MOUSE PLAGUE

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:23): I seek to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Regional Development about South Australia's mouse plague.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: A report in The Advertiser on 5 May 2011 stated:

Farmers facing the worse mouse plague for nearly two decades are struggling to combat it because of a shortage of chemicals...South Australian Farmers Federation President, Mr Peter White, said, 'The Mice Taskforce came up with a recommendation to allow farmers to buy zinc sulphide so they could mix their own bait. [However:]

'That process is being delayed and it won't happen in time for seeding this year,' he said.

Since that report, ABC Rural Radio stated that the state government has been:

...working with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) on an emergency permit to speed up the process of importing the key ingredient, zinc phosphide.

Biosecurity SA Executive Director stated on ABC Rural Radio on 13 May that:

The reality would then be, 'are we going to look at on-farm mixing, or are we looking at regional mixing stations, possibly through the NRM boards?'...There is a huge issue here in terms of requiring the trained NRM staff, but we don't have an occupational health and safety process registered at the moment for mixing this chemical.

My questions are:

1. How will the state government's mice working party address the concerns of the occupational health and safety process required to mix the chemical?

2. With farmers in mice-affected areas last year reporting average yield losses of 30 per cent in the worst-affected paddocks and farmers now facing up to $40,000 for mice bait and a delay in receiving the pesticides, what other assistance will the government offer to prevent extreme damage in farming regions in South Australia?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (15:26): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. Indeed, the current mouse plague has the potential to have a quite devastating impact on those regions that are affected. I know that a great deal has been done by this government to try to develop strategies to approach this problem and particularly to attempt to make sure that the appropriate chemicals for baits are made readily available to farmers. I will need to refer those detailed questions to the relevant ministers in another place, particularly the minister for primary industries, and I am happy to bring back a response.