Page 1028 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 2 May 2006
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MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for the Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Housing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12.05) in reply: I thank members for their support of this bill. The Pest Plants and Animals Amendment Bill updates pre-existing legislation and accommodates national developments for the management of pest plants and pest animals, including declaration of pest plants, pest plant management plans, propagation of prohibited pest plants and reckless supply of prohibited pest plants. This sounds like one of those PPP things that you can have trouble wrapping your tongue around, such as “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”. I thank the officers for doing that to me.
This bill creates an offence for a person who imports a prohibited pest plant. People who recklessly import pest plants from another jurisdiction will be punished under this bill. The absence of such an offence has the potential to lead to the unlawful sale of prohibited pest plants as well as the spread of prohibited pest plants. The bill also includes a definitional provision to provide that the term “propagate” includes “to plant”. Including the word “plant” in the meaning of “propagate” will ensure that people do not plant prohibited pest plants on their property. It does not just mean growing plants from seed in a punnet. That is not the full extent of propagating. There is another step beyond that. Sticking them in the ground is now an offence as well.
The Pest Plants and Animals Amendment Bill will also provide enhanced support for the implementation of the ACT weed strategy, as indicated by Mr Stefaniak. I would like at this point to congratulate the people who had the foresight to bring forward that weed strategy. This strategy, of course, establishes a policy framework of pest management and is underpinned by annual management programs.
Mrs Dunne: Are you going to update it when it expires later in the year?
MR HARGREAVES: Qu’est-ce que c’est tu dis?
Mrs Dunne: Are you going to update the strategy when it expires later in the year?
MR SPEAKER: Order! This is not a conversation.
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, though you, I would like to say in response to Mrs Dunne, who likes to consider that there are more things to the environment than getting rid of putrescible waste, watch this space.
Mrs Dunne: I was there 10 years ago, Mr Hargreaves.
MR HARGREAVES: Yes, but 10 years ago I was a mere 16-year-old lad.
THE SPEAKER: Order, Mr Hargreaves. Responding to disorderly interjections is equally disorderly.
MR HARGREAVES: The provision is built on the existing bush-friendly nursery scheme whereby nurseries have voluntarily agreed not to supply pest plants and have been recommending non-invasive alternatives to their customers. This innovative scheme has been adopted by other Australian jurisdictions as an important and effective
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