KEY ISSUES: TIMBER AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT
European House Borer (EHB) Containment and Eradication Program
The Primary Industries Ministerial Council has agreed to national cost sharing for a two year program to address the outbreak of EHB in Perth. The second year of this cost sharing is subject to industry funding 20% of the cost of the project for the second year.
A3P Management is actively involved in the EHB National Consultative Committee and the EHB Industry-Government Liaison Working Group a consultative group established to consider options for raising the proposed industry contribution, including levy mechanisms.
A3P will continue to keep our members informed about any potential implications of the costing sharing arrangement via our website and weekly electronic newsletter, Canopy. Click here to subscribe to Canopy.
The EHB outbreak
An outbreak of the wood boring insect, EHB, was originally discovered in Perth in January 2004. EHB is a pest of seasoned coniferous timber and infests untreated wood in use as well as dead pine trees and dead branches.
Since the original discovery the Western Australian Government via the Department of Agriculture and Food and the Forest Products Commission has undertaken a major program to determine the extent of the outbreak, limit the spread of the pest and destroy it where it is found. In the period 2004-06 the WA government spent $7.1 million on the EHB Program.
The outbreak is limited to the Perth metropolitan area and the vast majority of detections of the pest have been in dead trees/branches in plantations and amenity plantings. However, there have been a small number of detections in wooden furniture and stored sawn timber.
It is still unclear to what extent EHB will attack structural wood in use and obtaining and answer to this vital question is complicated by a number of factors including:
- long period (years) prior to insect emergence from infested material;
- limited use of structural softwood in Perth prior to 2000;
- difficulty of inspecting structural timber in use; and
- increasing use of treated (Blue Pine) structural material reducing the risks with respect to new structures.
For further information about the EHB Containment and Eradication Program visit: www.ehb.wa.gov.au
Timber Information
Free technical information on the source, selection, properties and other atributes of plantation timber based products available for use in building and construction applications.