Bills

Biological Control (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing) (15:46): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Biological Control Act 1986. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing) (15:46): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Biological control is a highly effective tool for controlling pests and weeds that impact on agriculture and the environment by using the pest's natural enemies.

This Amendment Bill clarifies that viruses and sub-viral agents are included within the definition of an organism for the purpose of biological control to manage targeted pests.

The amendments address an issue that has arisen about the classification of viruses and sub-viral agents as living organisms and the possible legal implications this might have for agent and target organism declarations made under the biological control acts.

The Biological Control Act 1986 (SA) is part of a national scheme of mirror legislation that is based on the Commonwealth's Biological Control Act 1984. Uniform legislation was passed by the State and Northern Territory Parliaments to establish a uniform and equitable system applying throughout Australia, to ensure that biological control programs that have been identified as being in the public interest could proceed without interruption by litigation.

The need for the acts was recognised in June 1983, when an injunction was obtained which prevented the release of insects to control Salvation Jane, an important pasture weed. A small group of stakeholders who believed the plant had beneficial qualities obtained the injunction on the grounds of the common law of private nuisance. With the advent of the Acts, biological control was able to proceed on Salvation Jane, which has been very effective in now preventing its dominance in pastures.

The Biological Control Acts were enacted to provide both a means of authorising the release of control agents and an equitable way of resolving a conflict of interests concerning biological control programs with a view to establishing public benefit.

As biological control programs have national implications, the acts establish the Minister of the relevant national council as the Biological Control Authority in each jurisdiction. The South Australian Biological Control Authority is committed to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries as the member of the Agriculture Minister's Forum.

The essential elements of the Biological Control Acts are: (i) public opinion concerning a proposed biological activity must be widely canvassed; (ii) depending on the nature of any public comment, an inquiry may be held; and (iii) based on the information available, including the report of a public inquiry, the program may be declared under the Act and biological control agents may then be released. A declared program protects those authorised to conduct the program from any legal action for damages and precludes the opportunity to halt the program by means of a common law injunction.

This Bill will ensure that programs that use viruses or sub-viral agents for biological control of a pest can be conducted using the legal protections provided by the Biological Control Act.

I commend the Bill to the House.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Biological Control Act 1986

4—Amendment of section 3—Interpretation

This clause substitutes new definitions of kind and organism, and replaces the term live organism with prescribed organism. The latter term is wider in meaning, including not only live organisms, but also viruses and sub-viral agents (other than live vaccines or resistant cultivars). Organism is redefined to include viruses and sub-viral agents, and the term kind is broadened to include species, sub-species and varieties of viruses and sub-viral agents.

5—Amendment of section 4—Biological control

This clause amends section 4 so that it provides that, for the purposes of the Act, organisms of a particular kind will be taken to be controllable by biological means if, and only if, those organisms can be controlled by the release of prescribed organisms (which may be viruses or sub-viral agents) of another kind.

6—Amendment of section 19—Agent organisms

This clause amends section 19 so that viruses and sub-viral agents can be declared to be agent organisms for the purposes of the Act. Action for a declaration can be commenced by a unanimous recommendation being made to the South Australian Biological Control Authority by the Agriculture and Resource Management Council, or by an application under section 20.

7—Amendment of section 20—Agent application

This clause amends section 20 so that an application can be made to the Authority to have viruses and sub-viral agents declared to be agent organisms.

8—Amendment of section 24—Notice of proposed agent organisms

This clause amends section 24 so that if the Council has unanimously recommended to the Authority that viruses or sub-viral agents of a particular kind should be agent organisms, the Authority must publish notices that the Authority is contemplating declaring those organisms to be agent organisms.

9—Amendment of section 28—Emergency declarations

This clause amends section 28 so that the Authority can in an emergency declare viruses or sub-viral agents to be target organisms or agent organisms for the purposes of the Act.

10—Amendment of section 29—Declaration of existing released organisms

This clause amends section 29 so that the Authority can declare viruses and sub-viral agents to be target organisms or agent organisms for the purposes of the Act.

11—Amendment of section 32—Declaration of organisms declared under a relevant law

This clause amends section 32 so that the Authority can declare viruses and sub-viral agents to be target organisms or agent organisms for the purposes of the Act if they have been declared as such under a relevant law (Commonwealth law, the law of another State, or the law of the Northern Territory).

12—Amendment of section 35—No legal proceedings to be instituted in respect of release of agent organisms under a relevant law

This clause amends section 35 so as to prohibit, subject to the section, the commencement or continuance of legal proceedings to prevent the release of viruses or sub-viral agents in accordance with a relevant law, or to recover damages in respect of any loss incurred, or any damage suffered, in this State, another State, or a Territory by reason of the release of such organisms in accordance with a relevant law.

Debate adjourned on motion of Ms Chapman.