Plant Conservation Australia has put together a submission on the consultation for the NEBRA review.
In it, we argued that there needs to be more consultation with relevant stakeholders in the not-for-profit, volunteer or NRM sector when an incursion takes place, despite these interested parties often having to bear the brunt of much of the response once a pest has become established. We also pointed out the inadequacy of the current arrangements where the EADRA, EPPRD take preference over NEBRA as soon as there is any impacts on industry. This in our view does not provide a suitable model for when there are plant pest incursions which primarily impact the natural environment, with some industry impacts, as has occurred in the past. We also argue that the current maximum dollar value response limit of $5 mil to incursions of environmental pest incursions is insufficient when compared to industry wide responses under different arrangements.
Read the full Plant Conservation Australia submission here (pdf link).
We have also endorsed the Invasive Species Council’s submission on the review, which applies many similar critiques of NEBRA. You can read their submission here: https://invasives.org.au/publications/national-environmental-biosecurity-response-agreement-5-year-review/