2 May 2018
The Environment and Invasives Committee (EIC) held its first face-to-face meeting on 2 May 2018 in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. As agreed by the National Biosecurity Committee (NBC) on 14 February 2018, the EIC has replaced the former Invasive Plants and Animals Committee.
The Committee discussed its role in engaging with environmental biosecurity stakeholders, with members attending the Environmental Biosecurity Roundtable in Canberra on 3 May 2018, as well as current activities and governance arrangements relevant to environmental biosecurity incident prevention, preparedness and response.
The Committee considered a proposal for coordination and implementation of the National Environment and Community Biosecurity Research, Development and Extension Strategy 2016-2019, and agreed to submit a proposal to the NBC for consideration at its next meeting.
The Committee endorsed the 2018 Australian List of Threat Categories of Non-indigenous Vertebrates and supported the nominations of Delairea odorata (Cape ivy), Polygala myrtifolia (Polygala), Tecoma stans (Yellow bells), and Schinus terebinthifolius (Broad leaf pepper tree) as targets for biological control.
The Committee agreed to release the National Invasive Ant Biosecurity Plan for public consultation (subject to parallel approvals from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee). This decision represents the first of its kind for the EIC, under its scope of responsibility for terrestrial invertebrates including invasive ants.
The Committee was also briefed on:
- a draft invasive species-related e-commerce review, which identified recently published research and legislative provisions, and made recommendations for improving the management of e-commerce in invasive species
- the National Program for the Eradication of Red Imported Fire Ants in South-East Queensland
- the National Carp Control Plan
- progress on developing a national priority list of exotic environmental pests and diseases and agreed the process for reviewing and amending the list
- the findings of the recent national environmental biosecurity stocktake
The Committee agreed its next meeting would be in Western Australia in August 2018.
For any questions or suggestions regarding this communique, please email the EIC Secretariat at EIC.
The Environment and Invasives Committee is responsible for providing national policy leadership on the identification, prevention and management of invasive plant, vertebrate and invertebrate species that adversely impact the environment, economy and community.
The Committee provides a national mechanism for identification and resolution of national priorities on freshwater aquatic and terrestrial invasive species and any other species where there is an environmental or community biosecurity impact where it is found not to be the responsibility of any other sectoral committee.
For further information on the Environment and Invasives Committee, you can visit the Committee’s website, hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.