General News
11 June, 2026
Invasive pests in focus
DOUGLAS Shire Council has been promised a share of $2.7 million that has been allocated to five local councils and two natural resource management groups.
The funding package being delivered through the Department of Primary Industries’ pest and weed management program will help fight invasive pests and weeds in regions devastated by Tropical Cyclone Jasper which hit the Far North in December 2023. The heavy rainfall and flooding continued into January 2024 with a destructive impact.
The initiative is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments through the Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). Environmental weed and pest invasion is considered one of the greatest threats to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, also posing a threat to a region’s agriculture and tourism industries.
Many of the at-risk areas are important for social amenity, cultural values and recreational use by the community and visitors.
David Kempton, Member for Cook, said the program was essential in helping farmers, landholders and council by funding target support, where it was needed the most in Douglas Shire.
“This will include feral pigs and the invasive weed hiptage, which poses a serious threat to local rainforests, waterways and ecosystems in the Douglas Shire,” he said.
“A coordinated early detection program, targeting all known sites via drone surveillance, is critical to stopping its spread and protecting high-value natural areas.”
Douglas Shire Council CEO Scott Osman said the funding would strengthen on-ground efforts already underway across the region to combat invasive species.
“Hiptage and feral pigs are two of the most destructive threats to our natural environment and their spread accelerated significantly after Cyclone Jasper,” he said.
“Council is already undertaking extensive management work, including a new drone mapping trial targeting hiptage infestations across Mossman. The recent Biosecurity Act amendments recognising hiptage as a restricted species further reinforces the importance of coordinated long-term management.”
“Feral pig control programs are also continuing across the region, with ongoing surveillance, trapping and collaborative landholder engagement aimed at reducing environmental damage and protecting agricultural land. This is a long-term challenge, but additional support from the Australian and Queensland governments strengthens our ability to respond and gives our region a better chance to stay on the front foot.”
Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett said, that under the Biosecurity Act 2014, the management of invasive plants and animals is a shared responsibility and working with federal and local-level partners.
“Our objective with this funding package is to repair the environment by working with local partners to deliver positive environmental outcomes” Mr Perrett said.
“Disasters like Cyclone Jasper create favourable conditions for pests and weeds to thrive, as seeds are transported on the wind or in flooding disbursing the invasive pests further, particularly in proximity to waterways.”
