Tickline Move Stuns Producers

20160627 Tick line boundary — An unsealed and unformed section of Coalbank Boundary Road … not suitable for a tick line boundary says Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington

June 27, 2016

Cattle producers in the Coalbank area, south of Cooyar, have been left angry – and scratching their heads – by the State Government’s placement of the new tick line.

When the three options were unveiled by the State Government in December last year, the third option – the one ultimately selected by the government – was supposed to follow major roads, creating a natural boundary between tick-free and tick-infested country.

But the new maps released earlier this month for the area between Cooyar and Crows Nest have not only shifted landholders from “clean” country into the ticky zone, they also partially follow Coalbank Boundary Road which is unformed in places.

Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington said she had been receiving very concerning feedback from producers on the western side of the New England Highway who can’t understand why the line has been moved so dramatically.

“Following the release of the new tick line maps, I immediately started receiving calls from landholders in the Coalbank / Thornville area about a large movement of the line,” Mrs Frecklington said.

“They have historically been in clean country and now find themselves in the infested zone.

“They are also extremely concerned that the new line runs along Coalbank Boundary Road, a road which was never put forward as an option by the Department.

(Earlier maps which are no longer available on the Department’s website showed Option 3 as running along the New England Highway from Yarraman onwards.)

“Coalbank Boundary Road is not a suitable barrier for the tick line as it is not fenced for the entire length, and is not even trafficable in parts,” Mrs Frecklington said.

“I have written to the Minister for Agriculture asking how this decision was made, for immediate consideration of this new tick line location and movement of the line back to the New England Highway between Emu Creek and Thornville.

“These producers have spent thousands and thousands of dollars over the years keeping their properties tick free and this outcome is just not acceptable.”