The Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) is a division of the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, created in 1974 to manage outbreaks of the Australian plague locust, spur-throated locust and migratory locust in eastern Australia. With 19 staff members at its headquarters in Canberra and field offices in Narromine, Broken Hill and Longreach, the Commission is funded half by the Commonwealth government and half by the Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
Activities
The APLC conducts regular surveys of locust populations and migrations and carries out control of locust outbreaks by means of aerial application of pesticides; traditionally these were chemicals, but more recently APLC has been a major contributor to the development of a biological pesticide in collaboration with CSIRO and LUBILOSA scientists. With CSIRO, it also conducts educational outreach and training courses for landowners, businesses, and local governments, including international consulting work in China, Africa and South America.
Responsibility to control the pest species resides with the states. The APLC coordinates activities when species migrate across state borders. The establishment of the APLC allowed for the first use of remotely sensed data to forecast locust populations in Australia.
In 2010, the APLC together with the states identified the potential for a significant infestation of the spur-throated locust. A coordinated effort to minimise damage was undertaken. It was estimated the activities resulted in a saving of $963 million from the expenditure of $50 million.