THE “war on weeds” won’t take down the fodder industry or choke property owners with red tape as collateral damage.
The idea to mandate a “licence to bale” and weed status certificates on properties bigger than one hectare was shot down by the NSW government this week.
Today Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson will announce $11.3 million of new funding for “on the ground” weeds projects as well as the government’s response to a controversial Natural Resources Commission (NRC) review, which landed on the minister’s desk in May.
The review, Weeds – Time to get serious, highlighted the need to crackdown on weeds, which cost the State an estimated $1.8 billion a year in control and lost production.
The “nil-tenure” approach to weed management suggested in the review was hailed as a step forward and as a way of providing consistency by NSW Farmers conservation and resource management committee chairman Mitchell Clapham.
However, in The Land (May 22, 2014), the Australian Fodder Industry Association’s Darren Keating was appalled his industry had been singled out with a recommendation that suggested before fodder growers were allowed to sell hay, considered a “high risk weed dissemination pathway”, they would have to prove they were weed-free and register – a situation that would have been unique to NSW.
Local councils at the time also expressed concerns they would shoulder the responsibility for issuing “weed status certificates” for all properties larger than one hectare – a potential bureaucratic nightmare.
They’ll be relieved today to hear Ms Hodgkinson say the government had supported the majority of the NRC’s review, but there had been some sticking points.
“Where a recommendation has not been supported, it is because we believed it could lead to an increase in red tape and costs for our farmers,” Ms Hodgkinson said of the government’s rejection of the fodder register, weed status certificates and a suggestion to introduce a “permitted list”.
As well as $11.3 million in funding, which will go to on-the-ground projects as part of the government’s 2014-15 program, Ms Hodgkinson confirmed there would be a hike in penalties for people doing the wrong thing.
The government will adopt the nil-tenure approach, ensuring public and private landholders will be treated the same in terms of compliance, and will create 11 new regional weed committees as well as improving prevention measures and response to incursions.
“We will have regional planning and local delivery to ensure we have the right approach to tackling this scourge on our primary industries, economy and environment,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
The changes will be introduced as part of the development of the NSW Biosecurity Act, which will mash 14 existing pieces of legislation into one.
For the full government response visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au