Biosecurity
Fight against WA’s shot-hole borer given $97 million boost with new biosecurity headquarters
On Saturday Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis unveiled a new state-of-the-art headquarters for WA’s biosecurity operations, stepping up the war against one of the most destructive pests to breach Australia’s strict biosecurity controls.
- by Rebecca Peppiatt
Latest
‘Downright dangerous’: National body responds to claims officers ‘planted fire ants’
In a statement, the National Fire Ant Eradication Program called the allegations “false and unfounded”.
- by Courtney Kruk
Exclusive
Perth
Victims pile up in Perth’s shot-hole borer war. But is there another way?
The polyphagous shot-hole borer is about the size of a sesame seed, but if it finds a tree it likes it can rapidly multiply, growing a population of thousands in a short time.
- by Hamish Hastie
‘Free-range’ label to stay when chickens locked down to contain bird flu
A new strain of bird flu has infected the rest of the world and could enter Australia at any moment. When it does, poultry producers will be on red alert.
- by Mike Foley
Exclusive
Environmental protection
Wildlife emergency: Australia prepares for bird flu onslaught
A deadly strain of bird flu has swept the globe, and Australia is the last uninfected continent. Preparations for the carnage have just begun.
- by Mike Foley
Send me a sign: Councils say state too slow in shot-hole borer fight
Councils are terrified the borer will get into the hills and beyond to the Wheatbelt, saying this would be “both environmentally and financially catastrophic.”
- by Hamish Hastie
‘It’s just a matter of when’: Australia war-gaming deadly bird flu outbreak
Australia is untouched by a virus that has devastated wildlife around the planet, but the spring migration from Antarctica is beginning, and with it comes an extinction-level threat for native birds and mammals.
- by Mike Foley
Star chef lifts the (pie) lid on Victoria’s feral animal problem
Award-winning chef Jo Barrett has cooked up a delicious way to rein in some of the state’s biggest environmental vandals.
- by Dani Valent
‘It can get worse’: The bite that burns like fire and killed a football hero
The bites cause a burning sensation lasting for about an hour, with an outbreak in Queensland already forcing closures of sporting fields and beaches.
- by Mike Foley
Quarantine breach: Tree-killing beetle spreads to 145 suburbs including Perth hills
The polyphagous shot-hole borer has spread to the Perth Hills with fears it could wreak havoc on national parks already suffering after a long, hot summer as well as orchards.
- by Sarah Brookes
WA scientists shut out from working on borer vaccine for dying trees
A Perth-based plant pathology lab says it was stripped of a permit after it ran foul of the state government’s narrative.
- by Sarah Brookes
Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/topic/biosecurity-1mfv