Australia should clean up East Timor cane toads: Greens

A minor opposition party in Australia is calling on the government to pay for a plan to eradicate cane toads from East Timor.There are reports that Australian troops introduced the pest during the first military intervention there nine years ago.

The Defence Force says a range of organisations have transported vehicles and equipment from Australian ports to East Timor, but it'd be hard to pinpoint the source.The leader of the Greens Party, Bob Brown, says the toads pose a serious threat to East Timor's economy and environment, and Australia must act to get rid of them before the wet season."Whether they're military or otherwise does not matter - Australia as a nation has responsibilty for this and must do everything it urgently can to stamp the toad out before it spreads," he said. "This is a massive, difficult, urgent and potentially costly job but the cost of not doing it is astronomical and unthinkable."