Portfolio — 8 April 2026

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced more than $500,000 in Northern Territory funding to strengthen habitat for native species most vulnerable to H5 avian influenza, with magpie geese the headline at-risk species [TA-260408-agricu-5d4ff0eccef4]. The investment operates across two fronts: in Mary River National Park, funding supports aerial surveys of threatened species and expands ranger operations targeting feral pigs, buffalo and gamba grass; in the Gurruwiling Arafura Swamp, Indigenous rangers will address nationally significant weeds including olive hymenachne and mimosa [TA-260408-agricu-5d4ff0eccef4].

This announcement sits within the government's $100 million H5 bird flu preparedness program, of which $35.9 million is allocated to environment measures — a figure that contextualises the Northern Territory's earlier commitments of $150,000 for species and site preparedness planning and $9,700 for biosecurity enhancements at Alice Springs Desert Park [TA-260408-agricu-5d4ff0eccef4].

The cross-portfolio nature of the announcement is explicit: the Minister for the Environment and Water jointly framed the investment, arguing that robust native species populations are the primary line of defence against H5 impacts and that the government's task is to build sustainable populations before the virus arrives rather than to prevent its arrival [TA-260408-agricu-5d4ff0eccef4].

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry anchored the spending within the government's preparedness, surveillance and response framework and cast biosecurity stewardship as a shared obligation spanning governments, industry, communities and individuals. The engagement of the Gurruwiling Arafura Swamp Rangers also signals an Indigenous land management dimension to the program that the media release does not fully elaborate — a potential gap worth tracking as the broader $35.9 million environment stream is deployed.