AustralianPestAnimal
Strategy2017to2027
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Pete
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Turner
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Question1
T her evis ed s t r at eg ys et s o ut t her o les and r es po ns ibilit ies o f alls t akeho ld er s inpes t
animalmanag ement and pr event io n.Ar et hes ec lear ?
Theroles as s ignedtotheAus tralianGovernmentinthe‘roles andres pons ibilities ’s ectionarenotreflected
throughouttheres toftheStrategynordoes its howthecapacityoftheAus tralianGovernmenttofulfilanyofthes e.
OEHrecommends thattheStrategydetailtheAus tralianGovernmentres pons ibilities inrelationtomeetingthe
goals andpriorities lis tedwithinthes trategy(andas s ociatedactions ).
Question2
Ar et heg o als and pr io r it ies o f t hes t r at eg yf o c us ed int henec es s ar yar eas ?why/whyno t ?
Thegoals andpriorities arefundamentallys oundandalignwellto,andexpandonGoals ofthe20 0 7-17APAS.They
arecons is tentwiththegoals andpriorities ofothernationalbios ecurityagreements s uchas IGAB,andwiths tate
andterritorybios ecuritylegis lationands trategies .
However,thefundamentalweaknes s ofthes trategyis thattherearenoactions ,andthereforenomechanis ms
withinthes trategytoachievethegoals oraddres s thepriorities .
Question3
T hes t r at eg yis int end ed t o d es c r ibeho wpes t animalmanag ement f it s int o Aus t r alia’s
bio s ec ur it ys ys t em.Is t helinkbet weenAus t r alia’s bio s ec ur it ys ys t emand pes t animal
manag ement mad ec lear int hes t r at eg y?why/whyno t ?
ThelinkbetweenAus tralia’s bios ecuritys ys temandpes tanimalmanagement(andthelinks toothers trategies and
frameworks )is mades tronglythroughoutthedraftStrategy.However,intheabs enceofactions ormeas ures ,itis
unclearhowtheStrategywilladdvaluetothebios ecuritys ys tem.
OEHrecommends thattheStrategyidentifypes tanimalactions linkedtothewiderbios ecuritys ys tem.
Comments/Feedback
Anyo t her c o mment s o r f eed bac k?
Aboutthis s ubmis s ion
This s ubmis s ionhas beenpreparedbytheOfficeofEnvironmentandHeritage(OEH),NSW.
OEHincorporates theNSWNationalParks andWildlifeService(NPWS).OEHis as ignificants takeholderforpes t
animalmanagementinNSW,withmanagementundertakenonNPWSes tatebeingnearly9% ofNSW(over7million
ha).OEHparticipates ins tatewidepes tanimalplanninginNSWthroughNSW’s Bios ecurityAdvis oryCommitteeand
thePes tAnimalCouncilundertheleadoftheNSWDepartmentofPrimaryIndus tries (DPI).OEHals oleads the
res pons eofmanagingpes ts thatimpactbiodivers ityacros s alltenureinNSW,whichincludes ares earchcomponent,
coordinationroleandongroundmanagement.
Thecomments belowrelatetoOEH’s interes tintheAus tralianPes tAnimalStrategyas theoverarchingguiding
documentfornationalcoordinationtodrivethedevelopmentofcons is tentandcoordinatednationalapproaches andto
provideclarityaroundpriorities ,roles andres pons ibilities .
Thes ubmis s ioncons is ts of3parts :
a) Thes ummaryofOEHs pos itiononthedraftAus tralianPes tAnimalStrategy;
b) Comments addres s ingthe3guidingques tions detailedinthe‘howtomakeas ubmis s ion’s tatementwithinthe
DraftStrategy,and
c) Additionalcomments oneachs ectionofthes trategywherethes pecificcommenthas notbeenaddres s edin
res pons etotheguidingques tions .
a) SummaryofPos ition
OEHbelieves thattheDraftAus tralianPes tAnimalStrategy(APAS)20 17-20 27,whilebas edons oundgoals and
priorities ,los es theopportunitytoprogres s ors upports trategicpes tanimalmanagementinAus traliaormaintain
theachievements attainedundertheprevious s trategy.
Themos ts ignificantlimitationofthedocumentis theabs enceofactions andclearoutcomes ,andthefailureto
articulates pecificneeds toimprovenationalbios ecurityarrangements inrelationtopes tanimals .This lackof
s pecificitys everelyreduces thedocument’s us efulnes s tos takeholders ,withnoclearframeworkforaccountability
northeabilityevaluateandreportonkeyactions .As s uch,this s trategyprovides limitedabilitytotracklongterm
progres s inmanagingthreats nationally.
OEHrecommends thatthedrafts trategyincludes pecificmeas urableactions thatidentifyandaddres s thekey
challenges facingnationals trategicmanagement,informedbythe20 0 7s trategyreviewandthekeylearnings
outlinedinAppendixA.
b) s eeabove.
c) Additionalcomments
Page1Overview
Theterm“landholders ”is us edthroughoutthereport.Itappears thatthis termis beingus edtodes cribemanagers
ofbothprivateandpubliclands howeverthis onlybecomes clearinthelaterpartoftheStrategy.Theterm
“landholder”is morecommonlyus edtoidentifyprivatelandmanagers .
OEHrecommends thattheterm“landholders ”needs tobemoreclearlyexplained/definedwheninitiallyus edinthe
Strategy.
OEHals os ugges ts aminoramendmentfornon-technicalreaders .Onpage14,dotpoint9:“workwithpeopleorgroups
thathavethepotentialtocreatepes tanimalris ks aftertheborder(keepers ofexotics pecies )toas s is tadoptionof
ris kmanagementmeas ures as partofnormalbus ines s practices ”.Itis s ugges tedthat‘Aftertheborder’bereplaced
with‘pos tborder’,as des cribedonpage7point3.
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File:DOC16512230 -4AttachmentDOEHs ubmis s iontothePes tAnimal
Strategy(2).docx
Submission
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Attachment D: OEH comments on the Draft Australian Pest Animal
Strategy 2017-2027
About this submission
This submission has been prepared by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), NSW.
OEH incorporates the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). OEH is a significant stakeholder
for pest animal management in NSW, with management undertaken on NPWS estate being nearly 9% of
NSW (over 7 million ha). OEH participates in statewide pest animal planning in NSW through NSW’s
Biosecurity Advisory Committee and the Pest Animal Council under the lead of the NSW Department of
Primary Industries (DPI). OEH also leads the response of managing pests that impact biodiversity across
all tenure in NSW, which includes a research component, coordination role and on ground management.
The comments below relate to OEH’s interest in the Australian Pest Animal Strategy as the overarching
guiding document for national coordination to drive the development of consistent and coordinated
national approaches and to provide clarity around priorities, roles and responsibilities.
The submission consists of 3 parts:
a) The summary of OEHs position on the draft Australian Pest Animal Strategy;
b) Comments addressing the 3 guiding questions detailed in the ‘how to make a submission’
statement within the Draft Strategy, and
c) Additional comments on each section of the strategy where the specific comment has not been
addressed in response to the guiding questions.
a) Summary of Position
OEH believes that the Draft Australian Pest Animal Strategy (APAS) 2017-2027, while based on sound
goals and priorities, loses the opportunity to progress or support strategic pest animal management in
Australia or maintain the achievements attained under the previous strategy.
The most significant limitation of the document is the absence of actions and clear outcomes, and the
failure to articulate specific needs to improve national biosecurity arrangements in relation to pest
animals. This lack of specificity severely reduces the document’s usefulness to stakeholders, with no
clear framework for accountability nor the ability evaluate and report on key actions. As such, this
strategy provides limited ability to track long term progress in managing threats nationally.
OEH recommends that the draft strategy include specific measurable actions that identify and address the
key challenges facing national strategic management, informed by the 2007 strategy review and the key
learnings outlined in Appendix A.
b) Comments on the three guiding questions
1. Are the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders clear?
1
Attachment D: OEH comments on the Draft Australian Pest Animal Strategy 2017-2027
The roles assigned to the Australian Government in the ‘roles and responsibilities’ section are not
reflected throughout the rest of the Strategy nor does it show the capacity of the Australian
Government to fulfil any of these.
OEH recommends that the Strategy detail the Australian Government responsibilities in relation to
meeting the goals and priorities listed within the strategy (and associated actions).
2. Are the goals and priorities of the strategy focused on the necessary areas?
The goals and priorities are fundamentally sound and align well to, and expand on Goals of the 2007-17
APAS. They are consistent with the goals and priorities of other national biosecurity agreements such as
IGAB, and with state and territory biosecurity legislation and strategies.
However, the fundamental weakness of the strategy is that there are no actions, and therefore no
mechanisms within the strategy to achieve the goals or address the priorities.
3. Is the link between Australia’s biosecurity system and pest animal management made clear in the
strategy?
The link between Australia’s biosecurity system and pest animal management (and the links to other
strategies and frameworks) is made strongly throughout the draft Strategy. However, in the absence of
actions or measures, it is unclear how the Strategy will add value to the biosecurity system.
OEH recommends that the Strategy identify pest animal actions linked to the wider biosecurity system.
c) Additional comments
Page 1 Overview
The term “landholders” is used throughout the report. It appears that this term is being used to describe
managers of both private and public lands however this only becomes clear in the later part of the
Strategy. The term “landholder” is more commonly used to identify private land managers.
OEH recommends that the term “landholders” needs to be more clearly explained/defined when initially
used in the Strategy.
OEH also suggests a minor amendment for non-technical readers. On page 14, dot point 9: “work with
people or groups that have the potential to create pest animal risks after the border (keepers of exotic
species) to assist adoption of risk management measures as part of normal business practices”. It is
suggested that ‘After the border’ be replaced with ‘post border’, as described on page 7 point 3.
Contact for further information:
Pete Turner
A/ Senior Team Leader Pest and Weed
NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
Office of Environment & Heritage
2
Attachment D: OEH comments on the Draft Australian Pest Animal Strategy 2017-2027