Perth Voice Interactive

FEDERAL Perth Labor MP Patrick Gorman (right) has labelled a tiny beetle as a “pandemic” for Perth trees.

In Parliament this week, Mr Gorman said the polyphagous shot-hole borer was an “enemy” that posed a massive biosecurity risk to the country.

“This invasive beetle is just two millimetres long and it’s on a rampage from Fremantle to Perth and a number of suburbs in between,” Mr Gorman said.

“Already I’m seeing in my electorate trees in people’s backyards being chopped to the ground. 

“In Hyde Park, a loved Perth park in the middle of our city, we’re looking at some hundreds of trees being removed.

“Sadly, Kings Park and its trees that have outlived the Bond Corporation, trees that were here before colour television, trees that have provided shade for family picnics for decades is also on the chopping block.”

Native species had originally been thought to have been spared the worst of the beetle, which preferred dutch elms and other exotics, but Mr Gorman noted that 28 species were now known to be susceptible.

“I’m a measured person who dislikes alarmists, but this borer beetle is a pandemic for Western Australia’s trees. And, as hard as it is, I support the actions to remove the infested trees.

“Indeed, we need the state and local governments to move as fast as possible.

“I will very happily get my chainsaw out if I need to, because without swift action, WA faces massive economic disruption.”

Mr Gorman said the beetle had cost the US state of California an estimated $15.9 billion.

But he said there was some hope, with wood movements being banned, while researchers at the University of WA and CSIRO were looking at treatment options.

He also urged Western Australians to learn to identify the beetle and report any damaged trees.

“Fast action and a community response now is the only way to ensure that Perth’s tree canopy is there for the next generation of Western Australians, and that this invasive beetle does not affect the rest of Australia,” he said.