Northern Territory Second Reading Speeches

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WEEDS MANAGEMENT BILL 2000

Mr Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.

The purpose of this bill is to introduce new weeds management legislation for the Northern Territory. Weeds adversely affect or threaten all of the Territory’s land and water resources and the uses that can be made of them for primary industry, tourism, mining, conservation, defence, traditional Aboriginal use and recreation. Weeds raise the cost of production, they take pastoral land out of production, they contaminate products, they interfere with mustering, they choke and pollute water supplies and cause injurious and toxic affects.

Of particular concern for the Territory is that weeds compete with native plants, leading to degradation of the natural environment. They can also harbour feral animals such as pigs which cause subsequent environmental degradation.

In recognition of the detrimental impact of weeds, Cabinet endorsed a new Northern Territory Weed Management strategy in March 1996 covering the period from 1996 to 2005. This signifies that government agrees that a strategic framework is needed to deal with increasingly serious degradation confronting the Territory by weeds. The goal of the strategy is to protect the Northern Territory economy, community, industries and environment from the adverse impacts of weeds. Achievement of this goal requires the co-operation of all landholders and government at the Territory regional catchment and property levels. Providing appropriate legislation for weed management is a key supporting mechanism of the strategy. Weeds legislation provides a basis upon which responsibilities for management of weeds can be delegated and legally enforced if necessary. The existing Noxious Weeds Act 1962 has many short comings and the new act is needed which reflects current and developing approaches to weed management.

In developing this bill my department considered deficiencies in the existing legislation, examined similar legislation elsewhere in Australia and related Territory legislation and introduced new ideas. A process of public consultation with producer, land care, mining, tourist, transport, environmental and Aboriginal groups was also undertaken throughout the Territory. A discussion draft of the new legislation was tabled in this House from 47 1997 to allow for further public input to the content of the bill. The Weeds Management Bill is linked to the NT Weeds Management Strategy by having as its preamble the goal of the strategy. It also adopts the basic principle supporting that strategy. The key being that landholders and land users are responsible for weed management. I shall now summarise the main features of the bill.

Owners and occupiers of land have a general duty to prevent land being infested with weeds and to prevent their spread. They will also be required to notify weeds management officers of weeds on their land. There will be penalties for bringing a weed into the Territory for propagating, scattering or selling a weed and for transporting a weed within the Territory. However, such persons such as truck drivers will not commit an offence if it can be proved that he or she was instructed to transport something contaminated with a weed and did not reasonably know of the presence of the weed.

The community will be included in the decision making processes about weeds. The minister can establish weed advisory committees under the new legislation to draft weed management plans. The committees may be established for a region, catchment or area or for a specific purpose. Weed management plans may be developed to prevent a weed entering the Territory or to manage a weed within the Territory or part of the Territory. There will be appropriate publicity about proposed plans and there will be opportunity for public comment before being approved by the minister. Once a plan has been approved, owners and occupiers of land to whom the plan refers will be obliged to comply with its content. The legislation will bind the Crown; government agencies that manage land within the area covered by the plan will also be required to comply with it.

Persons who fail to comply with the plan may be directed to prepare and carry out a remedial weeds management plan which is binding on mortgagee and successors entitled to the land. A penalty of between $5000 and $50 000 may also be applied. Emergency weed management plans may be declared when an infestation requires immediate attention. Other provisions of the bill include declaration of quarantine areas, treatment of infested things such as vehicles, boats, aircraft, machinery, plants, fodder, soil and animals that may be contaminated with weeds.

I now wish to turn to the issue of potential weeds. Certain ornamental plants have been identified as having weed potential. For example, bougainvillea, century plant, poinciana, periwinkle, purple joy weed and resurrection plant have commonly been grown in the Territory for many years. However, outside of their area of use they have become weeds or have the potential to do so. Indiscriminate dumping of garden refuse in the Territory’s native bush serves as a focus for the development of new weeds problems.

A section of the bill aims to restrict the development of new weeds problems from such plants. Their disposal be permitted only on the land where they are grown or in designated weed disposal areas. As is the case with declared weeds, weed and management plans can be approved for potential weeds. The powers of weed management officers under the act will include entering and searching land, taking photographs, copying documents, taking samples and requiring persons to provide information concerning the origin and destination of anything found on the land. They may also order persons to take a contaminated thing to a cleaning or quarantine area.

It is recognised in this bill that certain weeds may have a legitimate use in one situation but may still be regarded as a weed in another situation. Hence persons may apply to the minister for a permit to use a weed for a commercial purpose. For example, a New South Wales company has been conducting preliminary studies with the assistance from the Northern Territory government to develop a briquette from mimosa. The briquette may be burnt as a fuel to produce electricity; however, this does not mean that mimosa is no longer a weed as it would still have detrimental effects out of its area of use.

It is important that the use of a weed in this manner be carried out under controlled conditions. In the case of mimosa that any use is focused on achieving cost effective control.

In conclusion, I wish to mention that a national weed strategy was launched in June of 1997 aimed at reducing the detrimental impact of weeds on Australia’s productive capacity and natural ecosystems. This bill is consistent with the goals and objectives of that strategy as far as functionality of state and Territory legislation is concerned, in particular the development of strategic weed management plans.

This new legislation will lead to a co-ordinated approach to weed management in the Territory. It will assist in limiting the spread of weeds across state and territory borders and it will protect the Territory’s natural resources and economy. I commend the bill to honourable members.

Debate adjourned.

 

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