Media releases 2020

Connecting plant health surveillance professionals

10 December 2020
Members of the Plant Surveillance Network Australasia-Pacific are now better connected following the launch of a new website in December at the Annual Surveillance Workshop 2020.

By improving links between surveillance professionals and providing specialised training opportunities such as the workshop, the network aims to strengthen plant pest surveillance capability and capacity. Read more

Defending against a new pest, fall armyworm

16 November 2020
Since its detection across northern parts of Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia in February 2020, fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) has been quick to establish in these locations, but Plant Health Australia (PHA) has announced new resources to assist in defending crops against the pest.

Stuart Kearns, National Manager for Preparedness and RD&E at PHA, said that the threat posed by fall armyworm prompted concerted efforts to find out about its likely effects in Australia and how best to manage it. Read more

Blueprint for national cooperation on fruit fly released

12 November 2020
The path towards a more coordinated and sustainable fruit fly management system to protect the future productivity and profitability of Australia’s horticulture sector is now clearer with the release of the 2020-25 National Fruit Fly Strategy.

The strategy was launched yesterday at a meeting of the National Fruit Fly Council (NFFC). Read more

Plant Health Australia welcomes new CEO Sarah Corcoran

July 13, 2020
Last week, Sarah Corcoran commenced as CEO of Plant Health Australia (PHA), the national coordinator of the government-industry partnership on plant biosecurity.

PHA Chair, Steve McCutcheon, said Sarah was awarded the position in April following a rigorous recruitment process undertaken by the PHA Board. Read more

We need your weevils: survey to measure phosphine resistance in grain storages

July 9, 2020
As part of a continuing, national effort to measure the resistance of insects in stored grain to phosphine, the Victoria’s Grains Biosecurity Officer, Jim Moran, wants to visit farms to collect insects in and around grain storages.

The project is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation via grain grower levies and will benchmark the distribution of insect resistance to phosphine around Australia. Read more

The state of plant biosecurity in Australia

July 2, 2020
The National Plant Biosecurity Status Report for 2019 was released this week by Plant Health Australia (PHA), bringing together contributions from over 100 government, industry and research organisations.

PHA publishes the report annually to provide a comprehensive overview of the state of plant biosecurity in Australia in the previous calendar year. Read more

Launch of the International Year of Plant Health in Australia

February 6, 2020
Garnering support across Australia to protect plants from pests and diseases is the aim of the launch of the International Year of Plant Health at Parliament House, Canberra on 6 February 2020.

For the first time in history, the United Nations General Assembly has focused global attention on plant health by declaring 2020 the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). Read more