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Sydney West - Blue Mountains Regional Weeds CommitteeMeeting No 2017.2Monday 22nd May 2017 Mitchell Park Field Studies CentreMaraylyaDRAFT MINUTESPresentApologiesEric Mahony (BMCC) ChairDave Whiteman (BMCC)Andrew Rhodes (BMCC)Justine Clarke (Blacktown CC)Scott Herring (NSW PWS) HostMichael Pattison (Hawkesbury CC)Attending/SupportingBrenton Piper (The Hills SC)Karen Jenkins (HRCC)Nicola Dixon (WAP)Amanda Kotlash (SWC EO)Tracey Austin (RMS)Janet Rannard (Penrith CC)Brian Powyer (Bidjigal)Robbie Duncan (Bidjigal)Pino Todarello (Parramatta CC)1. WelcomeThe Chair, Eric Mahony, welcomed the participants to the meeting and thanked Scott for hosting the meeting.Declaration of interest – BMCC, HRCC and NPWS receive WAP funding2. Actions arising2.1. Confirmation of previous minutes (Meeting of 7th February 2016):Moved: David WhitemanSeconded: Justine ClarkePresentation given by BMCC will be put on the new website2.2. Matters arising from the previous minutes:Summary of actions arising from last meetingAction NoWhat WhoBy when2.1Eric M to write supporting blurb to Nick Stroinovsky (SWC)EMNext meetingAction 2.2.1 Eric is still to write letter to Nick Stroinovsky thanking him for his involvement and support. Carried over from last meeting.EMCarried over7.1Members to send any feedback on what they would like to see in the new website.AllongoingAction 2.2.2 Members are encouraged to send any feedback to Amanda on the new websiteAllongoing7.2All members will be notified when the new website becomes liveAKTBDAction 2.2.3 All members will be notified when the new website becomes liveAKcarried over3 & 4. Regional Weed Priorities & Biosecurity Act Update – Eric, Dave and Nicola Nothing much has changed with the State and Regional Priority weed lists, but the third list - Other weeds of concern (what BMCC are calling – Local Priority weed list after some discussion with Sid Lyell from DPI) are needing to take shape. The group was asked to consider calling these local lists – Local Priority Weeds Lists for the sake of uniformity.Dave tabled the local priority weeds list that he has done for Blue Mountains (see attachment). He said that BMCC wants to be clear about it control measures over these weeds and that a separate risk assessment will be done for each.Dave has looked at the GSSWMP and reckons that the State Priority Weeds are essentially the WONS, not many weeds that BMCC deals with are in the Regional Priority Weeds lists. Most are in the Local Priority Weeds list.A lot of weed risk assessments have been done already. BMCC want to get all the risk assessments done so that they are ready come 1 July 2017. He gave the example of holly – being a local weed needing control. Community expectation should be included in the risk assessment for each weed. Each control authority or LGA will need to formulate a Local Priority weeds list.Karen said she would send HRCC Local Priority weeds list/s as well. Karen has been working on changing the paperwork to reflect the new act. Getting legal advice on new approach.Action 3.1 Karen to send Amanda HRCC lists.Dave tabled a flowchart to help explain how BMCC are approaching private property inspections (see attachment). The first step in the process is sending a letter which refers to the presence of invasive weeds not the presence of biosecurity matter. This was regarded as being less confronting and confusing. BMCC is also seeking legal advice and is happy to share this.Eric talked about the importance of our meetings.Dave spoke about the issue of entry The old section 45 is sort of replaced by the new Section 103 – requiring assistance – but it is a bit vague.This can be overcome by Section 93 of Local Govt Act – officers have power to enter on Council business.Issue of entry isn’t in the new actEric spoke about the work involved in updating factsheets and brochures. Section 20 of the new Act is quite harsh – BMCC is not fond of this approach.5. WAP Update - NicolaGeneral1. All remaining partner project site inspections will be scheduled for June.2. Thank you to everyone who supported the Easter Show initiative in April at such short notice. The Royal Agricultural Society Horticulture Committee (RASHC) approached City of Parramatta in mid-February, asking for a weed officer to attend the show every second morning to assess Floral Display competition entries for noxious weed content. Parramatta Council couldn’t resource the request, but it was met collectively as a region. Noxious weed species were found among the entries and were removed (e.g. Ming Fern, Moth Vine, Balloon Vine). In exchange, the RASHC provided:static space in the Flower & Garden Pavilion for a weed information stallfive x 20minute timeslots as part of the stage talk program, which were utilised by GS LLS to communicate the new legislation and responsibilities under the GSRSWMP.A 20-minute facilitated on-stage Q&A session to discuss all things weeds, which Chris Stanfield from HRCC participated in. The weed stall was visited by 500 people over the 10.5 days of the Show when the stall was staffed. Although these are not huge numbers, the most important outcome was being able to support the RASHC as they didn’t need to request weed officer attendance but generally they are very keen to set the right standards, stay across the new legislation and adhere to the law. The initiative fostered further relationship and network building with the florist community. Some TAFE teachers and floral artists articulated their belief that it is the vendor who is 100% responsible for any breaches of weed management legislation, even if the purchaser is aware the weeds are listed. These types of conversations provided a great launching point to discuss the new legislation and the GBD, and shared responsibility.Florists shared the common names of popular species that I had not heard e.g. swan’s eggs (balloon vine), hairy gonads (Gomphocarpus physocarpus). This raises an interesting point - Florists might not realise what species are being targeted in education campaigns if the names are different to the ones they use. There was no budget and very little notice for the stall this year. Jillian floated the idea of a ‘Biosecurity stall’ with broader themes for 2018, which is worth investigating further. Note that DPI are moving away from supporting community education initiatives that are based on handing out info pamphlets, and toward models based on CBSM.WAP Capacity Building ProgramManage Aggressive Customers training was held in February 2017. 17 staff representing 7 councils attended. The course was really well reviewed. The take home message was to get out early, don’t let customer service training put you in a dangerous position with someone who is threatening you or a colleague. Every organisation should have a written procedure on how to manage aggressive customers, as threats are made to council staff all the time. If anyone would like a template, please contact the WAP project officer.Facilitating Community Engagement to manage Invasive Species training was held in March 2017. 18 staff representing 14 councils attended. Training was delivered by DPI and participants received accreditation. The training was very hands on and based on CBSM principles.Legal Stage 2 and 3The online Biosecurity Act training that is currently available through the emtrain website is essentially Legal Stage 1 training. The WAP project officer is facilitating delivery of Legal Stages 2 and 3 in Sydney in late September/early October, so that officers do not need to travel to Canberra. This will be a 4-day course that teaches officers what evidence is required to build a court case against someone in breach of the Biosecurity Act. Councils will need to fund course costs. The WAP will cover venue and catering costs and the trainer’s accommodation and travel expenses. Sydney Weeds AppWAP has some allocated funds for improving mapping. Any suggestions welcome.6. Sydney Flower Market Update – Amanda (for Emily McCarthy)Willows, which at the moment are extremely green, are still being sold. In the coming days some will be seized to assess whether they can grow. They are allowed to sell them on the basis that they are devitalized. This was a negotiated outcome resulting from a meeting with DPI, LLS, Strathfield Council and stall holders. Asparagus species are still being sold on a smaller scale. The DPI is considering allowing them to be sold if they are from a cultivated source and are sold without berries, flowers etc. Some of these species are WONs. Cultivated source will include mainly interstate nurseries and therefore wild-harvesting of species will be not supported. Stall holders will require receipts from interstate suppliers otherwise they will be fined. Pampas has been spotted at the markets a few times. Strathfield Council sent a staff member in under cover as a florist to purchase pampas and was successful. It was hidden under trolleys wrapped in cardboard. The stall holder told the purchaser to hide it in her car because there was a weed officer and it was an illegal species. He also stated that he had 100 stems on order for next week and it was very popular. The stems were being sold for $3. Emily, then went in to seize the remaining stems but no more could be found. Nevertheless, the stall holder will still receive a $200 fine for the original sale. Paul added that the source is from Central Coast – going to spray with herbicide and dye to destroy source.Other stall holders came down on this guy, This highlights the importance of checking florists and making it known that they are being watched. In the coming weeks Emily should have more information about how DPI wants to progress in regards to sale under the new Act.7. Roundtable reports Justine Clarke (Blacktown Council)Concentrating on vines and creepers throughout bushland and creek linesStill to try out 4 new contractorsAlligators weed removal.Scott Herring (NPWS PWS)Starting our Mother-of-millions program soonCats claw Creeper still a problemStill working on Lovegrass$20,000 grant form LLS for functional Landcare group – African Olive at Scheyville continuing, involving Conservation volunteersBlackberry time – still having lots of success in ScheyvilleMentioned that the Mitchell Park Field Studies Centre is available and underutilizedEric Mahony, Dave Whiteman and Andrew Rhodes (BMCC)Urban weeds program, great feedback, getting rid of a lot of seed sources.Doing a pine removal in the near futureMichael Pattison (Hawkesbury CC)Business as usualWorking on Biosecurity Act changes with directorsBrenton Piper (The Hills SC)This is the last year of our 6-year project funded by the Federal government for Cattai. It involves removing privet and woody weeds from the catchment.Also got a new bush regenerator tender Have a new system of daily reports where the contractor uploads what they have done each day. This is working out well, no need to wait to the end of the month to find out what’s happening. The software is called Openforms. Karen Jenkins (HRCC)Acting as Operations Manager while Chris is awayThe harvester has been doing work on the rowing course, cutting back ribbon grass.Mother-of-Millions project goingWoody weeds being targetedJust finished inspecting all of Jordon Springs (old ADI site)– more educational than regulatory. Weeds are probably going to start to show in a few years time.Also looking at the Biosecurity ActHave all 4 Councils on board with in-house mappingAmanda Kotlash (SWC EO)Minutes will be sent out sooner than usual and be posted on the events calendar on the websiteAmanda gave a rundown of the progress of the new website.Scott suggested using the seasons to guide people on the website.Action 7.1 Feedback and ideas for the website are always welcomeAction 7.2 Amanda to send email to NPWS explaining voting protocol.Actions 7.3 Amanda to investigate using a seasonal approach to the website. 8. Other Business8. 1 Matters for the BoardNo items for the Board specific to this sub-region. We will be raising the issue of membership.8.2 Matters for the Greater Sydney Regional Weed CommitteeAction 8.2.1What is the pathway for adding a weed to the GSSWMP?8.3 Next meetingHost: Justine Clarke Date: Tuesday 15 August 2017 Time: 10am to 2pm Lunch provided We are going to have one big workshop with all sub-regions in August instead of having our next meeting as scheduled – details coming soonMeeting closed 12:10Summary of actions arisingAction NoWhat WhoBy when3.1Karen to send Amanda HRCC lists.KJasap7.1Feedback and ideas for the website are always welcomeAllongoing7.2Amanda to send email to NPWS explaining voting protocol.AKasap7.3Amanda to investigate using a seasonal approach to the website.AKongoing8.2.1What is the pathway for adding a weed to the GSSWMP? EMNext Regional W C meeting ................
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