Wednesday, 19 March 2025

 Bill TILLEY (Benambra) (14:52): (1058) My question is to the Minister for Environment. The information I seek is: when will the minister return staff for the maintenance of the Tallangatta Valley electrified wild dog exclusion fence? The minister’s department and this government are all about non-lethal control methods, and here you have one in the Tallangatta Valley which is about 75 ‍kilometres long that has been switched off because this government do not have the staff to maintain it. This fence protects livestock from wild dogs. This barrier was maintained by a Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action staffer last year when wild dogs in the north-east was a hot topic. I understand that person has since been redeployed. The government’s own figures from DEECA’s invasive species program show a 30 per cent increase in livestock either killed or maimed and a 53 per cent increase in the number of wild dogs seen and heard. Locals say it is a direct reflection of the fence being taken out of action.