Title: Australia's Fraser Island World Heritage group calls for more weed control
[ABC News 11 May 2012 by Frances Adcock] -- A Fraser Island residents' group wants the Queensland Government to get tougher on stopping weeds being brought to the island, off the state's south-east. More than 16 local groups are working together to ensure vehicles are washed down before arriving on the island to reduce the spread of weeds. John Sinclair from the Fraser Island Defenders organisation says the wash downs also have other benefits. "It doesn't just stop weed seeds going onto the island, it also makes sure that we're not going to get some terrible fungal diseases that we know are around and potentially a potent threat to the forest of Fraser Island - things like the pythagorus root rot fungus and there are other diseases that also could be in mud that get stuck underneath vehicles," he said. Mr Sinclair says many national parks in Queensland require vehicles to be washed down to enter clean areas. "Since Fraser Island was listed on the World Heritage [list] we've seen a more than than doubling of the number of weed species going onto Fraser Island and those number of weeds are getting harder and harder to deal with and getting into remote places mainly because the introductions have hitchhiked in on vehicles," he said.
