The ongoing push to combat gamba grass is about to ramp up with free limited herbicide and spray equipment loans available to Top End landholders from today.

Department of Land Resource Management (DLRM) Weed Management Branch Principal Weeds Officer, Rowena Eastick, said this is the sixth year free limited herbicide is being made available to landholders with participant numbers increasing from 215 in 2010 to more than 1500 last wet season.

“This program is reducing the risk posed by wild fire to lives, property and the environment due to its increasing uptake,” Ms Eastick said.

“It is pleasing to see a significant and continual increase in participants obtaining free herbicide and spray equipment, with a noticeable reduction of gamba grass in the greater Darwin region.

“However, there is still much work to do as you head further south, with wildfires this past Dry Season among the worst in recent history, damaging or destroying several houses and other property.

“That’s why we continue to urge landholders to be proactive and manage their land so that it’s free of gamba and other weed risks that could contribute to devastating wildfires.”

Free herbicide will be available from:

·         Freds Pass Sport and Recreation Reserve, Bees Creek

·         Territory Wildlife Park, Berry Springs

·         Bushfires NT depot, Batchelor

·         Coomalie Community Government Council, Batchelor

·         Beatrice Hill Volunteer Bushfires Brigade

·         Dundee

·         Wagait Beach Council

·         Douglas Daly Research Farm, Douglas Daly

·         Weed Management Branch DLRM – Katherine Depot, Crawford Street

The start of the wet season is the best time to spray the herbicide as the plants are smaller and more accessible.

This means that less herbicide is needed to kill the gamba grass and landholders can make greater use of this program.

The Weed Management Branch within DLRM will again provide free herbicide and equipment loans until the end of the Wet Season optimum control period to assist Top End landholders combat gamba grass.

“Control of gamba grass through the Assistance Program will only be successful in the longer term if future weed spread is prevented,” Ms Eastick said.

“The new Preventing weed spread is everybody’s business booklet aims to show how simple weed spread prevention techniques can be applied by all Territorians,” Ms Eastick said.

“By reading through this booklet, land managers, business operators and residents will be able to identify weed spread pathways and adopt measures to stop this from happening”.

Weed Management Officers are working with all Government agencies responsible for land management, in conjunction with Industry and private land managers, to ensure that weed spread prevention becomes built into all aspects of land development and use.

“Weed spread costs the economy millions of dollars each year and leads to increased fire risk, less feed for livestock and has a detrimental impact on waterways used for recreational activities such as fishing,” Ms Eastick said.

Go to www.nt.gov.au/gamba for more information about free herbicide and equipment loans or to download Preventing weed spread is everybody’s business booklet.

Ends

Media Note - For further information / interview please contact Rowena Eastick on 89994553.

Issued: 2pm Friday, 13 November 2015