The Victorian Government has been pressured to reinstate funding for eradication the state’s biggest fruit pest.
State Member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe called on Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence on Thursday, October 17 to recall the funding for the Queensland fruit fly eradication program.
The announcement that the funding will end in June next year has raised grave concerns in the agriculture and horticulture industries.
Ms O’Keeffe told Parliament the success of the GMV fruit fly program had reduced fruit fly populations by 60 per cent across the Goulburn-Murray Valley region.
“This has been a highly successful program since funding was first made available in 2017,” Ms O’Keefe said.
“The program has created awareness, education and engagement in local communities.”
Ms O’Keeffe said fruit and vegetable growers managed fruit fly on their farms but had no control over residential properties or government land.
“The Goulburn Murray Valley fruit fly program has reduced the fruit fly population by 60 per cent across the region, and if supplemented by the release of sterile fruit flies into wild populations, the population can be reduced by 83 per cent,” she said.
The program won a community award at the Australian Biosecurity Awards in 2021 which recognised the important contribution the program had made to the quality of Australian horticulture and national biosecurity.
Ms O’Keeffe said fruit growers in her electorate were ‘bewildered’ at the non-reinstatement of the funding.
“And (they are) concerned as to how infestation-level mitigation into commercial crops from backyard gardens and public land will be managed,” she said.
“It defies logic that the Victorian Government is terminating funding for this successful and proven community-based program.
“I urge the minister to reinstate this important funding.”