Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that the:

(a) Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has reported that:

(i) common or European carp (Cyprinus carpio) is an invasive freshwater species that has been established across Australia's inland waters for several decades;

(ii) their large mouths and feeding style contribute to their environmental damage;

(iii) carp populations can also increase quickly with their numbers fluctuating in response to changing breeding conditions associated with seasonal rainfall;

(iv) in some river systems, carp can make up as much as 90 per cent of total biomass, outcompeting native fish;

(v) their high abundance increases water turbidity, damages aquatic plants, and degrades freshwater ecosystems; and

(vi) carp are now in every state and territory in Australia except the Northern Territory;

(b) National Carp Control Plan report suggests the carp herpes virus could reduce Australian carp populations by up to 60 per cent; and

(c) Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation has found the carp herpes virus is effective in killing carp and does not transfer to native species;

(2) notes that:

(a) the Victorian Fisheries Authority is advocating strongly for the release of the carp herpes virus at trial sites to help reduce the damage caused by this invasive fish;

(b) the Opposition has written to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to offer bipartisan support for the Government to set clear timelines for the release of the virus; and

(c) a meeting of key stakeholders in Nagambie, on 30 April 2026, unanimously supported the release of the virus as part of a coordinated plan to control carp numbers and formed the Murray-Darling Carp Action Alliance to unite efforts, resources, and advocacy against the invasive species; and

(3) urges the Government to work in partnership with the Opposition, key stakeholder groups and local communities to design and implement the release of the carp herpes virus by 2028 at the latest.

Former Australian of the Year Neale Daniher is famous for saying 'when all is said and done, more is said than done'. He could easily have been talking about our failure to take action on the ground to counter one of the nation's most damaging invasive species, and that's the European carp. They are destroying our waterways and they're killing native fish, but all the bureaucrats want to do is write more reports. This is paralysis by analysis, and the bureaucrats keep finding reasons to delay the release of a biocontrol. It's time for a timid minister to show some courage and take up my offer to work in a bipartisan way and have a serious crack at controlling the carp population in this country. It's time for less talk and a hell of a lot more action to control this species, which is devastating Australian waterways.

Although they were first introduced into Australia in the mid-19th century, carp really only emerged as an environmental menace in the 1960s, when a genetic strain of carp called the Boolarra strain escaped from a fish farm in my electorate of Gippsland. The Boolarra strain's escape led to a huge expansion in the range and the population of carp, and, despite some netting, trapping and community based carp-catching programs, there's been no successful long-term carp control over large areas in our nation. Carp are destroying our waterways and impacting on biodiversity right across the country. They're outcompeting native fish. Their constant undermining of riverbanks is seeing trees which are hundreds of years old falling into our waterways. The turbidity created by their feeding habits is actually impacting water quality. Their presence in such huge numbers is undermining the recreational fishing industry and impacting the visitor economy in regional Australia. And all we do in this place is talk about it.

The costs run into hundreds of millions of dollars per year, and the missed opportunity is just enormous. Just imagine the benefits if we cleaned up our streams by reducing the carp population and allowed native fish to actually flourish in our waterways.

Now, the time for talking about carp is over. Carp can amount to about 90 per cent of the fish biomass in some of our waters. There have been literally thousands of pages of scientific research and investigation into how we manage carp, and there are detailed reports on different approaches that are available to us as a nation. The National Carp Control Plan from 2022 clearly states, as to the carp herpes virus:

The carp virus will not infect humans or any other mammal, and there is considerable evidence the carp virus will not infect other non-target species …

Modelling indicates that, if it's successfully deployed, it will result in a 50 to 60 per cent reduction in carp biomass. The plan also found that broadscale and long-term water quality impacts resulting from carp biocontrol operations are unlikely, and that carcass-management strategies can be delivered.

We have the independent CSIRO also backing the virus. CSIRO researchers have found that the herpes virus does kill Australian pest carp, and it kills them quickly. Current research has also shown that the virus does not develop in native Australian species of fish.

So what are we actually waiting for? There is no decision that would not have some element of risk. As FRDC Managing Director Patrick Hone wrote in the foreword to the national plan:

Uncertainties regarding the release of the virus remain, but this is to be expected given the complexity of the work undertaken. … a decision on whether or not to release the virus will always involve some uncertainty.

One thing is certain: what we're doing now just isn't working. European carp continue to devastate our waterways, and the current control methods will not deliver the results demanded by Australians.

Now, the community agrees with me. Just last month, 80 delegates from across five states and territories attended the Murray-Darling Carp Action Summit in Nagambie, in the seat of Nicholls, and my good friend Sam Birrell, here today, also attended. They represented 41 different community, farming, fishing, processing, research and natural resource management organisations, and they had a unanimous view in relation to the national carp plan:

… progress toward implementation has been slow and uncertain, with no clear national timeline or pathway forward.

They are demanding action, not more talkfests. They've formed the Carp Action Alliance and will advocate for more carp control measures. I urge the minister to engage with them and engage with the coalition and take action immediately.

I agree with the key stakeholders, like the Victorian Fisheries Authority, that we need to set clear timelines to complete the deliberations around the carp herpes virus, as a priority, and set clear timelines for releasing the virus by 2028 at the latest. In the interests of river health across the nation, we must move beyond more research to a coordinated rollout of the virus and a carp control plan which actually delivers for regional Australia.

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