Legislation Changes
In late June ACWA was advised by Department of Agriculture that the drafting of the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Bill is underway. This advice made good Minister Kim Chance’s long standing promise that the Biosecurity and Agriculture management Bill was a legislative priority. The Bill now has had its drafting rating moved from “BB”, where it has been for 7 years, to “AA”, the highest priority. The Minister’s goal is to have the Bill ready for its first reading in parliament in September 2005.
The Bill will provide the head powers for a series of yet-to-be drafted regulations that should see arrangements such as mandatory sensitive neighbour notification and mandatory training for chemical users implemented. ACWA has been asked to join the Over-arching Reference Group which will work with the State Solicitors’ Office and other industry groups to finalise the Bill and the regulations. As such, ACWA will be in the best position to protect the aquaculture industry's interests.
Further information can be obtained from the following:
- Frequently Asked Questions - 16 August 2005 (763KB pdf)
- BAMB powerpoint presentation (834KB pdf)
Government Policy Changes
Given that Western Australia has no inter-departmental adverse impacts investigation protocol, ACWA is pleased to see that following the Getting the Drift seminar Dr Margaret Stevens, chair of the Pesticide Advisory Committee (PAC), decided to implement a review of pesticides policy, legislation and administrative arrangements.
The aim of the review is to recommend the best approach to the development of a modern, consolidated legislative basis for the control of the use of pesticides, and to write a discussion paper setting out the policy and administrative arrangements which will underpin the new legislative framework for the control of the use of pesticides in Western Australia. To ensure that the aquaculture industry’s interests are catered for ACWA has been invited by the Department of Health, to be one of the industry reference group members.
The PAC’s discussion paper will be available for public comment by the first week of September 2005. ACWA has requested industry briefings in September and will ensure ACWA members are invited to attend. Once the document is available ACWA will provide a link on this website.
In the interim
Whilst the aquaculture industry has been given assurances that the legislation, regulations and the PAC review will be completed and implemented in 12 months ACWA has called for the implementation of fundamental interim arrangements, especially in the areas of awareness-raising and adverse-impacts investigations, as the current arrangements will continue to conspire against the development of vulnerable industries like aquaculture.
ACWA has raised this matter with Minister of Fisheries, Hon Jon Ford, Minister for Agriculture, Hon Kim Chance and Minister for the Environment, Dr Judy Edwards. On 30 June ACWA met with Dr Edwards. Minister Edwards was very interested in this issue. She stated she would ensure the matter would be raised at the Ministerial Council on Health, Environment and Industry Sustainability at its meeting on 9 August.