Shot-hole borer non-disclosure agreements getting in way of fighting pest, say Perth mayors
By Grace Burmas
Topic:Trees
16m ago16 minutes agoFri 14 Mar 2025 at 10:06pm
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In short:
Councils are required to sign NDAs to access information on shot-hole-borer infected trees, which has drawn the ire of some mayors, who say its stifling efforts to fight the pest.
The tiny invasive beetle has so far led to the destruction of more than 4,000 trees in the Perth metro area.
What's next?
Perth already had the lowest tree canopy among Australian capitals, and while the government has a 2040 growth target, tree canopy data hasn't been updated in five years.
The state government is being urged to drop non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) being placed on the location of shot-hole-borer infected trees, as concerns about Perth's tree canopy grow.
Perth already had the barest tree canopy of any capital city in the country.
Then in 2021, a tiny, invasive tree-killing pest — the polyphagous shot hole borer — was detected and has since led to the destruction of more than 4,000 trees in the Perth metropolitan area.
The vascular system of a piece of wood infested by shot hole borer beetles
The vascular system of a tree infested by the shot-hole borer. (ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch)
But the complete picture of the beetle's destruction has been shrouded in secrecy.
Local councils are having to sign NDAs to be told exactly where the borer is in people's yards.
Meanwhile urban tree canopy data, usually published biennially, hasn't been released in five years.
Roadblock during crisis
The use of NDAs by the state agency leading the biosecurity response to shot hole borer is no secret.
It's clearly outlined in the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's (DPIRD) plan that local governments will enter an NDA to know where individual infested trees are on private property.
The City of Vincent says it signed the agreement out of desperation for its community.
Woman wearing blue shit and white blazer stands in front of tree.
Alison Xamon says the NDAs prevent communities from working together to stop the borer. (ABC News: Grace Burmas)
"This is such a serious matter that at the moment we're prepared to sign anything to be able to get as much information as we can so that we can try to address this crisis," Mayor Alison Xamon said.
"Local councils need to have that level of specificity because we need to be able to work with our communities to make sure they are also looking out for signs of borer.
Man in high-vis cuts branches of a tree with a chainsaw from a cherry picker.
Kings Park has already seen the destruction of many mature trees as a result of the shot-hole borer. (ABC News: Grace Burmas)
"Unfortunately needing to sign these disclosures actually prevents that."
Matter of privacy
A DPIRD spokesperson said it's required to manage the privacy of individual residents whose trees have been infested with shot-hole borer.
It's a precaution the department said is standard practice for all biosecurity responses.
DPIRD said local governments that don't sign the NDA can still access relevant data for trees on land they manage.
Blonde woman in white blazer and glasses stands in front of tree.
Mayor of Victoria Park Karen Vernon says the NDAs are a gag order getting in the way of fighting the pest. (ABC News: Grace Burmas)
The Town of Victoria Park refused to opt in to the agreement.
"We're not going to go and broadcast the names and addresses of private properties where the borer has been detected. We do have enough mechanisms in place to deal with that," Mayor Karen Vernon said.
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She said the secrecy has put a roadblock in the way of the ultimate goal for all levels of government, which is to eradicate the pest.
"Vital information we need to coordinate our efforts to manage the borer are being held hostage in effect to a gag order that says you can't actually do anything with this information," the mayor said.
"Why would you use a non-disclosure agreement when the strength and the quality of public information and making it available can actually be your greatest weapon?
An aerial vision of clearing along a riverside
The shot-hole-borer has seen trees cleared along Perth's iconic Mounts Bay Road foreshore. (Supplied: Nearmap)
"If you keep that from them because you think that there are some good reasons for keeping it quiet, I think that it's a mistake."
Where are the trees?
The government launched an interactive dashboard to track the percentage of land covered by tree canopy in Perth's metropolitan, dating back to more than a decade ago.
Pruned trees with white latex painted over burrow holes behind a caution sign.
A chemical trial for polyphagous shot-hole borer being tested on trees in East Perth. (ABC News: Grace Burmas)
The last published snapshot was from 2020, and it didn't paint a glowing picture, with just 16 per cent of Perth covered by trees taller than three metres.
"Since then, we've been hit with the shot hole borer and continued losses and you would have to think that if the numbers were good and going up, they would have been released," the Chair of WA Tree Canopy Advocates, Sarah Allchurch, said.
Labor has promised to plant one million trees in Perth's metropolitan over the next decade and set a target of 30 per cent canopy cover by 2040.
"The problem is we need a baseline and without that baseline we can't measure our progress," Ms Allchurch said.
Blonde woman wears a hat and stands in front of trees.
Sarah Allchurch wants the state government to publish urban tree canopy data. (ABC News: Grace Burmas)
"It's like setting a weight loss target without stepping on the scales."
A spokesperson from the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage said the updated data is anticipated to be available in 2025.
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Posted16m ago16 minutes agoFri 14 Mar 2025 at 10:06pm
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