Gamba Army funding announcement welcomed

Today’s announcement by the Northern Territory Government of $500,000 for the Gamba Army has been welcomed by the Gamba Grass Roots community alliance.

“This funding will be a great relief to the landholders, firefighters, park rangers and community members who have been dealing with the issues caused by Gamba across our landscapes,” said Pew Charitable Trusts NT Manager Mitch Hart.

“We’ve heard from so many Territorians that the Gamba Army got off to a strong start and the community wants it to continue.”

“People out of work got to train and gain new valuable skills. Contractors have been able to hire trained employees. Landholders, land managers and community groups really appreciated the help tackling Gamba on their land. We also saw this effort encouraging more action over the fence.”

“If we want to tackle the Gamba crisis once and for all, we need to ensure that all elements of the Territory’s gamba strategy are properly resourced.”

“The Gamba Army is an important part of the overall plan to tackle this issue – continued funding will set it up for success,” said Mr Hart.

“We also need to provide more help to private landholders, promote improved compliance to keep residents and firefighters safe and tackle gamba on public land, particularly in important places like Litchfield National Park.

“Territorians know that getting on top of gamba grass can require years of focused effort – you can’t just spray once and sit back and relax. This continuation of the Gamba Army is a recognition of that,” said Mr Hart.

In June, Gamba Grass Roots launched an online petition, wrote letters and made calls asking Chief Minister Michael Gunner, Ministers Eva Lawler and Selena Uibo to commit ongoing funding to the Gamba Army.