Surveillance and detection plan for invasive species in Western Australia

Page last updated: Tuesday, 8 December 2015 - 5:12pm

Please note: This content may be out of date and is currently under review.

The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) is leading the development of a post-border surveillance and detection plan that meets the needs of Western Australia and is supported by national systems. The plan is intended to be relevant to industry and community as well as to the roles of government.

Stakeholders will be contacted by DAFWA to have input onto the plan. For further information contact David Kessell, Invasive Species program, on 9368 4028 or email david.kessell@agric.wa.gov.au.

Background

Western Australia is a large, sparsely populated state. It is relatively free of some of the harmful weeds and vertebrate pest animals that affect other parts of Australia, and other parts of the world.

It’s worth considering that there was a time when every pest that is now established in WA did not exist here, and could have been prevented by surveillance, early detection and effective response.

The recently completed Invasive Species Plan for Western Australia 2015-2019 has identified the importance of post-border surveillance and detection for invasive species in Western Australia – in other words searching for, detecting and reporting harmful invasive species (weeds and pest animals) within WA.

The Invasive Species Plan for Western Australia 2015-2019 identifies actions for a coordinated approach to surveillance and detection of priority invasive species that are a threat to industries, the environment and social values in this State. The coordinated approach will result in greater involvement in pest surveillance by all stakeholders, and the use of improved ways of identifying and reporting pests. Developing a post-border surveillance and detection plan relevant to industry, community and government will help achieve this coordinated approach.

Seeking your views

The aim of the Post-Border Surveillance and Detection Plan for Invasive Species in Western Australia is to ensure that we can prevent the next major pest incursion - through improved weed and vertebrate pest surveillance by all stakeholders in Western Australia.

In developing the plan, the department will be contacting a large number of people and organisations who are identified as stakeholders who have a current or future role in pest surveillance, in order to gain their views on how best to improve pest surveillance in WA.

Stakeholders will be asked a number of questions in the following areas in order to have a broad discussion on pest surveillance:

  • What is your understanding of current post-border surveillance in Western Australia?
  • What would you consider is working well?
  • What is not working well?
  • What does the surveillance plan need to address to ensure that it is working well?
  • What should be the priorities? How would these be determined?
  • What should be the roles of industry and community? What is the role of government?
  • How should information be reported?
  • What is required to ensure success?

Stakeholders will be contacted to arrange a suitable time for a phone interview, which will take approximately 30 minutes.

DAFWA is currently closely involved with delivering two other significant pest surveillance activities, which are both part of the Boosting Biosecurity Defences project funded by Royalties for Regions, namely the Agricultural Weed Surveillance in the South West to Protect Industry Profitability project and the Biosecurity Blitz which ran from 18-30 September 2015.

If you require further information on the surveillance and detection plan, please contact David Kessell, Invasive Species program, on 9368 3207 or email david.kessell@agric.wa.gov.au.