PLANT AND ANIMAL PESTS —
AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT
1126. Hon RICK MAZZA to the Minister for Agriculture and Food:
I refer to the Auditor General's
report, ''Managing the Impact of Plant and Animal Pests: Follow-up'',
which highlights remaining gaps in the government's management of plant
and animal pests.
(1) What measures have been put in place since the
tabling of the report to begin addressing the Auditor General's
findings?
(2) How will the
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the Department of
Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions enhance the completeness, accuracy
and sharing of their pest data in order to achieve a more collaborative and
effective approach to pest management?
(3) What is the estimated time frame
for these deficiencies to be addressed?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I thank the member for the question.
(1) In response to the Auditor General's
findings, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is
prioritising the filling of key roles in the invasive species and environmental
biosecurity branch, and developing a new
WA invasive species plan, which will be finalised by the end of 2021. The plan will
outline priorities for invasive species management within Western Australia for
the next five years so that government resources are focused on protecting the
state from the entry and establishment of new pests and on the management of
existing pest species. Some actions from the ''Invasive Species Plan for
Western Australia 2015-2019'' no longer have the same priority or need and these actions
will be updated in the new plan.
(2) DPIRD is continuing to implement the Collector
system as the primary data source for vertebrate and weed pests in Western
Australia. Following its full implementation, DPIRD will liaise with the
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions regarding data sharing.
Collector is a geographic information system to be used by DPIRD to collect and
update information on particular species of concern, detailing their locations
and/or activities undertaken to control or manage the pest or weed species.
DPIRD also convenes a biosecurity senior officers group, which is the relevant
forum for interagency collaboration. DBCA is represented in that group.
(3) The
development and implementation of a new WA invasive species plan is anticipated
to be completed by the end of 2021. DPIRD is in the process of filling key new
positions this year to begin work on addressing these issues.