BRANCHED BROOMRAPE

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (15:06): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question about branched broomrape.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: On 10 November this year I asked the minister how the government proposed to continue the branched broomrape eradication program, following the imminent loss of federal funding for the program. In her answer the minister mentioned work being done to prepare a new model, but gave no details.

I understand that South Australia's branched broomrape control will be wound back from July 2012 and the Murraylands' quarantine zone lifted, under a draft proposal released last week. If this proposal is adopted it will place an unreasonable cost burden on individual farmers in the affected areas. It will also have wider implications, placing bans on the movement of hay, straw and small seeds outside of the zone and increasing the likelihood of branched broomrape escaping from the zone and spreading to other parts of Australia.

This proposal comes despite government and landholder spending of almost $100 million since 2000 towards eradication. Moreover, 25 per cent of infested paddocks have been successfully cleared within the past three years alone; and findings by the Branched Broomrape National Management Group maintain that broomrape could have been eradicated entirely under current controls between 2040 and 2070. It should also be noted that this move follows assurances by the former agriculture minister, the Hon. Michael O'Brien, that the government would commit whatever resources were required to maintain control programs.

The national steering committee for branched broomrape's draft management plan proposal for the future management of broomrape in South Australia refers to the establishment of wash-down facilities. My questions are:

1. What is the expected cost of establishing wash-down facilities for the removal of soil and plant material from farm machinery before it leaves the proposed branched broomrape management area?

2. Who will pay to establish, operate and maintain these wash-down facilities?

3. How will the code of practice proposed to apply to products assessed as low risk from broomrape-affected properties be monitored, and what penalties will there be for noncompliance?

4. What will be the cost of providing this monitoring of the proposed code of practice and who will pay for it?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:08): The management of branched broomrape has been a very difficult challenge for the state of South Australia. As I have said in this place before, a review of the program released earlier this year concluded that the eradication of this weed was no longer technically feasible. The finding of an independent scientific panel was that the approach to be pursued should be based on containment and the ability to declare products and properties to be free of the weed.

The finding was accepted by the National Management Group for Weeds (the body that is responsible for the oversight of this nationally-funded program). National funding of around $2.6 million and state initiatives of $1.95 million continue until June 2012 to support the necessary elements of the current program, and provide for a transition to another management program for this weed.

Because of interstate trade in commodities, a national approach is obviously needed, and Biosecurity SA is undertaking local consultation. Results will be fed into a national steering committee that is working on a new management plan. The national steering committee is chaired by PIRSA, with members from the commonwealth and state government and, importantly, is linked to the industry through Plant Health Australia. The committee is currently preparing a new management plan for the implementation for July 2012.

Once discussions with other jurisdictions have occurred, the agreed framework will then go to the Primary Industries Ministerial Council. The national steering committee is working on scenarios for management that range from controlled containment to product quality assurance, and the potential to pursue property freedom. Importantly, the management plan will provide arrangements to support quality assurance so that market access is maintained for farmers both domestically and internationally.

I am advised that the high-risk produce will continue to require some restrictions, and machinery will continue to undergo decontamination procedures to help reduce the likelihood of the weeds spreading outside of the current quarantine area. Arrangements for these measures are obviously yet to be finalised, but are the subject of further work by the national steering committee.

The steering committee is also working closely with the exporters of the at-risk products to re-establish the relative importance of the weed and guide the form of the new program. The community focus group and Ministerial Advisory Committee will obviously play a really important part in preparing any proposals.

The aim is to have a plan framework ready by the new year so that farmers and affected industries can obviously prepare for the 2012 production year knowing what the likely operational parameters are going to be, so we are very mindful of that. I am advised that the draft plan, under consultation by Biosecurity SA, would establish a management area under the Plant Health Act, as well as interstate certification agreements for high-risk produce and agricultural machinery, to be administered by Biosecurity SA. This regime is aimed at securing market access for low-risk commodities while managing the risk of broomrape spreading from the current area.

These practical steps are obviously subject to consultation with the community focus group, and feedback will be used in improving the development of the current draft management plan, to be submitted to the National Management Group later this year. I understand a public meeting for the community focus group was held in Mannum on 21 November, to consult with affected landowners on the proposed framework for the management plan and provide an opportunity for the direct feedback for the new arrangements.

The agency is out there actually talking to people on the ground, and they are assisting us to identify and work through the issues. I am advised there has been some excellent feedback, and improved arrangements were proposed by community members, and Biosecurity SA is investigating the inclusion of a number those proposals in the draft plan for further consideration, so I am grateful for all of those farmers who came out and provided that constructive assistance.

I am advised the spring discovery and market assurance survey that provides for open marketing of produce from the quarantine area is underway. Seasonal conditions were unusual and also ideal for the growth of branched broomrape and, obviously, this has been reflected in those survey results that show a little more of the weed is emerging than would be desirable.

The review indicated that the eradication might have been achieved, as I said, somewhere between 2040 and 2070—as the Hon. John Dawkins mentioned—based on the data available at the time, but the reviewers were unable to confirm this with any confidence due to concerns about the branched broomrape seed survival. So, they are estimates.

The additional discoveries of branched broomrape during the surveys this season put even these target dates into considerable further doubt, so I have been advised. It is clear that, obviously, funding mechanisms are being developed in association with Plant Health Australia. As I said, these have not been finalised, but we plan to have that information out as soon as we possibly can.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Dawkins has a supplementary.