20 and 21 February 2024
The Environment and Invasives Committee (EIC) met on 20 and 21 February 2024 in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
Non-indigenous vertebrate risk assessments
The Committee endorsed five national non-indigenous vertebrate risk assessments, and the 17 associated threat categories. The Australian List of Threat Categories of Non-indigenous Vertebrates List will be updated on the PestSmart website.
National Standard Operating Procedures
The Committee endorsed four National Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which will be available on the PestSmart website as national SOPs and be available for free download as PDF documents.
Australia’s Rabbit Biocontrol Pipeline Strategy
The Committee endorsed Australia’s Rabbit Biocontrol Pipeline Strategy as the national strategy to guide biocontrol research to control wild rabbit populations.
NRM Biosecurity Hub project
The Committee noted the progress of the National Resource Management (NRM) Biosecurity Hub project (funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), that seeks to strengthen environmental biosecurity, by increasing the communication, coordination, and collaboration between NRM groups and those organisations working in the biosecurity system.
National Carp Control Plan
The Committee agreed to the continuation of the work of the EIC Carp Task Group in progressing priority actions to address the uncertainties highlighted in the National Carp Control Plan, and to work with fisheries agencies on next steps.
Freshwater gold clam
The Committee agreed that a nationally coordinated effort is required to determine the full extent of the freshwater gold clam incursion and slow the spread of the clam to environmentally and agriculturally significant water courses. The Committee also agreed to recommend to NBC that a 12-month working group should be implemented to design national actions to minimise the impact of the clam on Australian ecosystems and river infrastructure.
For any questions about this communiqué, please email the EIC Secretariat at eic@aff.gov.au.