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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-08-29 Daily Xml
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Fruit Fly Outbreak

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister update the chamber on the ongoing response to the Adelaide Qfly outbreak?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:06): I thank the honourable member for his question. As members would be aware, six male Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) were detected in Salisbury North between 27 February 2024 and 4 March 2024, which triggered an outbreak of fruit fly in accordance with Australia's national fruit fly management protocol.

In response to the outbreak, a comprehensive suite of controls to eradicate fruit fly were applied to eradicate the pest, including applying bait and deploying devices to attract and kill fruit flies; regular checks of fruit for the presence of fruit fly larvae; picking up fallen fruit and taking unwanted fruit from trees; talking to residents and distributing information on activities they can support to assist the eradication; providing information to commercial growers and wholesalers on movement restrictions and how they can abide by market access requirements; and checking traps to detect fruit flies.

I am delighted to update members that the next stage of the response will start today. If you live in Salisbury North or the surrounding suburbs there is no need to be alarmed, should you see a low-flying plane in the area. The Department of Primary Industries and Regions will start the release of the first of more than 21 million sterile fruit flies using sterile insect technology (SIT) which will be released over the next three months as part of the state government's response to the Qfly outbreak in metropolitan Adelaide.

The metropolitan release will continue for 12 weeks around the Salisbury North area where the outbreak was detected. The first six weeks will see three million sterile flies released per week across the eradication site, and in the following six weeks a total of 600,000 will be released per week at a suppression rate. The last detection of any Qfly across the eradication site was on 6 May, so we know that the response is working and we are certainly heading in the right direction.

With the Qfly outbreak in Salisbury North essentially contained, this latest SIT release is, if you like, an insurance policy to ensure that any potential remaining wild flies are dealt with rapidly. Our world-leading SIT program utilising the national facility in Port Augusta is an effective weapon in the fight against fruit fly in South Australia, protecting our $1.15 billion worth of horticultural produce vulnerable to fruit fly infestation. The Qfly SIT facility is doing an excellent job in supplying both metropolitan Adelaide and the Riverland with a significant number of SIT flies every single week. This is playing a key role in the ongoing battle against Qfly in both the Riverland and metropolitan Adelaide.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the ongoing efforts of PIRSA staff and industry, in particular the CEO of AUSVEG SA, Jordan Brooke-Barnett, and the CEO of the South Australian Produce Markets, Angelo Demasi, for the leadership they have shown throughout the Adelaide outbreak. I look forward to once again being able to update this place once the SIT release is complete and, hopefully, full eradication can be declared.

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