What's in a name? The changing definition of weeds in Australia

Environmental and Planning Law Journal

Volumn 21, Issue 6, 2004, Pages 450-465

  Arcioni, Elisa ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG   (Australia)

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EID: 77957308436     PISSN: 0813300X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (170)

1. Heathcote RL, "Early European perception of the Australian landscape: the first hundred years", In Seddon G and Davis M (eds), Man and Landscape in Australia. Towards an Ecological Vision (Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1976), p 29
2. Frawley K, "An ancient assemblage: the Australian rainforests in European conceptions of nature" (1990) 3(1) Continuum: The Australian Journal of Media and Culture.
3. Including the use of the word in the Bible, where a parable explains that weeds are not considered "good seed": Matthew 13:24-30 (Matthew seems to have been fond of the metaphor of weeds-see also Matthew 13:33). For some interesting discussion of the origin of the word "weed" in the English language and its foreign counterparts
4. see King LJ, "Some early forms of the weed concept"(1957) 179 Nature 1366.
5. For example, see The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, where the first definition is "A herbaceous plant not valued for use or beauty, growing wild and rank, and regarded as cumbering the ground or hindering the growth of superior vegetation"
6. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand
7. Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council
8. Forestry Ministers, The National Weeds Strategy; a strategic approach to weed problems of national significance (2nd edition, March,1999), p 7
9. Holzner W, "Concepts, Categories and Characteristics of Weeds", in Holzner W and Numata M (eds), Biology and Ecology of Weeds (Dr W Junk Publishers, The Hague, 1982), p 3.
10. Clark RL, "Ecological history for environmental management" In Saunders DA, Hopkins AJM and How RA (eds), Australian Ecosystems: 200 years of Utilisation, Degradation and Reconstruction, Proceedings of a Symposium Held in Geraldton, Western Australia 28 August-2 September, 1988 (Surrey Beatty and Sons for the Ecological Society of Australia, Chipping Norton, 1990), p 1 at p 4
11. see also Taylor SG, "Naturalness: the concept and its application to Australian ecosystems" In Saunders, Hopkins and How, n 4, p 411
12. Rose AJ, "Australia as a cultural landscape", in Rapoport A (ed) Australia as Human Setting (Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1972), p 58.
13. Groves suggests that Tamarind indicus may have been introduced by the Macassans, see Groves RH, Recent Incursions of Weeds in Australia 1971-1995, (CRC for Weed Management Systems Technical Series No 3, 1998), p 8.
14. Clark, n 4, p 4
15. Walsh FJ, "An ecological study of traditional Aboriginal use of 'country': Martu in the Great and Little Sandy Deserts, Western Australia" In Saunders et al, n 4, p 23 at pp 34-35.
16. For example, see the discussion in Dovers S, "Still settling Australia: environment, history and policy" in Dovers S (ed), Environmental History and Policy: Still Settling Australia (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2000), p 2 at pp 7-9.
17. Kirkpatrick J, A Continent Transformed; Human Impact on the Natural Vegetation of Australia (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1994), pp 30-36
18. see also Dovers S, "Australian Environmental History: introduction, review and principles" In Dovers S (ed), Australia Environmental History: Essays and Cases (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1994), p 2 at pp 2-3.
19. See for example the Julayinbul Statement of Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights (1993) That states "Indigenous Peoples and Nations share a unique spiritual and cultural relationship with Mother Earth which recognises the interdependence of the total environment".
20. For a range of perspectives on Indigenous attitudes to the environment in this context, see The International Indigenous Knowledge and Bioprospecting Conference, April 21-24, 2004, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Information on the proceedings is available at http://laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au/~cjone005/index_conference.htm viewed 15 October 2004.
21. Lever C, They Dined on Eland; The Story of the Acclimatisation Societies (Quiller Press, London, 1992) p 100.
22. Lever, n 11, p 107.
23. Francis GW, The Acclimatisation of Harmless, Useful, Interesting and Ornamental Animals and Plants (a paper read before the Philosophical Society, Adelaide, South Australia, May 13 1862), p 10.
24. Niall B, The Boyds; a family biography (Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2002), pp 53-54.
25. Hamilton AG, "On the effect which settlement in Australia has produced upon indigenous vegetation" (read before the Royal Society of New South Wales, September 7,1892)
26. Reproduced in (1892) Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of NSW 178 at 224.
27. Hobbs RJ and Hopkins AJM, "From Frontier to Fragments: European impact on Australia's vegetation" in Saunders, n 4, p 93 at pp 106-107.
28. HobbsandHopkins, n 16, at p 107.
29. McMinn WG, Nationalism and Federalism in Australia (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1994), p 6
30. Arguably the first use of the word in relation to the continent now known as Australia was in Matthew Flinders' 1804 chart of this country. See Meachan S, "The Chart that Put Australia on the Map", Sydney Morning Herald, 9 June 2004, p 17.
31. McMinn, n 18, p 16.
32. Bonyhady, The Colonial Earth (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2000).
33. This characterisation is taken from Hobbs and Hopkins, n 16, at p 107, where the authors state that landscape artists formed the basis of this group but that it was a "movement that scarcely affected the population as a whole." In contrast, Frawley describes the views of the literary and artistic members of colonial society as "elite": Frawley, n 1.
34. For example, for a discussion of the diversity of attitudes among farmers, see Frost W, "Did they really hate trees? Attitudes of farmers, tourists and naturalists towards nature in the rainforests of Eastern Australia" (2002) 8
35. Environment and History 3. For a discussion in relation to fauna see Stubbs BJ, "From 'Useless brutes' to national treasures: a century of evolving attitudes towards native fauna in New South Wales, 1860s to 1960s" (2001) 7 Environment and History 23.
36. Wallace-Crabbe C, "The escaping landscape" in Carroll J (ed), Intruders in the Bush: the Australian Quest for Identity (2nd ed, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992), pp 157-180.
37. As quoted in Mills K and Jakeman J, Rainforests of the Illawarra District (Coachwood Publishing, Jamberoo, 1995), p 28.
38. As quoted in MillsandJakeman, n 24, at p 29.
39. Frawley, n 1.
40. See Powell JM, Images of Australia, 1788-1914 (Department of Geography, Monash University, Melbourne, 1972)
41. Birrell R, "The social origin of Australia's conservation movement" (1987) 8 Journal of Intercultural Studies 22.
42. Quotations of artist Frederick McCubbin and novelist Rosa Praed reproduced in Birrell, n 27, at p 23.
43. Beaglehole JC (ed), The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks 1768-1771, Vol II (The Trustees of the Public Library of New South Wales in association with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1963), p 52 at [27].
44. Beaglehole, n 29, at pp 58-60, 83, 95.
45. State Heritage Register-Brown low Hill Estate, www.heritage.nsw.gov.au.
46. In using these words I am joining the literature of a number of writers who have categorised attitudes to the Australian environment. See, for example, Heathcote RL, "The Visions of Australia 1770-1970" In Rapoport, n 4, at pp 77-98
47. Heathcote, n 1.
48. Beaglehole, n 29, at pp 113-115.
49. Powell, n 27, p 1.
50. Millington RJ, Jones R, Brown D and Vernon B, Huon Pine-Endangered? (University of Tasmania Environmental Studies Occasional Paper No 9, 1979), pp 10, 12, quoting Burn D, Narrative of the Overland Journey of Sir John and Lady Franklin and Party from Hobart Town to Macquarie Harbour (1842).
51. Vader J, Red Cedar
52. The Tree of Australia's History (Reed Books Pty Ltd, Frenchs Forest, 1987), p 7.
53. Gaddes AS, Red Cedar, Our Heritage (Wyndham Observer, Nanango, 1990), p 9.
54. MillsandJakeman, n 24, at p 1.
55. MillsandJakeman, n 24, at p 27, quoting Governor Macquarie.
56. Benson DH and Howell J, "Sydney's vegetation 1788-1988: utilisation, degradation and rehabilitation" In Saunders, n 4, p 115, 120.
57. See Bonyhady T, The Colonial Earth (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2000), p 80
58. Frost W, "European Farming, Australian Pests: Agricultural Settlement and Environmental Disruption in Australia, 1800-1920" (1998) 4 Environment and History 129+132.
59. Capt Dunn, New South Wales, Legislative Assembly, Debates, 19 October 1921, p 944.
60. Sydney Magazine of Science and Art, October 1857, pp 109-110, referred to in Parsons WT and Cuthbertson EG, Noxious Weeds of Australia (2nd ed, CSIRO publishing, Canberra, 2001), p 231.
61. Port Phillip Government Gazette No 47, November 6, 1850, as quoted in Parsons and Cuthbertson, n 43, p 231.
62. Bennett G, On the Physiology, and also on the Utility, and Importance of the Acclimatisation or Naturalisation of Animals and Plants to Australia-An address delivered to the members of the Acclimatisation Society of New South Wales at the Annual Meeting April 4 1864, as printed in the Annual Report of the New South Wales Acclimatisation Society, 1864, p 35.
63. Lever, n 11, pp 100-101.
64. Mr Vaughn, New South Wales, Legislative Assembly, Debates, 27 May 1886, p 2288. Concern was also raised in relation to Bathurst burr and thorn-bush: New South Wales, Legislative Council Debates, 16 June 1886, p 2666 (Mr White).
65. For example, lantana. See Mr Vaughn, New South Wales, Legislative Assembly, Debates, 27 May 1886, p 2288.
66. An Act for Preventing the Further Spread of the Scotch Thistle, No 15, assented to 2 January 1852, as quoted in Parsons and Cuthbertson, n 43, p 3, where the authors also mention similar legislation in Victoria in 1856 and South Australia in 1862 proclaiming Bathurst burr a weed.
67. Mr Fletcher, New South Wales, Legislative Assembly, Debates, 27 May 1886, p 2287. Emphasis added.
68. Mr Abbott, New South Wales, Legislative Assembly Debates, 27 May 1886, p 2287. Emphasis added.
69. This Act was the precursor to the current Seeds Act 1982 (NSW). If the Noxious Weeds Amendment Bill 2004 (NSW) is passed, the Seeds Act will be repealed.
70. This was later to be re-enacted in a 1993 version, by which time the provisions relating to weeds had been transferred from the Local Government Act to the Noxious Weeds Act 1993 (NSW).
71. Local Government Act 1906 (NSW), s 112(c).
72. Local Government Act 1919 (NSW), s 470(1)(c).
73. See the Local Government Act 1906 and 1919 (NSW)
74. see Strang J, Chairman of Noxious Weeds Advisory Committee, Department of Local Government, Sydney, in his "Letter to the editor re noxious weeds",(1969) 5(2-3) Farm Management Journal of Farm Management Sector of Australian Institute of Agricultural Sciences 28.
75. Carter R, "Strategies and planning for weed control" In 9th Biennial Noxious Weeds Conference Proceedings (Dubbo, 1997), p 9.
76. Holzner, n 3, at p 4.
77. Hamilton, n 15, p 178.
78. Hamilton, n 15, p 178.
79. Walker RB, "Fauna and flora protection in New South Wales, 1866-1948" (1991) 28 Journal of Australian Studies 17-28.
80. Mosley JG, "Towards a history of conservation in Australia" In Rapoport, n 4, at p 136
81. Frawley K, "The history of conservation and the national park concept in Australia: A State of Knowledge Review" In Frawley K and Semple N (eds), Australia's Ever-Changing Forests: Proceedings of the First National Conference on Australian Forest History (Dept of Geography and Oceanography, University College, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, 1988), p 395.
82. Pepper D, The Roots of Modern Environmentalism (Routledge, London, 1984).
83. Grove RH, Green Imperialism: colonial expansion, tropical island Edens and the origins of environmentalism, 1600-1860 (Cambridge University Press, New York, 1996), p 486.
84. Birrell, n 27, p 24.
85. Bates G, Environmental Law in Australia (5th ed, Butterworths, Sydney, 2002), pp7-8 [1.8]-[1.9].
86. Frawley, n 62
87. K Frawley, Exploring Some Australian Images of Environment, (Department of Geography and Oceanography, Australian Defence Force Academy, Working Paper 1987/1), p 33.
88. Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW), Sch 3. Following listing of a threat, a threat abatement plan is prepared. A draft plan for bitou bush has been prepared and is likely to be placed on public exhibition some time in 2004.
89. State Heritage Register-Brownlow Hill Estate, n 25. Another example is State Heritage Register-Bentinck Street Elm Trees. See www.heritage.nsw.gov.au.
90. Seddon G, "Introduction" In Seddon and Davis, n 1, p 1
91. as discussed in HobbsandHopkins, n 16, p 107.
92. For example, In New South Wales the Seeds Act 1982 (NSW) (although this Act may be repealed if the Noxious Weeds Amendment Bill 2004 (NSW) is passed) and Stock Foods Act 1940 (NSW).
93. Australian Weeds Committee, Principles of Weeds Legislation Discussion Paper (2002), p 3.
94. Groves, n 5, p 27, where it is acknowledged that these costs are based on an assessment in 1996.
95. Western Catchment Blueprint (2003), p 32.
96. Groves, n 5, p 27.
97. Groves R and Willis A, "Environmental weeds and loss of native plant biodiversity: some Australian examples" (1999) 6(3) Australian Journal of Environmental Management 164.
98. For a discussion of these in New South Wales see Arcioni E, "Out damned weeds! Weed management in Australia-Keeping Them at Bay" (2003) 8(1) Australasian Journal of Natural Resources Law and Policy 75 at 89-95.
99. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, n 3.
100. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, n 3, p 7.
101. Formerly the Minister for Agriculture, until 1 July 2004. At that date, Mineral Resources, New South Wales Agriculture, New South Wales Fisheries and State Forests of New South Wales were amalgamated into the one Department of Primary Industries.
102. Noxious Weeds Advisory Committee, Policy on declaration of weeds NWAC Policy Paper 1 (reviewed Feb 2002) available at http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/1973 at [3.5]-[3.6]. However, if the Noxious Weeds Amendment Bill 2004 (NSW) is passed, the definition of what is a weed will be incorporated within the Act itself.
103. Strang, n 56.
104. Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002 (Qld), ss 37(1), 38
105. Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), s 58(4)
106. Weed Management Act 1999 (Tas), s 9(1).
107. For example, in the ACT, the ACT Weeds Strategy, established in 1996, at p 9 states that a species may be considered for "priority control" on the basis of prevalence, "ecological or economic impact... or simply because it offends aesthetically ". The relevant legislation is the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 (ACT), but there is no mention of the basis of any listing there. In the Northern Territory, declarations are on the basis of, inter alia, the species constituting "a significant threat to the productivity of land and water, flora and fauna resources or, in some cases to human health": Department of Infrastructure, P lanning and Environment, Weed Management, www.ipe.nt.gov.au, follow links home>weeds. In South Australia, in order to assess weeds for proclamation, the "economic, environmental and social effects of weeds" are considered
108. Virtue J, "Weed Risk Assessment", http//sustainableresources.pir.sa. Follow links homepage >weeds. See also Animal and Plant Control Commission-South Australia, "Weed assessment guide August 2002", pp 6-8.
109. It should be noted that the Strategy is currently under review by the Australian Weeds Committee.
110. See The National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity (Department of Environment, Sport and Territories, Canberra, 1996) pp 25-26
111. Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council, Review of the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity (Environment Australia, Canberra, June 2001) pp 52-54
112. The Decade of Landcare Plan (Commonwealth Government, Canberra, 1991) and the National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development (Commonwealth Government, Canberra, 1992).
113. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, n 3, p 3.
114. See for example the New South Wales Weeds Strategy (April 1998) available at www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/1981 The National Weeds Strategy was not the first weeds strategy in Australia. The Tasmanian policy was finalised before the National Weeds Strategy was completed: Ministerial Working Group for the Development of Tasmanian Weed Management Strategy
115. Weed Plan: Putting the Pieces Together: A Tasmanian Weed Management Strategy (Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Hobart, 1996).
116. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, n 3, pp 26-27.
117. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, n 3, p 25.
118. A broad definition of "measures" appears in s 4.
119. For further details see Arcioni, n 77, pp 80-87.
120. See also Steinke E and Walton C, "Weed risk assessment of plant imports to Australia: policy and process"(1999) 6(3) Australian Journal of Environmental Management 157
121. Pheloung PC, Williams PA and Halloy SR, "A weed risk assessment model for use as a biosecurity tool evaluating plant introductions" (1999) 57(4) Journal of Environmental Management 239
122. Biosecurity Australia, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, The Weed Risk Assessment System, www.affa.gov.au. Follow links Home > Biosecurity Australia-Plant Biosecurity> Weed assessment of new plant imports; Biosecurity Australia, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
123. Weed Assessment of New Plants Import Overview, www.affa.gov.au/content/output.cfm.
124. Walton C, Ellis N and Pheloung, A Manual for using the Weed Risk Assessment System (WRA) to Assess New Plants (Plant Quarantine Policy Branch P, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, Canberra, 1998).
125. Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), ss 301A, 303(1), where weed species affect biodiversity. NB there is different geographic reach for each type of regulation-the former covers the entire Australian jurisdiction, the latter only Commonwealth areas.
126. Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), s 183(1), note the definition in s 188(3).
127. Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), ss 270A-271.
128. For example, The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) provides for bioregional planning: s 176, bilateral agreements: s 45(2)(a) and management plans for Commonwealth areas: s 367.
129. The Committee was due to give its report on the Bill by 25 November 2003. An extension of time was granted to March 2004.
130. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, n 3, p 30, Object 1.3, Strategy 1.
131. The National Weeds Strategy Executive Committee was disbanded on 30 June 2002. The Australian Weeds Committee has the responsibility for overseeing the Strategy and National weed management.
132. National Weeds Strategy Executive Committee "Core principles of State and Territory weed legislation" (undated) pp 15-16.
133. Only direct legislative measures are discussed in this article. These are Noxious Weeds Act 1993 (NSW)
134. Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic)
135. Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002 (Qld)
136. Agricultural and Related Resources Protection Act 1976 (WA)
137. Animal and Plant Control (Agricultural Protection and Other Purposes) Act 1986 (SA)
138. Weed Management Act 1999 (Tas)
139. Weed Management Act 2001 (NT)
140. Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 (ACT). Legislative provisions which could provide an indirect basis of weed control are beyond the scope of this article. However, see for example, in New South Wales, Arcioni, n 77, at 91-94 where examples are given of weed control forming part of management planning under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW).
141. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, n 3, p 3.
142. Noxious Weeds Act 1993 (NSW) ss 12, 13.
143. Noxious Weeds Act 1993 (NSW) s 9
144. Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic) ss 60-63
145. Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2001 (Qld) s 38(2)
146. Agricultural and Related Resources Protection Act 1976 (WA) s 36
147. Weed Management Act 2001 (NT) s 7
148. Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 (ACT) s 254.
149. Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic) s 20(2) which states that "A land owner must take all reasonable steps to prevent the spread of regionally controlled weeds... on a roadside that adjoins the land owner's land."
150. Noxious Weeds Act 1993 (NSW) ss 28, 30
151. Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic) s 71
152. Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2001 (Qld) ss 39, 42-44, 46
153. Agricultural and Related Resources Protection Act 1976 (WA) ss 72,75
154. Animal and Plant Control (Agricultural Protection and Other Purposes) Act 1986 (SA) ss 52,54
155. Weed Management Act 2001 (NT) s 9.
156. Noxious Weeds Act 1993 (NSW) s 28, 30-32
157. Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic) s 71
158. Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2001 (Qld) s 45-46
159. Agricultural and Related Resources Protection Act 1976 (WA) s 75
160. Animal and Plant Control (Agricultural Protection and Other Purposes) Act 1986 (SA) ss 52-54
161. Weed Management Act 2001 (NT) s 9.
162. See Arcioni, n 77 at 109-119 for a detailed analysis of enforcement measures under the New South Wales regime.
163. See Gardner A, "The duty of care for sustainable land management" (1998) 5(1) The Australasian Journal of Natural Resources Law and Policy 29.
164. Luntz H, "Round-up of cases in the High Court of Australia in 2003" (2004) Torts Law Journal 1 at 54.
165. Dovuro Pty Ltd v Wilkins (2003) 201 ALR 139 at 149 (Gummow J).
166. Dovuro Pty Ltd v Wilkins (2003) 201 ALR 139 at 182.
167. Dovuro Pty Ltd v Wilkins (2003) 201 ALR 139 177-179.
168. This has been acknowledged as a problem at the national level: Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, n 3, p 23. However
169. see Sindel B and Johnson S (eds), Proceedings of the 14th Australian Weeds Conference " Weed Management: Balancing People, Planet, and Profit" (Richardson RG and Richardson FJ, Melbourne, 2004). In relation to the balancing of interests at t he New South Wales level
170. see Arcioni E, "The Noxious Weeds Act 1993 (NSW)-balancing people, planet and profit?" In Sindal and Johnson, n 114, p 669.