Since announcing Don Burke as the new Chair of the AEF I have received emails from those wanting to promote leucaena, kill camphor laurels, naturalise lantana etcetera.
Weeds and ferals are a huge environmental issue. But can we learn to live with some of our exotics? Should we accept lantana as naturalized?
I was amazed to read in OLO this morning that rainbow lorikeets are considered a pest in Perth,
“The rainbow lorikeet is alien to the southwest of WA and numbers have now reached at least 10,000 in metropolitan Perth. Complaints increasingly come from people living in urban areas, as well as from commercial fruit growers about the loss and damage caused to their crops. The lorikeet is a noisy bird that out-competes more timid birds for nest hollows and may displace the western rosella from its only habitat in the world, the south west of WA. The lorikeet has been declared a pest species within the Perth metropolitan area, with an open season declared on the species throughout the southwest division of the state.”
At certain times of the year I get a lot of rainbow lorikeets in my backyard in Brisbane. They are busy and noisy and beautiful.
It is the possums I get cranky with. Over the last few months they have even been stripping my chilli bush of both its chillis and leaves.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.