The Crown will have to meet ‘good neighbour’ obligations in regional pest management strategies under a proposed pest management plan which has been released for public comment.
Biosecurity Minister David Carter said:
“This means all land owners in New Zealand will be bound to control pests, such as rabbits and wilding trees, so that they don’t ‘spill over’ and affect their neighbours,” says Mr Carter.
Weeds and pests don’t observe boundaries so property owners who do their bit and more are fighting a losing battle if their neighbours don’t do their bit too.
“Today’s announcement delivers on National’s promise to ensure that the Crown meets its obligations as a responsible landowner and to develop a unified approach to pest management for all land.”
The relationship between the Crown and farmers has always been a bit uneasy and it got worse in recent years when pastoral lease land was surrendered under tenure review. Weed and pest control budgets on public land weren’t sufficient to cope which put farming operations of neighbours at risk.
“The cost of established pests to our economy runs close to $1.9 billion a year – $1.15 billion of lost production and $719 million in directly preventing pests from arriving in New Zealand and managing them once they are here.
“The proposed Plan of Action looks at ways to ensure our pest management strategies limit this cost, and meet the needs of today and challenges of tomorrow,” says Mr Carter.
“This will help drive a new national policy direction which will further strengthen and align pest management plans as they are developed.”
Lower costs and more effective control will be a popular combination if they work.
The proposed plan is open for submissions.
Homepaddock 
Probably the single most serious unintended consequence of the “retirement” of huge tracts of New Zealand’s Crown Land when it was removed from the responsible lease holders who had largely managed the control of animal pests and undesirable plants at there own cost, albeit with some subsidy help.
Farming in the 70s alongside the then NZ Forest service on land with an endemic problem of nassella tussock invasion of pastureland it was particularly galling to have mature tussocks seeding uncontrolled on their side of the boundary.
This initiative is timely but the cynic in me sees the enormous cost that was largely born by the leaseholder in his own interest of course, being seen as to high with a very low rate of immediate economic benefit to the state and it will finish in the to hard basket. We didnt know how lucky we were and I dont see the many who cheered the government reclaiming the high country going out day after day with physical efforts that came largely free from the occupier.
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I doubt the Crown will ever be rich enough to do what it should on its vast holdings.. time to review its tenure on the border lands.
JC
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What a joke, we live in Nelson and it is awash with Old Mans Beard and does the council deal with it? like heck! It’s not only on council land and reserves, it’s in peoples gardens (usually renters who don’t know/care) As you say, the seeds land everywhere and we have to try to be vigilant and remove seedlings when we find them on our property.
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