Thursday, 28 August 2025

Wombat protection

Nicole WERNER (Warrandyte) (17:28): (1298) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Environment, and the action I seek is urgent and ongoing funding for Mange Management’s wombat treatment program, which does so much in my electorate as well as across Victoria. Right now, as I speak, wombats in Warrandyte are being eaten alive by sarcoptic mange, an invasive disease introduced by early settlers. It is a slow, preventable cruelty. The mites burrow under the skin and the hide thickens and cracks into painful infected lesions, and wombats scratch until they bleed; their fur falls out, their hearing and sight fade and they grow weak and stop eating, and within about three months most die. In some areas infection reaches 90 per cent, and we are seeing the same pattern here. This disease does not stop at the burrow; it can spread to other wildlife, to pets and to livestock. Wombats matter. Their digging turns soil and their burrows become life-saving shelter for other species, especially after fire. When a wombat disappears, the whole bush feels it.

But there is a cure. We can save these wombats, and they are being saved by Mange Management, a remarkable grassroots organisation that punches well above its weight. Powered almost entirely by volunteers, they are the only dedicated wombat mange treatment group in Victoria. They have treated thousands of wombats, trained Parks Victoria rangers and built a statewide response network, handling more than 1600 cases every single year.

In 2020 the government backed this work with $100,000 a year for four years. However, that funding ended in May. Without it, volunteers will face huge personal costs, response times will slow and hundreds of wombats will die unnecessarily. I acknowledge that the government has committed to undertaking a population count of Victoria’s wombats. However, further funding is required to actually help to save Victoria’s precious wombats. I know my community cares deeply about wildlife and the people who step up to protect it. I also thank Mange Management Victoria. The volunteers there do wonderful work, and they go out of their way to protect these precious wombats. This is a small, targeted investment with a large impact on animal welfare and ecosystem health. I trust that the government will step up and keep funding this amazing group that does so much for our local ecosystem and for our state.