PREFACE

• Many Australians as private and public landowners, land managers and land users spend a great deal of time and effort in dealing with weeds. In financial terms, many millions of dollars are spent annually on research, education and training in weed management and on herbicides and other weed control measures. Despite this input, weeds are still one of Australia’s major land degradation problems.
  
  
• Despite the long history of and high financial input into weed control measures by governments and land and water resource managers, there is evidence of an increasing rate of weed encroachment in almost all ecosystems of economic, social or conservation value in all States of Australia including Tasmania.
  
  
• The primary responsibility for weed management rests with landholders/land managers but collective action is necessary where the problem transcends the capacity of the individual landholder/land managers to address it adequately.
  
  
• Weeds are a serious threat to Tasmania’s primary production and natural environment. They reduce farm and forest productivity, degrade bushland and conservation areas and contribute significantly to land and water degradation. Weeds have traditionally been viewed rather narrowly as problems only to farms and home gardeners. Weeds are now more widely recognised as an important component of the degradation of land and water resources.
  
  
• The total direct costs of weeds in Tasmanian primary industries has been conservatively estimated at over $30 million per annum, but this is only a small part of the problem. This figure does not include the less tangible costs such as the losses of aesthetic, conservation and recreational values due to weeds, the impact of weeds on human and animal health and on sustainability of land and water resources, or the losses caused by weeds as fire hazards, shelter for vermin or hosts for pest crops and diseases.
  
  
• All Tasmanians are affected by these costs. This may be through their responsibilities for weed control as land managers or through rates and taxes to finance the weed control activities undertaken by state and local government agencies.
  
  
• In the Meander Valley Municipality, Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.) and Gorse (Urex europaeus) are considered to be the major weeds causing problems to land management and natural ecosystems. The spread of Pampas Grass (Cortaderia spp.) within urban, forestry, roadside and parkland areas is an emerging problem requiring an immediate and concerted action. Willows (Salix spp.) are of significant concern within riparian zones through their deleterious impact on the aquatic ecosystem, exacerbation of flood events and their threat to endemic floral and faunal community establishment.
  
  
• In response, the Meander Valley Weed Management Group has developed a strategy for the long term weed management in the Meander Valley Municipality. This strategy is based on input from a wide range of Government departments and agencies, Meander Valley Council, industry, landcare groups and other concerned organisations. This plan is complimentary to and consistent with the Tasmanian "Weedplan" and the National Weeds Strategy currently under development.
  
  
• The Meander Valley Weed Strategy aims to co-ordinate the individual efforts of many people involved in weed control in order to minimise the deleterious effects of weeds on the sustainability of the Meander Valley Municipality’s productive capacity and natural ecosystems.
  
  
• The achievement of this objective will require co-operation between all land and water managers within the municipality and the broader community. The Meander Valley Weed Strategy will establish the frame work around which such co-operative action can be established.
  
  

STRATEGIC PLAN

Co-Oordination

AIM

The MVWMG aims to:

• Promote a system of community based weed management.

OBJECTIVES

This aim should be realised by ensuring that:

• Co-ordination of on-ground weed management actions occur.
  
  
• Efficient pooling of resources occurs where appropriate.
  
  
• Appropriate staffing is available for the co-ordination of MVWMG activities.
  
  
• Mechanisms are in place to handle enquires and feedback regarding weed management and the activities of the MVWMG.
  
  
• Efficient integration of weed management activities occur with adjacent municipalities, other weed management groups and related parties.
  
  
• Land managers throughout the municipality take responsibility for weed management in their locality.

ACTIONS

The following actions are intended to achieve the objectives outlined above:

• Establish and make widely available a list of weed management resources.
  
  
• Employ a weed management co-ordinator.
  
  
• Invite adjacent municipalities to appoint representatives to the MVWMG Group.
  
  
• Identify areas for collection and release of biological weed control agents.
  
  
• Co-ordinate the collection and release of biological weed control agents.
  
  
• Bring together adjoining land managers in order to raise their understanding of weed problems as well as to ensure co-operative weed management decisions and actions.
  
  
• Co-ordinator to handle and record enquiries and feedback regarding weed management in the municipality.
  
  
• Provide regular progress bulletins to adjacent municipalities and other weed management groups.
  
  
• Co-ordinator will act to link land managers to ensure co-operative weed management actions.

Eductation, Awareness and Information.

AIMS

The MVWMG aims to:

• Facilitate community participation in relevant weed management training.
  
  
• Raise to an appropriate level community wide awareness and understanding of weed identification, spread mechanisms and control techniques.
  
  
• Foster social attitude change whereby the whole community becomes pro-active in weed management.

OBJECTIVES

These aims should be realised by ensuring that:

• The whole community is able to recognise priority weeds and understand the significance of these weeds to the community.
  
  
• The whole community understands the benefits to be gained by reducing the incidence of weeds in the municipality.
  
  
• Land managers in the municipality are aware of the incidence of priority weeds in their immediate vicinity.
  
  
• Within 3 years all land managers within the municipality have a current understanding of and competence in weed management.
  
  
• Weed incidence information is widely available to the M.V. community.
  
  
• The whole community has an understanding of and encouragement in the adoption and use of relevant industry "Codes of Best Practise".

ACTIONS

The following actions are intended to achieve the objectives outlined above:

• Co-ordinator to set up and maintain a weed mapping system and make it available to the community.
  
  
• Establish a system whereby stakeholders report on priority weed incidence and have that information added to the weed incidence database.
  
  
• Publications
  
  -Ragwort Flyer
  -Gorse Flyer
  
  
• Displays set up at Agfest and Deloraine, Westbury and Chudleigh Shows.
  
  
• Ensure widespread mapping of priority weed incidence occurs within the municipality.

Would include but not restrictive to:

• Undertake community wide education on the relevant industry "Codes of Best Practice".
  
  
• Liaise with industries to encourage the development and use of "Codes of Best Practise" where they do not already exist.
  
  
• Mapped information of priority weed incidence is collated and made available to the community.
  
  
• Use the following methods to spread information:
  
  -Letter box drops.
  -Face to face contact.
  -Field days.
  -Speaking engagements.
  -Displays in public places.
  -School demonstrations.
  -Newspaper inserts.
  
  
• Liaise with all forms of media and other communication mechanisms within the community by providing regular progress reports and publicity material.
  
  
• Set up demonstration sites.
  
  
• Discussion groups.
  
  
• Media.
  
  
• MVWS Internet site.
  
  
• Training workshops/programmes.

Marketing and Funding

AIMS

The MVWMG aims to:

• Improve community access to sponsorship through marketing of the group’s activities amongst the corporate sector.
  
  
• Assist the ongoing viability of the MVWMG through promotion of the benefits of the group’s activities to politicians and instrumentalities.

OBJECTIVES

These aims should be realised by ensuring that:

• Key/relevant politicians and Government instrumentality managers are able to describe the actions and benefits of the MVWMG.
  
  
• The whole MV community is able to describe the actions and benefits of the MVWMG.
  
  
• Commercial Enterprises operating in the MV Municipality are able to identify the activities and benefits of supporting the MVWMG.
  
  
• Adequate levels of funding are available for weed management in the municipality.

ACTIONS

The following actions are intended to achieve the objectives outlined above:

• Preparation and distribution of marketing and/or sponsorship documents.
  
  
• Produce regular progress reports and supply them to stakeholder organisations, key/relevant politicians and Government instrumentality managers.
  
  
• Approach commercial enterprises encouraging their sponsorship of weed management within the municipality.
  
  
• Liaise with, and provide regular progress reports and publicity material to, all forms of media and other communication mechanisms within the community.
  
  
• Encourage representatives of corporate organisations, politicians and Government instrumentalities to attend field days, demonstration sites, displays etc.
  
  
• Applications to NLP and other funding sources are made when and if applicable.
  
  

Intergrated Weed Management

AIM

The MVWMG aims to:

• Achieve the most effective management of weeds through integrated combinations of various management methods.

OBJECTIVE

This aim should be realised by ensuring that:

• The community has ready access to an appropriate advice on the various weed management methods and on how Integrated Weed Management may best be achieved.
  
  
• The community has ready access to appropriate range of weed management equipment suitable for Integrated Weed Management.

ACTIONS

The following actions are intended to achieve the objectives outlined above:

• The co-ordinator will link land managers to advice, sources and resources for Integrated Weed Management.
  
  
• The co-ordinator will link inter-property land managers for Integrated Weed Management.
  
  
• Database of available resources for Integrated Weed Management will be established.

Policy

AIM

The MVWMG aims to:

• Ensure that all related legislation supports the process of a community based co-operative approach to weed management.

OBJECTIVES

These aims should be realised by ensuring that:

• The MVWMG is recognised as the Regional Weed Management Group under Weedplan.
  
  
• MVWMG is the advice source for legislators dealing with regional weed problems.
  
  
• The MVWMG is the community representative body in forums associated with weed management policy.
  
  
• The M.V. Weed Strategy remains consistent with and complimentary to the State Weedplan and the National Weed Strategy.

ACTIONS

The following actions are intended to achieve the objectives outlined above:

• Co-ordinator and or MVWMG maintain contact with legislators.
  
  
• Communicate with Regional and State Weed Co-ordinators in relation to relevant weed management issues for the community and ensure that the strategy remains consistent with and complimentary to the State Weedplan and the National Weed Strategy.
  
  
• Pass on to legislators community feedback in relation to weeds.
  
  
• Provide a communication path from legislators to the community and related instrumentalities.