Australia’s forestry industry is calling on the Commonwealth and State governments to ramp-up eradication efforts of the foreign Polyphagous Shot-hole borer (PSHB) – a tiny beetle that could destroy millions of hectares of Australian forests and wreak havoc with suburban trees nationally, if it’s allowed to leave Perth’s metropolitan area, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Diana Hallam said today.
Prevalent in other parts of the world – the PSHB was first detected in Perth in 2021. It’s a tiny, exotic beetle that bores holes into tree trunks, stems and branches, eventually killing susceptible trees. Hundreds of tree species are at risk of attack from this environmental pest – including eucalypts.
“Without all jurisdictions committing to a properly funded and coordinated approach to eradicate the PSHB, there’s a serious risk the pest could spread across Australia and seriously impact not only the forestry industry, but also suburban trees across parkland, backyards and reserves, as well as other forests and national parks.”
Under Australia’s biosecurity provisions, the resourcing of responses to environmental pests is cost-shared by the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments – which have been working to date with Western Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to eradicate the beetle through a combination of regulatory, surveillance, tree removal and public information activities.
“We welcome the efforts being made so far – but we’re concerned insufficient resources are being provided in Western Australia in the attempt to eradicate or contain the PSHB,” Diana Hallam said.
“Our sector feels particularly exposed as our second most important plantation species, the Tasmanian blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus), is susceptible to infestation and a reproductive host. Should the PSHB spread to plantation areas it would jeopardise a significant segment of Australia’s sustainable $24 billion forestry and manufacturing industry and the 180,000 direct and indirect jobs that rely on it.
“It’s not just the forestry industry. In Perth the PSHB is destroying trees in backyards, gardens, urban forests and native reserves across the suburbs. Can we imagine if major parks or botanic gardens in our other major cities were littered with sick or dying trees because of this pest!?”
In South Africa and California, where PSHB has already established itself, the losses and cost of management are in the billions of dollars across local governments, horticulture, forestry and the environment through tree deaths or increased management costs.
Failure to act decisively now, risks setting a dangerous precedent: that environmental biosecurity threats can be ignored and will be rightly seen by many as dereliction of the shared responsibility of governments across Australia to protect our unique environment and essential industry. As is the case with current efforts to control Red Imported Fire Ant in Queensland, a shared-national response is appropriate.
Without eradication or effective containment in the long-term, Australia’s efforts to preserve biodiversity, provide locally sourced timber and wood-fibre for sovereign capability, increase carbon capture and grow our urban canopies will be undermined by this insidious pest.