The Invasive Species Council has warned the Minns government risks squandering a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix NSW’s failing invasive species system unless this month’s budget delivers major long-term funding reform for invasive animals.
The warning comes after the NSW government formally backed key recommendations of the landmark Natural Resources Commission (NRC) review into invasive species management – including a proposed five-year invasive species investment program, dedicated regional coordination roles and stronger statewide planning. At the time of accepting these recommendations in principle, they hinged on prioritisation in this budget cycle.
The government is yet to signal a commitment to the funding needed to turn those promises into reality.
Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough said the budget would determine whether the NRC review became a genuine turning point – or another example of governments commissioning reviews only to ignore the hard decisions required on funding.
‘The NRC review laid bare what regional communities, conservationists and landholders have known for years – NSW’s invasive species system is reactive, fragmented and fundamentally not fit for purpose.
‘The Minns government accepted that diagnosis. Now it has to decide whether it is actually willing to fund the cure.
‘Right now invasive animal management in NSW is still built around panic spending, short-term funding injections and political firefighting instead of strategic, long-term population suppression.
‘Feral pigs and deer do not disappear because a government program runs out after 12 months.
‘Without major changes, NSW faces an escalating invasive species crisis that will send native wildlife extinct, degrade landscapes and could cost the economy up to $29.7 billion a year by 2030.
‘We welcome that the government has already moved weed management to multi-year funding and announced progress on a statewide compliance function in this budget cycle. However, feral animal management remains trapped in the same ‘stop-start, ad hoc and unstrategic’ cycle condemned throughout the NRC review.
‘The NRC review was particularly brutal about the government’s feral pig programs – describing them as poorly designed, lacking evidence, lacking coordination and lacking proper monitoring and evaluation.
‘It makes little sense for the government to now commission yet another review into feral pig programs when the NRC had already comprehensively diagnosed the problem.
‘At some point governments have to stop reviewing the crisis and actually fund the solutions.
‘Feral pigs are destroying wetlands and river systems, spreading disease risks and hammering agriculture. Deer are trashing bushland, smashing fences, polluting waterways and causing dangerous road crashes.
‘Meanwhile, native wildlife continues disappearing while governments drip-feed short-term funding into a problem that requires long-term commitment.’
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Background:
- The Natural Resources Commission review found NSW’s invasive species system was too reactive, fragmented and poorly coordinated to effectively manage escalating invasive species threats across the state.
- In the government’s response to the NRC review it formally supported recommendations to (See sections 7 and 8 for those adopted in principle pending budget funding):
- develop a five-year NSW Invasive Species Investment Program
- fund dedicated regional invasive species coordinators
- improve statewide coordination, surveillance and compliance
- shift toward strategic, outcomes-focused invasive species management.
- The review also noted concerns from frontline staff that short-term invasive animal funding programs were often rushed, poorly structured and focused on kill numbers rather than long-term population reduction outcomes.
Scathing section on the pig program as a case study in government feral animal failure is on page 97:
CASE STUDY: NSW investment in the feral pig management program
The Commission’s audit of regional invasive species management examined the large-scale Foot and Mouth Disease Prevention and Preparedness Program delivered by LLS in 2022-23. This was a $22.8 million program which included significant aerial control of feral pigs and other cloven-hoofed pest animals, supported by ground control activities. The aim of the program was to achieve an 80 percent reduction in feral pig numbers within a target area in each LLS region.
While LLS publicly reported the total number of cloven-hoofed pests culled, kilograms of bait issued to landholders, and number of participants, it did not publicly report on whether the population density reduction objectives were achieved. Evidence provided under the audit of regional invasive species management indicated variable results in different regions; with an 80 percent reduction in feral pigs achieved in the Hunter, whereas a 44 percent reduction in feral pigs was achieved in the Northern Tablelands.
Between October 2023 and June 2024, the NSW Government invested a further $13 million in a feral pig management program, which was delivered by the LLS. This program was developed in response to widespread growth in the number of feral pigs across NSW due to above average and sustained rainfall over this period.
Although communicated widely as a success, the program has been identified by many stakeholders in this Review as a recent and largescale example of ineffective Government resource allocation. These stakeholders noted that this one-off injection of funding, among other examples, was characterised by delivery constraints, a limited evidence base, insufficient cross-tenure planning, and a lack of monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
‘We have money thrown at us, like for feral pigs, and foot and mouth. This type of funding is poorly structured and badly designed generally, with a lot of money, time frames too short, no planning time or structure, no focus on long-term benefits. Just a dump of money for 12 months and the planning stage takes up most of that. Then trying to deliver that is difficult among other responsibilities for everyday work’.
– Interview: LLS Team Leaders, 11 October 2023.
Critically, the outcomes of this intervention are questionable. For example, the investment and roll-out occurred during the sustained wet period that saw feral pig numbers increase across NSW. Indeed, land managers in 10 of 11 LLS regions reported an increase in feral pig issues on their properties (2016-2022).
It is generally recommended that feral pig control be undertaken in dryer periods when the populations are smaller and the impact of control greater (in that it also prevents population increases in subsequent wet periods). Indeed, in Northwest NSW, landowners are reporting that the number of feral pigs remain above average despite the control program, and NSW Farmers has requested additional public investment of over $100 million to address the issue.
‘Funding for pigs for example, there’s money being chucked at it, [but the] timeframes do not allow for long term management outcomes. This is problematic and contradictory to aims of the [Biosecurity] Act. At a state level, that’s where that advice needs to happen on where to get best bang for buck because not sure it’s getting through to policy and decision makers. There is a focus on number of pigs killed not the best impact’.
– Interview: National Pest Animal Coordinators, 24 November 2023.
The program also highlights a key gap in prioritisation of risk reduction whereby a $13 million investment in feral pig control is almost equivalent to the $16 million NSW contributes annually to the National Fire Ant Eradication Program, despite the estimated cost impacts of red imported fire ants being far greater
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