Source : Perth Now news
An invasive grass species has sparked calls for urgent federal action to curb its spread amid fears it will fuel destructive wildfires across Central Australia.
A federal inquiry is needed into the mismanagement of buffel grass, which should be listed as a weed of national significance, the non-government Invasive Species Council says.
Heavy rain had triggered an explosion of the grass across the Red Centre, with fears the huge fuel loads would create dangerous fire conditions as it dried out, council spokeswoman Taigen Ryan said.
Buffel grass ticks all the boxes for listing as a weed of national significance, but because of lobbying from the pastoral industry a decision on listing it had been delayed until December, she told AAP.
The savannah grass was introduced to Australia as a stock feed early last century and helps get cattle through dry periods.
Farmers say the grass is crucial to the cattle industry, while the Northern Territory government has proposed a 10-year exemption for pastoralists in a draft buffel grass control plan.
Buffel grass burns 300C hotter than native grasses and can burn trees to their core, threatening the treetop havens where native animals seek protection from bushfires, Ms Ryan said.
Fire was also a vector for spreading the weed at the expense of native grasses.
‘Volunteer firefighters here are telling us buffel grass is already fuelling the majority of the fires they are being called out to fight,” Ms Ryan said.
National co-ordination was needed, along with sustained funding and a serious plan to stop its spread, she said.
Alice Springs Mayor Asta Hill said her council was working to stop buffel grass spreading through the town but it was far beyond what local ratepayers could reasonably be expected to fund.
“People come to Central Australia to experience our extraordinary landscapes, and we cannot stand by while those landscapes are transformed and increasingly exposed to destructive fires,” she said.
A federal government spokesperson said the Albanese government recognised the threats invasive grasses posed to fuel loads and native plants and animals.
“Responsibility for on-ground weed management primarily sits with state and territory governments, and we support the Northern Territory government’s work on a buffel grass management plan,” they said.
Work was under way to tackle buffel grass on federally managed sites such as Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and through the National Established Weed Priorities process.
The independent Threatened Species Scientific Committee was assessing buffel grass for listing as a key threat under national environmental law, with the assessment due in 2027.
Buffel grass was declared a weed in the NT in 2024 and the NT government has committed $750,000 annually towards its management.
Current eradication methods include digging out the plant or using chemicals to kill it, but they are time-consuming and labour intensive in the face of thousands of kilometres of infestation.
