Territory Labor announces their gamba policy

Minister for Environment and Natural Resources Eva Lawler has just announced the Labor Government’s gamba policy for this election.

All three main parties have now announced their plans to act on gamba.

This is the first time that gamba has received this much attention before an NT election. That’s because of your constant pressure over the years to get to this point. Today’s Territory Labor announcement outlines good practical measures that will assist in this fight. Bolstering these commitments with further investment over the coming years will be critical to keeping communities safe and protecting iconic places like Litchfield National Park.

Every phone call, email, petition, market stall, conversation with a pollie at the markets, detailed submission, gamba ID lesson with your neighbours, trip to help your friends tackle gamba on their land – it’s all adding up, and it has been noticed.

The politicians can’t ignore gamba anymore. Now we need to make sure the next NT Government, whoever it may be, gets it right.

The Labor policy includes:

• A $500,000 investment in setting up a Gamba Army, including:
  • Employing people to tackle gamba
  • Targeting infestations, specifically in places like Litchfield National Park and the Greater Darwin region
  • Mapping and research with a team from CDU to identify the most important hotspots to focus efforts
• $225,000 per year for gamba fire risk mitigation, with Bushfires NT and Weeds Branch working together to manage the threat of gamba fires
• Funding vouchers for landholders to help manage gamba and build firebreaks on their land, with up to $500 of matched funding per landholder
• Ongoing funding for the Gamba Action Program and a dedicated gamba action taskforce to connect across government and the community.

More big news: the Government’s gamba action plan will be open for public consultation for the next 6 weeks.

That means that whichever party is in government after August 22, they’ll have the community’s feedback ready to put into action as part of building the Territory’s economic recovery. We’ll be in touch about that early next week once we’ve got more detail in hand.

For today though, know that your pressure over the years has made gamba a major election issue. In fact, it’s the first land management issue where all three parties have committed to action in the entire campaign. That’s down to you.

We’ll be in touch,

Tiana, Mitch and Josh for the Gamba Grass Roots team

PS – You can see the details of today’s announcement here.