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An initial phase of public engagement on the next Regional Pest Management Plan for Auckland will start later this year.
The plan is created under the Biosecurity Act, using rules and powers under the act to coordinate pest management.
While the current plan won’t lapse until 2030, Auckland Council’s rural advisory panel was told this month that the process could be lengthy, so council was starting work early.
Biosecurity principal advisor Dr Imogen Bassett said upcoming engagement would be targeted on some specific issues, with broader consultation taking place further down the line.
The existing plan covers more than 300 pest (and pathogen) species including weeds, mammals such as possums and feral pigs, turtles, birds, kauri dieback disease, wasps and marine pests.
However, several new pests, such as exotic caulerpa seaweed, freshwater gold clam and new weed species have emerged since the current plan was drafted.
Bassett said Auckland’s changing climate, and evolving community perspectives, were altering patterns of risk and social views on some existing pests.
“We need to ask the general public about these.”
Key topics in initial consultation will include:
- cat management, with a particular focus on threatened indigenous wildlife protection
- pest-free islands, peninsulas and the regional journey towards Predator Free 2050
- a clean anchor rule to help prevent the spread of exotic caulerpa seaweed and other marine pests
- freshwater pests, including freshwater gold clam
- pest management for climate resilience.
“Since the last plan came out, one of the things I’ve noticed is the lack of ability to police people on private land, particularly around woolly nightshade and moth plant,” Cole said.
Bassett said the early engagement would not look at that issue because the views were already quite clear.
“Woolly nightshade and moth plant are already widespread in our region so the cost to serve notices for this would be very high, like millions of dollars,” Bassett said.
She said it would be a question for elected members if they choose to put more funding into compliance.
Panel member Brian Mason, of Tomarata, said that council was missing another pest that impacted rural Aucklanders.
“The concern I’ve got is what can we do about pigs, because pigs are a huge threat in north-eastern Rodney. We have got 20 to 30 pigs running in at night amongst a herd of cows. What can council do to help farmers manage pigs?” Mason asked.
Bassett said most of council’s pig control was focused in the Waitakere Ranges.
“A lot of these questions come down to how much we [council] want to invest in them. The biosecurity act can give us a range of powers to do things like that but, it needs political backing,” Bassett said.
The initial phase of public engagement is expected to start in November.
