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P.O. Box 5026 Old Toongabbie NSW 2146 [email protected] 12 August 2014 Committee Secretary Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications, PO Box 6100, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600 [email protected] Submission: INQUIRY INTO ENVIRONMENTAL BIOSECURITY Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Environmental Biosecurity Inquiry. Introduction Australian Plants Society – New South Wales Ltd has fostered and promoted the appreciation, study and participation in growing and propagating Australian native plants since 1958. There are over 1640 members as well as 800 subscribers, 41 of whom are overseas institutions of learning. Environmental biosecurity has not received the attention enjoyed by agriculture biosecurity, yet the cost of dealing with weeds and other environmental pests becomes higher the longer they are allowed to spread, until they can no longer be eradicated. Environmental pests negatively affect our unique flora and fauna, environmental amenity and integrity, and recreation and tourism. The comprehensive report in 2007 titled ‘The Australian Weeds Strategy – A national strategy for weed management in Australia’, produced by the Australian Weeds Committee for The Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council, is an excellent report, and we strongly endorse the 3 goals set out in the report, as follows: Goal 1- Prevent new weed problems Goal 2 - Reduce the impact of existing priority weed problems Goal 3 - Enhance Australia’s capacity and commitment to solve weed problems 1 The Australian Weeds Strategy makes the following point: “Weeds are among the most significant and costly environmental threats in Australia. Of the 2700 species of introduced plants now established [in 2007], 429 have been declared noxious or are under some form of legislative control in Australia. Due in part to changes in land and water use, many of these introduced plants have spread and are causing harmful impacts that class them as weeds. Once established, weeds pose an ongoing challenge to government, industry and the community.” Comments This submission covers four main issues regarding environmental biosecurity: 1. The list of invasive species is expanding exponentially and includes many introduced species that are becoming pests in confined (local) areas of Australia because they have been introduced to bushland and find the local conditions amenable. 2. The problem with pest plants is not confined to exotic species, and some of the most serious 'pest' plants are native species that have been introduced to areas of Australia outside their limited areas of natural occurrence and have become serious 'weeds' in that they are colonising native bushland and crowding out indigenous species. 3. The nursery industry in Australia seems not to favour restrictions on what plants it can import or sell and resists restrictions on sales such as labelling of potential pest species - either native or introduced. This potential source of environmental invasives is compounded by the media’s gardening programs often recommending plants that have invasive properties. 4. There is a serious and increasing shortage of funding for government branches and departments that are responsible for monitoring and controlling the introduction and spread of 'pest' plants, and preparing and managing recovery plans for rare and endangered native plant species. 1. Expanding numbers of pest species in local areas The list of invasive species is expanding exponentially and includes many introduced species that are becoming pests in confined (local) areas of Australia because they have been introduced to bushland and find the local conditions amenable. Uredo rangelii, myrtle rust, is a plant pathogen which appeared in NSW in 2010 and infects hundreds of Myrtaceae species (our dominant native plant family), including several threatened species. Below are a few recent examples of the more than 2800 weed species introduced into Australia since 1770. Agapanthus spp. – a native of South Africa that is widely grown in Australian gardens and is becoming a serious weed as it invades roadsides, bushland and pastures in parts of Victoria and New South Wales 2 Asparagus asparagoides, commonly known as Bridal Creeper, is now a serious threat to bushland in many areas of Australia. Clidemia hirta, Koster’s curse, appeared in 2001 in Queensland; it smothers native vegetation. Nassella tenuissima , the highly invasive Mexican feather grass appearing in 2004, threatens woodlands and grasslands yet can be purchased online despite its import being illegal. Polygala myrtifolia, Myrtle-leaved Milkwort – another garden escape that has become a serious bushland weed in parts of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia Richardia humistrata, a native of South America, was observed pre-1998, spreads rapidly and produces abundant seed. It forms dense mats as roots appear at most nodes along the stem. It is in the Royal National Park near Bundeena. It is also in Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden and is taking over in the lower carpark where the Pterostylis used to grow R. humistrata is not listed on DAFF’s Table 1 of permitted species, and must therefore be assessed before being allowed entry. It is not yet a Weed of National Significance; it is not a Sleeper Weed; it is not a Noxious Weed. Yet the difficulty of its eradication suggests it is a serious weed. Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish Moss) is installed in suburban gardens; birds gather it for nests high in trees and wind readily spreads its fragments into nearby warm, moist bushland. It is found on the north shore of Sydney. 2. Pest plant species can originate in this country Some of the most serious 'pest' plants are native species that have been introduced to areas of Australia outside their limited areas of natural occurrence and have become serious 'weeds' in that they are colonising native bushland and crowding out indigenous species. Quoting from The Australian Weeds Strategy 2007: “There are two types of invasion: introduction of exotic plants and movement by native species into new areas in response to changed land and water use and management practices. All Australian states and territories have experienced native plant invasions. For example, in Victoria around 200 species have naturalised outside their native range, while in Western Australia 90 species are similarly recorded.” Examples of Australian native species that have become weedy in certain areas of Australia, usually away from their natural habitats, include: Acacia paradoxa which has been reported as being a problem in parts of Victoria A.baileyana, a popular garden wattle endemic to a restricted area near Cootamundra NSW but now a serious pest in native bushland in other parts of southern Australia A.podalyriifolia, Queensland silver wattle A.saligna, golden wreath wattle 3 Acaena agnipila, sheep's burr, one of the native species which flourishes in the changed environment when original vegetation is cleared for pasture or agriculture Melaleuca hypericifolia, native to coastal New South Wales, has invaded natural bushland along the south coast of Victoria. Pittosporum undulatum, sweet pittosporum – endemic to moist areas along the Australian east coast but a pest plant in other parts of Australia where it is not indigenous. The fruits are eaten and spread widely into moist gullies and disturbed soil by the European blackbird. It grows rapidly, shading out most other plants. The plant seems to adapt to soils with higher nutrient levels more readily than other native species, hence grows well in areas where the soil has been changed this way. Billardiera heterophylla, Western Australian bluebell, has become a serious pest in bushland in the eastern states, (including New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania). The WA bluebell with its dainty blue flowers is a favourite of gardeners and often sold in nurseries. A climber, it colonises native bush. 3. Lack of public awareness of potential weeds The plant nursery industry in Australia has not encouraged restrictions on what plants it can import or sell, but The Nursery & Garden Industry NSW & ACT Limited’s ‘Grow Me Instead’ programme has helped to educate and inform the public on the importance of controlling the spread of invasive plants. The potential source of environmental invasives is compounded by the media’s gardening programs often recommending plants that have invasive properties. 4. Lack of funding and commitment for environmental biosecurity There is a serious and increasing shortage of funding for government branches and departments that are responsible for monitoring and controlling the introduction and spread of 'pest' plants, and preparing and managing recovery plans for rare and endangered native plant species. For example, why did the consultative committee decide in April 2010 that the recent incursion of Myrtle Rust, first found in a plant nursery in NSW, could not be eradicated, although the disease was at that stage known only from a very few nursery-type properties? Recommendations 1. Establish an independent statutory authority to identify and prevent the introduction into Australia of new plants with weed potential. This independent statutory authority will be an expert biosecurity commission and have an independent director. The existing Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) with its role in both trade and industry promotion could be seen to have a conflict of interest with its role in enforcing biosecurity. The commissioners of the new statutory authority

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