Australia at risk of weed invasion
14 Jun 2004
Australia's borders are wide open to invasion by thousands of new weeds due to a quarantine law loophole, according to a new report commissioned by WWF-Australia.
The study, Front Door Wide Open to Weeds, undertaken by the University of Western Australia and the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management, has found it is currently legal to import over 4000 known agricultural and environmental weeds not yet found in Australia.
The source of this biosecurity risk is a loophole in Australia's border controls - Schedule 5 (Permitted Seeds List) of the Quarantine Proclamation 1998. The Permitted List currently includes over 6,600 entries.
The List should only include plant species permitted for import into Australia.
However, the List currently includes nearly three thousand species groups or 'genera', a throw-back to an earlier border control regime. The 2,916 permitted genera include thousands of known weedy plant species, but these plants are not required to undergo any kind of weed risk assessment and can be imported into Australia without impediment. This substantial weakness undermines both the intent and purpose of the stronger and more scientifically-based border control measures introduced in 1997.
Weeds cost Australia an average of $4 billion a year and cause large production losses in the beef, wool and wheat industries. This equates to $1 lost out of every $7 Australia's farmers earn in exports. The cost has doubled in just 20 years and is likely to increase.
Weeds have also caused the extinction of at least four native species and continue to endanger many threatened species, endangered ecosystems and World Heritage areas. They are the second biggest threat to Australia's ecosystems and wildlife, and over the next several years are expected to become the number one immediate threat to nature.
