Weed management is an essential activity which safeguards our economy, environment and community. We manage weeds in accordance with the NSW Biosecurity framework and associated tools.
Under the Biosecurity Act 2015 everyone has a legal obligation to manage identified priority weeds on land that they own or occupy.
Weeds can mean different things to different people or in different areas, but generally they can be described as plants growing outside their natural environment with an adverse impact on the economy, environment or local community. Within the Albury area weeds are one of the major threats to our unique environment and agricultural industries.
We are committed to the ongoing management of the risks posed by weeds. To carry out this task we support an extensive weeds program which involves inspections of private and public lands, priority weed spraying programs, organisation of community weed control days and the use of spray and environmental contractors to meet seasonal demands.
Biosecurity Legislation
Under the Biosecurity Act 2015 AlburyCity as the Local Control Authority has a legal obligation to manage the biosecurity risk posed or likely to be posed to human health, the economy, community and environment by Priority Weeds.
We meet these obligations through programs to:
- prevent their entry into NSW
- quickly find, contain and eradicate new entries and
- effectively minimise the impacts of the weeds that cannot be eradicated through robust management arrangements
- conducting weed inspections on public and private property
- inspecting and controlling weeds in high risk pathways and sites
- providing education to the community
- undertaking compliance actions under the Act
Your obligation
Under the Biosecurity Act 2015, all land owners or land managers have a ‘General Biosecurity Duty’ to prevent, eliminate or minimise the Biosecurity Risk posed or likely to be posed by Priority Weeds.
What is a Priority Weed?
Priority Weeds or Biosecurity Matter can impact on human health, the economy, the liveability of our city and the environment. Impacts can include allergies and other health issues, costs of control, loss of tourism value, degradation of natural landscapes, parks and recreation facilities, reduction of useful agricultural land and loss of primary production, loss of biodiversity and water quality.
Murray Regional Strategic Weed Management Plan outlines:
- State Priority Weeds
- Regional Priority Weeds
- Local Priority Weeds
How you can help
Garden escapees are putting pressure on Albury’s biodiversity. Garden escapees invade our natural bush lands and can transform ecosystems by displacing native animals and reducing native plant diversity. Most of the environmental weeds in Albury start from suburban gardens, with seeds spread by water, wind, birds, bikes, cars, earth-moving equipment, illegal track formation or from dumped garden waste.
The greatest problem areas are where native bush adjoins housing areas. For example, garden escapees are a major problem on the edges of Nail Can Hill Reserve and Eastern Hill Reserve, where houses back onto bush land.
Some key plant species that are easily spread into neighboring bush land include:
- Privet
- Cotoneaster
- Hawthorn
- Tree Lucerne
- Olives
- Broom
- Agapanthus
- Cootamundra Wattle
- Lavender
- Freesia
- Watsonia
- Arum Lily
- Blue Periwinkle
