party on Friday declared war on the weeds, promising to pour $630,000 into tackling the problem at Burleigh Heads National Park.

“The weed and pest infestations we’ve seen under Labor are putting pressure on local koalas and threatening the survival of rare native butterflies,” candidate for Burleigh Hermann Vorster said.

“Labor has also failed to properly support volunteerism in Queensland, including our environmental volunteers working hard to save our conservation areas.

“Queenslanders need a fresh start, and our plan to restore Burleigh Head National Park is part of restoring a government that protects our environment by investing in conservation.

“Labor has failed to increase protected areas and has allowed recycling rates to go backwards on their watch.”

Mr Vorster said while the park attracts one million visitors each year, it has never been in a worse condition.

“The LNP has already committed to additional park rangers to help look after national parks across Queensland, but we want to supercharge our volunteers as well,” he said.

“$630,000 will go to major contracted work in these parks, but there will be recurrent funding available to volunteer groups right across this complex.

“They will have funding that will allow them to get on with the work of restoring and rehabilitating sensitive conservation areas without the worry of applying for grants every few months.”

Park volunteer Gary Scott said there was only so much volunteers could do about the problem weeds.

“As volunteer community people, there’s only so much you can do when you had a massive weed problem, so we really need professional contractors to come in and help us do the hard yards,” he said.

“We’re always applying for grants and all the red tape that goes with it, waiting for announcements, competing against other people.

“This is a great opportunity now to know that we got a regular income where we can employ more professionals and keep the good work going.”

Shadow Minister for the Environment Sam O’Connor said it was important to properly manage human impacts on the natural environment, specifically Burleigh Head National Park.

“This is one of the national parks that we have in a dense urban area, and that means that there’s inevitable interactions with people, with pets, with weeds, with houses,” he said.

“We’ve seen failures in this from the government. They have this ideological obsession with staying out of national parks, but we’re the opposite.

“We want people to be in our parks, we want people to experience nature, and we want to partner with community organisations across our state to better manage our parks.

“There’s people willing to do it, they just need a bit of support.”

Originally published as The LNP has declared war on tiny menace in Burleigh Heads National Park