Tuesday, 22 February 2022

1080 poison

Mr MEDDICK (Western Victoria) (17:25): (1743) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and the action I seek is a commitment to phase out the use of 1080 poison in Victoria. This is no wild or baseless request. It is one based on science, on economic argument and, most particularly, on animal cruelty grounds. It is also vitally important to the survival of our apex native land predator, the dingo.

The phase-out was a key recommendation of the Environment and Planning Committee’s inquiry into ecosystem decline in Victoria. The inquiry heard from a vast array of experts and scientists on this subject, including Dr Kylie Cairns, Professor Ernest Healy and Dr Mel Browning, amongst a host of others. All agreed it was imperative to ecosystem recovery that this outrageously cruel poison, banned in almost every country around the world, including all but a few states in the US, where it was marketed from, be removed from any introduced species control program because of its inherent cruelty and because it kills all species, including swathes that are non-targeted, including many companion animals. This includes endangered species. To quote recommendation 7:

This should occur in conjunction with increased government support for the research and wider use of more effective and humane methods …

And again:

This phase‑out should begin in July 2022, beginning in national parks in the first year. It should then be expanded into agricultural and other applications in the second year and be completed by December 2023.

Will the minister take up and implement recommendation 7 and commit to the phase-out of a chemical that is still listed in this country as one of terrorist concern, given its original purpose was as a chemical warfare weapon, and let our native species and companion animals breathe a sigh of relief?