Media Release

Northern Territory Government

Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade Banana freckle eradication plan to continue

4 November 2022

The Northern Territory’s plant biosecurity team will continue with a plan to eradicate banana freckle following its detection on a second commercial property.

Members of the plant biosecurity team from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade met with the Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests on Wednesday where it was agreed that it was still feasible to eradicate the disease.

The team will now redraft a Response Plan for approval by the National Management Group later this month.

The detection of banana freckle on the second commercial property triggered a review of the response plan.

As a result, the plant biosecurity team will continue with its work to remove banana plants from infected properties.

So far infected plants have been removed from 14 properties. There have been 48 total banana freckle detections since May, of which 42 are located in the Batchelor and Rum Jungle region.

More information about the signs of the disease is available online: https://nt.gov.au/banana-freckle. If you are unsure whether you have banana freckle, contact the plant biosecurity team on 1800 084 881.

Quotes Attributable to Chief Health Plant Officer Dr Anne Walters

“We thank all the property owners who have cooperated with our staff and have had the infected banana plants removed and their properties surveyed. We understand this is a difficult process and we are grateful for the community’s help in eradicating this potentially devastating disease.

“For many growers, times are tough. If this disease is allowed to spread, there is potential that it could devastate our local and national growers. We need the community to work with us to protect our farmers – both in the NT as well as nationally.”

ENDS.

Media contact: 0499 848 924

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