Hon Darren West asks about DAFWA's monitoring of cotton bush spread in WA. DAFWA confirms monitoring and data collection, but individual property data is private. A Cotton Bush Response Plan with regional data will be tabled.

AnsweredQoN 745Legislative Council
Asked
18 February 2014
Portfolio
Agriculture and Food

QuestionView source ↗

(1) Is the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) actively monitoring the spread of cotton bush in Western Australia? (2) If yes to (1): (a) how is DAFWA collecting and mapping this data; (b) is the data accessible to the public; and (c) will the Minister table any of the data that has been colelcted to date? (3) If no to (1), why not?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
13 March 2014
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food
Response time
23 days
(1) Yes. The Department and Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) records the presence of declared plants and animals during property visits by Biosecurity Officers.  This provides a record of the presence/absence, and affected areas and density, of all declared pests, including cotton bush.
(2)
(a) DAFWA collects the property records of declared pests after inspection by Biosecurity Officers. Spatial information can then be mapped.
(b) Individual property information about cotton bush infestations is not available to the public due to privacy considerations for landholders. DAFWA is preparing a Cotton Bush Response Plan that will contain local and regional-scale information about the spread of cotton bush.
(c) The Cotton Bush Response Plan will be tabled when it is finalised by DAFWA.
(3)  Not applicable

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