Waroona wages war on white weeping broom under new pest plant local laws

A South West shire is gearing up for war against an insidious plant pest that is slowly sneaking its way into a quiet coastal town.

The Shire of Waroona are looking at establishing a new local law that will specify pest plants within the shire.

The first plant to be added to this list will be white weeping broom, an invasive north African plant which has slowly crept into the region from across the State.

Preston Beach volunteer ranger Noel Dew said it was necessary to act on the invasive plant as soon as possible.

He said if the plant was able to spread into the sand dunes, it is very likely they would overrun and destroy the vital ecosystem.

“That bush thrives in dry, arid, sandy soil and there is just no end to it,” he said.

“This bush will keep popping up here, there and everywhere and if it gets in those dunes, we will lose them.”

One bush is capable of producing thousands of seeds in order to exponentially expand and cover entire ecosystems in a sea of strangling roots and branches.

Mr Dew said when the insidious nature of the plant was brought to his attention he attempted to have the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development step in to eradicate the pest.

However, as the outbreak was local, and the plant had not yet been declared a pest on a State or Federal level, the task of eradication has fallen on the shire.

The council agreed at its most recent meeting to continue the process of implementing a new pest plant local law which would identify white weeping bloom and other plants within the shire as registered pests.

The proposal is open to public consultation until May 10.

If the local law is passed, the shire will have the ability to specify pest plants within the shire and implement control strategies, removing the weeds from shire-owned land and private property.

Around Preston Beach bushes of broom are yellowed and dying after Mr Dew and other volunteer rangers took action, but surrounding the dead and dying plants are smaller shrubs of white weeping broom are poised and ready to take their place.

Mr Dew said acting on the plant now was the only way to get a handle on it, expecting a continuous battle long into the future to eradicate the plant.