Environmental Biosecurity Submission 74 Stopping New Invasive Species PRIMARY SUBMISSION Submission to the inquiry into the adequacy of arrangements to prevent the entry and establishment of invasive species likely to harm Australia's natural environment conducted by the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee September 2014 Environmental Biosecurity Submission 74 Note: This updated primary submission replaces the preliminary submission made by the Invasive Species Council in August 2014. Substantive changes to the submission are the addition of summaries at the start of each chapter and an expanded section summarising the case studies. This submission is supported by a compilation of case studies that is also submitted to the inquiry. Submission details Primary submission version 2.1 Invasive Species Council, 10 September 2014 Inquiries Invasive Species Council, PO Box 166, Fairfield Vic 3078; web: www.invasives.org.au; email: [email protected]; phone: 0438 588 040. Contact: Andrew Cox, CEO Environmental Biosecurity Submission 74 CONTENTS 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Australia’s environmental biosecurity track record ........................................................................ 4 1.2 Differences between agricultural and environmental biosecurity .................................................. 6 2. Recent biosecurity performance ........................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Incursions ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Relevant to ToR (a)(i): the extent of detected incursions, including numbers, locations and species, and their potential future environmental, social and economic impacts ........................... 9 2.2 Interceptions ................................................................................................................................. 16 Relevant to ToR (a)(iii): the extent of quarantine interceptions of exotic organisms with the potential to harm the natural environment, including numbers, locations, species and potential impacts ............................................................................................................................................ 16 2.3 Adequacy of reporting ................................................................................................................... 21 Relevant to ToR (b)(vii): the adequacy of reporting on incursions ................................................. 21 2.4 Learning from interceptions and incursions – reviews and analyses ............................................ 22 Relevant to ToR (a) (iv) Any reviews or analyses of detected incursions or interceptions relevant to the environment and any changes in biosecurity processes resulting from those reviews or analyses. ......................................................................................................................................... 22 3. Incursion case studies ......................................................................................................................... 24 Relevant to ToR (a)(ii): the likely pathways of recently detected incursions and any weaknesses in biosecurity that have facilitated their entry and establishment ..................................................... 24 Relevant to ToR (a)(iv): any reviews or analyses of detected incursions or interceptions relevant to the environment and any changes in biosecurity processes resulting from those reviews or analyses .......................................................................................................................................... 24 4. Risk assessment & prioritisation ......................................................................................................... 29 4.1 Identifying environmental risks and priorities .............................................................................. 29 Relevant to ToR (b)(i): the extent to which high priority risks for the environment have been identified in terms of both organisms and pathways, and accorded priority in relation to other biosecurity priorities ....................................................................................................................... 29 4.2 Product-specific risk assessments ................................................................................................. 33 Relevant to ToR (b)(i), (ii): the extent to which high priority risks for the environment have been identified and the process for determining priorities for import risk analyses and the process for prioritising the preparation of these analyses. ............................................................................... 33 5. Biosecurity planning ............................................................................................................................ 36 Relevant to ToR (b)(iii): the current approach to contingency planning for high priority environmental risks and the process by which they were developed ............................................ 36 6. Surveillance and monitoring ............................................................................................................... 38 Relevant to ToR (b)(iv): the adequacy of current protocols and surveillance and their implementation for high-priority environmental risks ................................................................... 38 1 Environmental Biosecurity Submission 74 7. National emergency preparedness and response arrangements (Terrestrial only) ............................ 42 7.1 Flaws in the incursion response framework .................................................................................. 46 Relevant to ToR (b)(v): current systems for responses to newly detected incursions, the timeliness and adequacy, and the role of ecological expertise ....................................................................... 46 7.2 Precautionary principle ................................................................................................................ 49 Relevant to ToR (b)(v): current systems for responses to newly detected incursions, the timeliness and adequacy, and the role of ecological expertise ....................................................................... 49 8. Enforcement ........................................................................................................................................ 52 Relevant to ToR (b) (vi): the extent to which compliance monitoring and enforcement activities are focused on high priority environmental risks ........................................................................... 52 9. Community engagement ..................................................................................................................... 56 Relevant to ToR (b)(vii): the adequacy of … engagement of the community. ................................ 56 10. Reporting and transparency ........................................................................................................... 61 Relevant to ToR (b)(vii) the adequacy of reporting on incursions and transparency in decision- making ............................................................................................................................................ 61 11. Biosecurity institutions and culture ................................................................................................ 63 Relevant to ToR (b)(viii): institutional arrangements for environmental biosecurity and potential improvements ................................................................................................................................. 63 12. Proposal for Environment Health Australia .................................................................................... 66 Relevant to ToR (b) (viii): institutional arrangements for environmental biosecurity and potential improvements ................................................................................................................................. 66 13. The importance of island biosecurity ............................................................................................. 70 Relevant to ToR (c): any other related matter ................................................................................ 70 14. Marine biosecurity .......................................................................................................................... 73 Relevant to ToR (c): any other related matter ................................................................................ 73 15. Biosecurity research ....................................................................................................................... 76 Relevant to ToR (c): any other related matter ................................................................................ 76 16. List of recommendations ................................................................................................................ 77 17. References ...................................................................................................................................... 80 2 Environmental Biosecurity Submission 74 1. INTRODUCTION • The Australian environment has suffered major losses