Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory:
This petition of certain residents of the Australian Capital Territory draws to the attention of the
Assembly that:
the Common (Indian) Myna was Declared a Pest Animal by Minister Vassarotti MLA in June
2021;
the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has identified this myna
species as one of only three birds on the list of the world’s 100 most invasive species;
research by Dr Kate Grarock at Australian National University found that Common Mynas
have contributed to the decline in native birds in Canberra;
Common Mynas pose a risk to rare and endangered insects and reptiles (eg. the Golden Sun
Moth, Perunga Flightless Grasshopper, Grassland Earless Dragon) as well as disturb public
amenity by their raucous calls and fouling of backyards and public areas;
there is overwhelming community support for myna control action; and
effective control demands a prompt systems-wide response across all landscapes, public and
private lands, to significantly reduce Common Myna numbers across the ACT.
Your petitioners therefore request the Assembly require the ACT Government to undertake the
following:
1. adopt the Precautionary Principle and the No-Regrets Principle - in accordance with
sound and long-standing environmental and conservation policy - when assessing the
risk posed by the Common Myna and in considering response strategies;
2. promptly develop a Common Myna control plan relating to public lands that links with
and complements the existing community-action program on private domestic property;
3. work with commercial owners and the volunteers’ program to identify areas of high
myna concentrations, and act as a catalyst to collaboratively develop and implement
control plans for business and commercial areas with those high concentrations;
4. investigate if there are new technological approaches applicable to myna control on
broad-scale public land, business premises and private domestic properties;
5. direct relevant ACT Government agencies to promptly undertake myna control activities
in their areas of responsibility, and in particular schools, nature reserves and urban
parkland; and
6. ensure that the ACT Government agencies work with existing community groups already
implementing myna control activities to enable successful and coordinated pest
management across the ACT.