The NSW Government Weeds Action Program funds local councils, known as Local Control Authorities (LCA), to detect and respond quickly to incursions of new high-risk weeds.
The program focuses on prevention and early intervention to stop the spread of problem weeds by providing practical resources and on-ground support to ensure a proactive and coordinated response by LCAs.
The NSW Government’s Weeds Action Program is focused on efforts to reduce the spread of invasive weeds to support healthy landscapes and strong agricultural productivity.
It commissions LCAs to undertake services such as surveillance, and rapid response to prevent, eradicate or contain new infestations of priority weeds.
In addition, the program funds training for LCA biosecurity officers so they can effectively respond to biosecurity emergencies across NSW.
LCAs make applications for funding under the program and need to demonstrate they are focusing on high-risk weeds to gain approved funding.
This year the NSW Government has approved 92 funding applications from 86 LCAs.
High-risk weeds targeted by the program include Parthenium weed, which causes allergies and respiratory issues in people, liver damage in livestock and outcompetes pastures and crops.
The program works to keep NSW Parthenium weed free through collaborative action and surveillance programs.
Other targeted weeds include rubber vine (found in Queensland, and could become a major weed in Western NSW), tropical soda apple (found on the North Coast, Mid-Coast, Hunter and New England areas), alligator weed (found in the Namoi Valley, Griffith and Woomargama areas), and harrisia cactus (found in the North West and Hunter regions).
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