Review of weed management in NSW

Independently evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of weed management arrangements in NSW

Final report

In May 2014, the Commission submitted a final report to the then Minister for Primary Industries detailing recommendations and findings for its review of weed management in NSW.

The NSW Government has formally responded to the Commission's recommendations, and details are available on the Department of Primary Industries website.

The final report was informed by research, consultation and over 300 public submissions in response to the issues paper and draft report. The submissions and consultation highlighted the impact that weeds have on a range of stakeholder groups, and provided useful insights that directly informed the final recommendations. The Commission appreciates the time stakeholders took in participating in public meetings and preparing thoughtful submissions.

The final report outlines a comprehensive package of recommendations. The recommendations focus on avoiding future costs by improving prevention, early detection and rapid response, while ensuring consistent compliance across tenures and rebuilding research and development capacity.

The Commission also commissioned Grain Growers Limited to complete a review of the economic impacts of weeds to support the weed management review.

Research report - The economic cost of weeds in NSW (Grain Growers Limited, May 2014)

Submission to the proposed Framework for a NSW Biosecurity Act

The Department of Primary Industries released the proposed Framework for a NSW Biosecurity Act for public comment in June 2014. The Commission submitted a response informed by the findings from its weed management review.

Commission's submission to the proposed Framework for a NSW Biosecurity Act (June 2014)

Previous reports

As part of the review the Commission released a draft report in February 2014 outlining draft findings and recommendations and inviting submissions.

The draft report was informed by research, consultation and over 200 public submissions in response to the initial issues paper that was released in October 2013.

Draft report (February 2014)
Media Release - Have your say on draft report (February 2014)
Issues paper (October 2013)
Media Release - Have your say on issues paper (October 2013)

Public meetings

The Commission consulted with stakeholders in March with seven public meetings (see schedule).

About the review

Through a terms of reference, the then Minister for Primary Industries asked the Commission to undertake an independent evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of weed management arrangements in NSW with a view to inform the further development of the proposed NSW Biosecurity Act, and other relevant strategies under the NSW Biosecurity Strategy.

The Commission was asked to:

• assess (based on existing data) the distribution and abundance of weeds across NSW and their impacts and likely trajectories
• evaluate current regulatory and institutional arrangements across both public and private tenures
• evaluate weed management programs funded by the Australian and NSW Governments
• identify and assess viable alternative weed management arrangements
• provide advice on potential transitional arrangements for the future implementation of the NSW Biosecurity Act and NSW Biosecurity Strategy.

For the purpose of this review, "weeds" are defined as both introduced and native species but are limited to terrestrial and freshwater aquatic species only.

The Minister asked the Commissioner to establish a steering committee to ensure the terms of reference were met and that stakeholder input was properly considered.

The steering committee consisted of Cr Reg Kidd, Chair of the Noxious Weeds Advisory Committee, Dr Bruce Christie of Biosecurity NSW, and Mr Mick O'Flynn of the then Office of Environment and Heritage.

Submissions

The Commission treats all submissions as public and makes them available on the NRC website unless clearly marked confidential or deemed offensive. Any personal contact information in the submissions is managed in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Act 1988 and the Commission's privacy policy.

The Commission's draft report attracted a total of 109 submissions, with 90 submissions published on this page and 19 confidential submissions not published.

In response to the issues paper, the Commission received a total of 206 submissions, with 180 submissions published on this page and 26 confidential submissions not published.

The following submissions are made available in accordance with the Commission's privacy policy.