Preface
Terms of reference
On 26 March 2003 the Senate agreed to the
recommendation of the Selection of Bills Committee in its Report No. 4 of 2003
that the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment
(Invasive Species) Bill 2002 be referred to the Environment Communications,
Information Technology and the Arts Legislation Committee for inquiry and
report by 25 November 2003.
It was subsequently agreed that there was
merit in a more comprehensive examination of the general topic of the regulation,
control and management of invasive species, and accordingly on 26 June 2003 the
Senate agreed to refer the Bill to the Environment Communications, Information
Technology and the Arts References Committee for examination in conjunction
with a broad inquiry into invasive species with the following terms of
reference:
(1) The
regulation, control and management of invasive species, being non-native flora
and fauna that may threaten biodiversity, with particular reference to:
(a) the nature and extent of the threat that invasive species pose to the
Australian environment and economy;
(b) the estimated cost of different responses to the environmental issues
associated with invasive species, including early eradication, containment,
damage mitigation and inaction, with particular focus on:
the following pests:
(A)
European fox (Vulpes
vulpes),
(B)
yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis
gracilipes),
(C)
fire ant (Solenopsis
invicta),
(D)
cane toad (Bufo marinus), and
(E)
feral cat (Felis
catus) and pig (Sus scrofa), and
the following weeds:
(A)
mimosa (Mimosa
pigra),
(B)
serrated tussock (Nassella trichotoma),
(C)
willows (Salix
spp.),
(D)
lantana (Lantana
camara),
(E)
blackberry (Rubus
fruticosus agg.), and
(F)
parkinsonia (Parkinsonia
aculeata);
(c) the adequacy and effectiveness of the current Commonwealth, state and
territory statutory and administrative arrangements for the regulation and
control of invasive species;
(d) the effectiveness of Commonwealth-funded measures to control invasive
species; and
(e) whether the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Amendment (Invasive Species) Bill 2002 could assist in improving the current
statutory and administrative arrangements for the regulation, control and
management of invasive species.
(2) That
the order of the Senate adopting Report No. 4 of 2003 of the Selection of Bills
Committee be varied to provide that the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Amendment (Invasive Species) Bill 2002 be referred to the
Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References
Committee instead of the Environment, Communications, Information Technology
and the Arts Legislation Committee.
The Senate originally asked the Committee
to report by the last sitting day in March 2004 but it subsequently agreed to
extend the reporting deadline until 25
November 2004 to allow the Committee to give the issues raised
during the inquiry its fullest consideration. The Committee was unable to
finalise its report before the close of the 40th Parliament on 15 November 2004, and the reference
lapsed.
On 1 December 2004, on the recommendation of the
re-established Committee, the Senate in the 41st Parliament resolved
to renew the reference with a new reporting date of 9 December 2004. However, it should be noted that this
report reflects the deliberations of the Committee members in the 40th
Parliament.
Conduct of the inquiry
The Committee invited submissions to the
inquiry in an advertisement placed in The
Australian on 2 July, with a deadline of 10 October 2003. It also wrote to appropriate Commonwealth,
State and Territory Ministers, and a range of plant nursery industry groups,
farming and agricultural organisations, and environmental groups. Some 76
submissions were received, as listed at Appendix 1.
In order to gain a better appreciation of
the issues, the Committee undertook a series of four public hearings with some 54
witnesses in Canberra (on two
occasions), Brisbane and Adelaide.
Evidence was also taken from representatives of the Townsville-based Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority by teleconference. Details of these hearings are shown at
Appendix 2.
A number of documents were tabled for the
Committee's information either in the course of the hearings or were provided
later. These are listed in Appendix 3.
Inspections
While in Brisbane,
the Committee supplemented the formal information from the public hearings with
a day of site inspections. The day commenced with the Committee visiting the
Queensland Government's Fire Ant Control Centre in Wacol, which is described in
detail in Chapter 5. Additionally the Committee was hosted by Dr
Rachel McFadyen,
Chief Executive Officer of the CRC for Australian Weed Management, on a tour of
several sites around suburban Brisbane
to inspect weed infestations, before concluding with a tour of the Alan
Fletcher Research Station.
Dr
McFadyen was joined by her CRC colleague Dr
Raghu, while Mr
Craig Walton, Senior
Policy Officer, Ecology, in the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and
Energy also joined the group.
The tour commenced at the Gap Creek Reserve within the Mount
Coot-tha Forest
Park. The group was joined by Mr Bryan
Hacker from the Moggill Creek Catchment
Group. He distributed a paper entitled Distribution of some major environmental
weeds in western Brisbane. The paper summarised a survey, funded
by the Natural Heritage Trust, of the distribution of 11 of the worst weed
species in Moggill Creek and neighbouring catchments. The survey basically
highlighted the prevalence of such weeds as lantana, ochna, cat's claw and
glycine, and Chinese elm the most widespread of the two tree species examined.
As the tour proceeded, Mr
Hacker pointed out examples of invasive weed
infestations and stressed their role in crowding out and smothering natives and
their adverse impact on the health of the ecosystem, such as reducing numbers
of butterflies that rely on native plants. He stressed that the invasives may
have been wind blown, distributed by birds, or as the result of dumping of
garden rubbish. Stolons can also be washed long distances downstream in high
rainfall conditions. The fact that the major weed loci are in peri-urban areas
suggests the adverse impact of planting of many of these weeds in urban areas.
At a site at Witton Creek, Indooroopilly, the Committee was
shown an area consisting almost solely of densely packed invasives. Queensland
Government entomologist, Mr Michael
Day, pointed to duranta, leucaena and
asparagus fern, as well as lantana and cat's claw. Ironically, while obviously
an exotic scene, many of the shrubs had attractive foliage and red, pink,
purple and yellow flowers - and attracted considerable numbers of butterflies -
which in itself helps explain their attraction for planting in suburban
backyards.
The Committee then inspected the Queensland Department of
Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Quarantine Insectary facility at the Alan
Fletcher Research Station at Sherwood. It was met by Dr
Bill Palmer,
the Principal Entomologist. Research
into weed biocontrol, ecology and herbicide control, and into the chemistry of
baits for pest animals is conducted at the site. The offices of the CRC for
Australian Weed Management are also co-located on the site.
Dr Palmer
escorted the Committee through the $600,000 facility as if it were a plant or
packet of seeds being subjected to quarantine screening. He made a number of
interesting comments and observations about the challenges his centre faces,
which were noted by Committee members but which will not be repeated in this
report because of their informal nature.
One interesting feature in the grounds of the Research
Station was the presence of a stand of prickly pear. Having been given
indications by Mr Walton
that its eradication had been one of the country's biocontrol success stories,
its presence was something of a surprise. However, Mr
Walton noted the poor condition of the
plants and pointed to the presence of the control insects. The visit concluded
with lunch, which enabled invaluable informal discussions to take place.
Discussion of the terms of reference
Several submitters raised concerns about what they saw as
defects in the terms of reference. One issue that became apparent to the
Committee in the course of its inquiry was the inappropriateness of the
suggestion in the terms of reference - and in the Bill
- that invasive species are only those that are 'foreign' to Australia's
shores. Evidence was taken about the
ability of native flora and fauna to threaten biodiversity in areas outside
their natural range, largely due to human involvement. They can display many of
the worst features of invasives, despite being natives.
The Committee also received representations about the need
to consider pest and weed species not specifically included in term of
reference (b), often based on a misunderstanding that the list was exclusive of
all others. The most obvious example was marine pests, a subject about which
the Committee received several detailed submissions as well as considerable
oral evidence.
In fact, it was submitted that term of
reference (b) - concentrating on the estimated costs of different management responses
for certain specified pests and weeds - was essentially unhelpful to the cause
of sound decision-making. The Committee was told that, rather than looking at
the costs of different stratagems as required by term of reference (b), a
strategic approach was needed with the focus on prioritising species and
habitats according to the potential for damage to indigenous biodiversity and
the likely effectiveness of effort.[1]
Quantification of direct costs of weed and feral animal control
is theoretically a relatively straightforward exercise. Assuming comprehensive
data was available, one would simply aggregate expenditures by all levels of
government and by the private sector and individuals. However, assessing, for
example, the environmental cost of the impacts of fox and feral cat depravation
on native fauna is far more problematic. The Department of the Environment and
Heritage advised that there is no agreed model to measure the ecological cost
of invasive species in economic terms.[2]
Accordingly, in Chapter 4 the Committee has examined the costs and benefits of
invasive species programs, without attempting to factor in the indeterminate
environmental costs.
The report
This report addresses the Committee's terms of reference by
progressively dissecting the invasive species problem into its component parts.
Chapters 1 to 4 are descriptive of the current situation,
describing in turn the nature and extent of the invasive species problem, an
overview of the current regulatory environment, the current institutional
arrangements, and the evidence of the economic benefits of invasive species
programs.
In Chapter 5 the Committee examines the efficiency of
management of the invasive species problem on the Australian landmass, while
Chapter 6 concentrates on border control issues and the adjoining marine
environment.
The Committee examines the specifics of the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Invasive Species) Bill 2002
in Chapter 7. Many submitters addressed the intricacies of the Bill
in great detail, including numerous suggestions for its improvement. However,
the Committee has concluded that the Bill not be
proceeded with, with other approaches being preferred.
While the Committee has made recommendations as appropriate
throughout the report, they have been drawn together in the final chapter,
Chapter 8, to form a coherent approach to the way forward.
Acknowledgements
The Committee wishes to thank all those
who contributed to its inquiry by preparing submissions and appearing at the
hearings. Their contributions have been both informative and challenging.
The Committee also records its regret
that, with the then imminent prospect of the Federal election, it was unable to
undertake a more extensive program of site inspections in order to gain a
deeper appreciation of the issues, especially of some of the regional aspects,
and to have had more time to take evidence from some of the other submitters,
particularly other State and Territory governments. The Committee thanks all
persons who contributed to the success of its inspections in Brisbane
- it found it very helpful to see the extent of the challenge at first hand and
to discuss possible solutions personally and frankly with experts in the
field.
The Committee hopes that this report nonetheless highlights
the significance of the topic and trusts that governments at all levels will act
promptly to address the problems identified. Australia's
unique environment depends on it.
Senator John Cherry
Chair