Long Term Strategy For Pig Problem

Dugald Saunders, leader of the NSW Nationals and shadow minister for agriculture, has criticized the Labor administration for lacking a long-term strategy to address the escalating feral pig issue in regional NSW

In addition to the $5 million already pledged by the previous Coalition administration, Premier Chris Minns and Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty today unveiled plans for an additional $8 million to fund a coordinated control effort.

When it comes to fixing the problem, Mr. Saunders stated that Labor needs to look farther ahead than the upcoming year.

Mr Saunders went on to explain that this revelation demonstrates Labor’s lack of long-term plans for agriculture or biosecurity in the bush, and all that has been heard since the election is how many regional programs ostensibly need to be eliminated to balance the books, according to what has been said. Additionally, Mr Saunders displayed concern of where the $8 million is coming from and states he hopes it is new funding and not being taken from the Regional Growth Fund at the value of other programs.

Dave Layzell, a member for the Upper Hunter, claims to have heard the worries of landowners all around his area who are in need of a substantial resolution.

“Just a week ago I was joined by Dugald at Merriwa, where we spoke to a number of farmers who are each facing the same problem, huge amounts of destruction caused by feral pigs”, Mr Layzell said. “It’s a difficult pest to manage, and while we welcome the funding on the table, we need more of a long term solution.”

• Topics:
• Agriculture / Farming
• Environment