Kingaroy won’t be getting a new Tick Officer despite a vocal push from local graziers.
On Wednesday, Tom Seiler from the Boondooma Tick Control committee urged the State Government to station one of 15 new biosecurity officers in Kingaroy.
He told ABC Radio the region’s tick-free status would continue to be threatened until a biosecurity officer was stationed nearby.
“We’re really worried that there’s just not enough resources being put into this,” he said.
“As a community, we’re not just asking the government to fix it, we’re looking into other ways to galvanise others in our district to help out the people on the (tick) line who are the ones who are wearing the costs of it all.”
However, as previously reported, the State Government has already announced the biosecurity position in Kingaroy will be filled by a Crop Protection Officer, not a Tick Officer.
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington told southburnett.com.au she would continue to fight for more tick officers in the local area, but in the meantime she welcomed the announcement of a Crop Protection Officer.
“Of course, while we’d always like to see more tick officers in our area, the government’s priority is to deliver tick officers to areas which don’t have any existing officers to prevent further spread of ticks,” she said.
“There are four Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry staff with tick work involvement stationed in Kingaroy and there are also third party providers for tick inspections here.
“I will continue to fight for more tick officers in our area but those areas which don’t have tick officers currently must be the priority.”
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