Victoria

Submissions on future plant biosecurity

The Victorian Government is calling for submissions to proposed new laws designed to further protect the state’s $3 billion plant industry from disease outbreaks.

The Plant Biosecurity Bill aims to prevent the entry of plant pests and diseases in Victoria, and ensure the long term viability of its 11,000 plant-based industries.

A key component of the draft bill is the introduction of a property Identification Code database for plant industries that will enable government to quickly contact property owners or find properties growing affected crops after pests or diseases are detected.

The database can be used to establish a comprehensive list of Victorian producers which will greatly speed up any emergency responses. There will be no fee involved to apply for a code.

Executive Director of Biosecurity Victoria, Hugh Millar, says the proposed bill streamlines and enhances existing legislation so the Department of Primary Industries and industry can work together more effectively to respond to pest or disease outbreaks.

Dr Millar says the bill will widen the definition of used equipment and soil to include road working and earth moving equipment, sand, rocks and gravel. He says the bill can impose controls on their movement into Victoria or within the state to prevent a pest or disease from spreading.

Submission on the draft bill will close on February 26, 2010, and further details of the bill and explanatory paper can be found here.

Victorian land health and biodiversity white paper released

A link stretching from Melbourne’s west to the Grampians forms the centerpiece of a $105 million land health and biodiversity plan released by the Victorian Government.

The government will invest $1.5 million in 2010 to improve the ecological connectivity within the landscape. The funding will be used for threatened species protection and recovery, and securing permanent protection of high value ecosystems.

The biolink stretching from the capital’s west to the Grampians will be the first in a network across Victoria. The network will include a major link from the Mallee to the Wimmera connecting Sunset Country to the Big and Little Deserts; a biolink from the Murray River to the Alps; and a link from Gippsland Lakes to Wilsons Promontory.

The new funding includes $3 million over the next three years to improve the health of the Gippsland Lakes by reducing the nutrient and sediment run-off in the lakes, cutting the risk of algal blooms.

The action includes protecting and restoring high value native vegetation along priority reaches, addressing land erosion and legal agreements to secure permanent protection of high value ecosystems.

The projects are key features of “Securing Our Natural Future – a white paper for land and biodiversity at a time of climate change”. The white paper sets out a blueprint for protecting key habitat and ecosystems in the face of the looming threat of climate change. The paper can be found here.

Draft report released on Victorian forest agreements

A draft report on the progress of implementing five regional forest agreements in Victoria has been released for public comment.

The agreements set the framework for balancing conservation with sustainable harvesting of native forests – they cover East Gippsland, the Central Highlands, North East, Gippsland and Western Victoria RFA regions.

The agreements have been in place for a decade and the Victorian and Federal Governments say progress towards the goals they contain should be open to rigorous analysis from government, industry and the community.

The draft report and community submissions will be forwarded to an independent reviewer who will provide a formal report to the Victorian and Federal Governments. To view the report and make a submission click here.

Federal Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister, Tony Burke, says Regional Forestry Agreements are the cornerstone of Australia’s national forest policy. Mr Burke says the RFAs have already provided certainty to the nation’s forest industries, timber workers and the regional communities who depend on forestry.

Strategy to safeguard northern water supplies

A 50-year water strategy will help safeguard water supplies for towns, farms and the environment in northern Victoria.

The Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy will see changes in seasonal allocation policies so that water is reserved for drought years. The strategy details 52 actions and 17 policies to manage the consequences of prolonged drought and climate change.

It is designed to improve the management of rivers, wetlands and flood plains with clear objectives for using environmental water and tools such as carryover, reusing return flows and structural works to make the best use of the environmental water available. It also recognises that increased use of ground water and a proliferation of domestic and stock dams in rural residential subdivisions has the potential to affect the security of supply for existing water users.

The strategy outlines measures to protect existing water users including:
- the registration of all new domestic and stock dams in rural residential subdivisions;
- guidelines to better define the size of dams for reasonable stock and domestic use; and
- improved monitoring to measure the growth in domestic and stock consumption.

The Northern Regional Sustainable Strategy is available here.

Victoria reaches energy saving target

Victoria’s Energy Saver Incentive has reached its 2009 target of saving 2.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving the target is the equivalent of making about 225,000 households carbon neutral for a year.

It is anticipated that in the first three years, the initiative will lead to actions that save 8.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Under the scheme, consumers can receive discounts and other incentives of energy efficient products from businesses, including weather sealing, insulated floors, lighting, heating, hot water systems and double glazed windows.

Businesses started registering for the scheme this year and the target that has been achieved represents the amount of emissions reduced by replacing energy wasting appliances or undertaking energy efficiency activities in homes.

More than 50 businesses are already accredited under the scheme. They create certificates for every tonne of greenhouse gas they help households save – the certificates can be sold to energy retailers to meet their mandatory energy efficiency target under the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target legislation. For further information click here.