Question Time - Feral Pigs out of Control

Описание: Feral Pigs

The Hon. SCOTT BARRETT (11:40): My question is directed to the Minister for Agriculture. Studies have shown that for feral pig control programs to be effective merely at stopping growth, 70 per cent of the feral pig population must be removed each year. Given the proven total absence of any data or even estimates on the total number of feral pigs in New South Wales, the Minister cannot know what percentage of feral pigs have been removed. If she is not using the standard international approach of counting pig numbers and calculating percentage removals, how is she measuring the effectiveness of the program?

The Hon. Daniel Mookhey: We are culling more pigs than you are leaders.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Government members will cease interjecting.

The Hon. TARA MORIARTY (Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Minister for Western New South Wales) (11:41): I acknowledge the Treasurer's interjection. I thank the member for the question and his ongoing interest in feral pigs across New South Wales. I also acknowledge the interest of the Hon. Chris Rath in feral pigs, which I welcomed this week. I am delighted to continue to inform the House about the Government's comprehensive program to deal with the significant feral pig problem in New South Wales. As I have indicated many times, including earlier this week, $40 million has been invested in dealing with feral pigs and other pest animals across New South Wales. We are providing financial support and resources, and working in coordination with landholders, who have a responsibility under the Biosecurity Act for dealing with those issues on their properties.

My focus is on culling feral pigs across New South Wales. I do not want people wasting time counting them. That would be a ridiculous use of the taxpayer resources that are being used to cull feral pigs and deal with the significant problem across New South Wales. They are the most significant pest threat the State faces. As I have indicated many times before, the breeding conditions over the last couple of years meant that the numbers have grown. Again, we are working with landholders to deal with the problem. Feral pigs start breeding at three months, at a very rapid pace. Putting significant resources into dealing with the issue across regional New South Wales is the focus of the Government. Spending time counting pest animals across the State would be a waste of resources. [Time expired.]

The Hon. Sarah Mitchell: It's a waste to count, but you have to get rid of 70 per cent.

The Hon. SCOTT BARRETT (11:43): Yes, it is a waste to count, but the Government is quite happy to put out a press release saying that 223,000 pigs have been killed since July 2023. The Government wants to brag about it. Since I have brought up the issue, information has come to me that a lowball estimate is about five million pigs in New South Wales. If members want to put questions to the Treasurer, get him to quickly work out 200,000 out of five million. How close is that to 70 per cent? It is not putting a dint in the number of pigs in this State. The Government is more focused on a press release than outcomes, and that happens over and over again. It is abundantly clear that the Minister has no idea how many pigs there are in the State and seemingly no interest in trying to find out. Rather than press releases, we need real outcomes. We need to see the numbers of pigs in this State come down and stop them doing damage to our environment and economy.

The Hon. TARA MORIARTY (Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Minister for Western New South Wales) (11:44): I just cannot get enough of talking about feral pigs in my role as the Minister for Agriculture, in this Chamber and in any other forum the Opposition would like to discuss it. Yes, we put out a press release about culling 223,000 feral pigs across New South Wales. That is good news, but there is more to do. It is not a victory lap; it is informing the public. It is informing the landholders across regional communities, who we are supporting and working with, about the outcomes being achieved from the large investment of money into tackling this significant issue. Informing the public and keeping people up to date about the results of the programs we are rolling out across the State is an important role of the Government. I do not have a problem with informing people about that. The resources we are allocated are about culling pigs, not counting them. [Time expired.]

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