ALGA submission to the review of the Australian Weeds Strategy
14 July 2006
- Mr John Thorpe
- Secretariat - Australian Weeds Committee
- 16 Flowers Court
- LAUNCESTON TAS 7250
Dear Mr Thorpe
ALGA submission to the review of the Australian Weeds Strategy
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on the draft Australian Weeds Strategy. As a significant manager of public lands, local government undertakes considerable investment in weed management, awareness and education activities and welcomes the work being undertaken by the Australian Weeds Committee.
The pressure on councils to provide a larger range of services is increasing. This, combined with an inability to significantly alter income levels, means local government has limited capacity to undertake increased activities in the area of weed management. Consequently, local government is keen to ensure that the sector does not inherit more responsibilities in relation to weed management without appropriate resourcing - a key consideration when classifying weeds and allocating responsibilities under the Strategy.
Whilst there has traditionally been a focus on agricultural and land based weeds, local government is increasingly concerned about the introduction and spread of aquatic and coastal weeds. These weeds impact heavily on biodiversity and production, and have significant resource cost to land and water managers, including local government. As such, I urge you to ensure these weeds are adequately addressed under the Strategy.
At present the Strategy does not articulate how the identified goals will be achieved. I note that an operational plan will underpin the Strategy, outlining the allocation of time, resources and identifying the lead agencies and their responsibilities. However, I believe the Strategy would benefit from including some of this information, such as the processes for achieving the goals. I believe the implementation plan will provide a critical component of the Strategy and look forward to its timely development.
With the introduction of the regional NRM model, there is a significant opportunity to undertake weed management at a regional level in true partnership between all spheres of government and the community. Developing regional weed strategies provides an opportunity to develop an integrated and coordinated approach to weed management and should be encouraged under Goal 3.
Local government understands the importance of weed management and takes advantage of a number of opportunities to manage the spread of weeds. For example, councils regularly undertake community education activities to identify and manage weeds and encourage the use of native plants. Some councils operate their own native plant nurseries, or have agreements with local native plant nurseries, to source plants for council revegetation projects and streetscapes, or to distribute free to residents. Councils also operate community gardens where local plants are grown as a landscaped garden. These gardens act as both an educational tool and as a seed bank.
Local government understands the significant costs weeds pose on their communities and wish to continue working towards reducing the spread and impact of weeds. I hope you find these comments constructive and I look forward to the development of the operational plan.
Yours sincerely
- Adrian Beresford-Wylie
- Chief Executive
Contact regarding this submission
Rosemary James
Environment/NRM Policy
Australian Local Government Association
Tel: 02 6122 9433
rosemary.james@alga.asn.au
