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LANDLOCK PLAN WILL FUEL FERAL PIG CATASTROPHE

March 27, 2025

State Member for Hill Shane Knuth has slammed the Federal Government’s decision to landlock 30 million hectares of bushland, warning it will worsen the nation's feral pig crisis and lead to environmental devastation on an unprecedented scale.

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s announcement to lock up land equivalent to the size of New Zealand is nothing short of an eco-disaster in the making, according to Mr Knuth.

“This is a death sentence for North Queensland’s agricultural industry and native wildlife,” Mr Knuth said.

“Ask any property owner who border state and National Parks and they will tell you that Governments are the worst land managers, letting National Parks turn into feral pig breeding grounds.

Now, they want to make it worse—locking up more land while turning their backs on the catastrophic damage being caused.”

23+ MILLION FERAL PIGS AND COUNTING

Australia is now overrun with more than 23 million feral pigs, destroying farmland, wiping out native species, and spreading noxious weeds and deadly diseases like Panama TR4—which threatens our $600 million banana industry.

“The Federal Government is throwing a pathetic $1.4 million in funding through the National Feral Pig Action Plan, while splashing out $250 million to lock up land for an unrealistic and idealistic '30x30' climate goal,” Mr Knuth said.

“They’re throwing our primary industries under the bus. Feral pigs have ZERO environmental value.

“It’s ironic that the Government is spending $250million on locking up more land for environmental purposes, which will lead to an even greater environmental disaster, but the federal government is too obsessed and blinded with greenwashed ideology to see and understand the destruction this will cause.”

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