What is a noxious weed?
The term “Noxious Weed” is a political (rather than scientific) designation given to a plant that is non-native to North America and has aggressive, invasive tendencies in our area, giving it the potential for serious economic, agricultural, and/or ecological damage. Often these weeds are kept in check by natural controls (e.g. predators, environmental conditions, diseas, etc.) in their native territory. However, lacking such controls in our area, these plants are able to propagate very aggressively, allowing them to crowd out native plants and dominate local plant communities.
The most widely accepted definition of a weed is ‘a plant growing where it is not wanted’. In NSW, noxious weeds are plants that have been declared under the Noxious Weeds Act 1993 by the Minister for Primary Industries. Weeds with the potential to impact on agriculture, animal or human health or damage the environment are potential candidates for declaration as noxious weeds. The Act gives the council power to require occupiers of land to control noxious weeds. If an occupier fails to do so, the council has the power to enter the land and to carry out the control work. The council can also issue a penalty notice or take prosecution action for offences under the Act. The main intent of the Act is to restrict the spread of serious weeds and protect other landholders from weed invasion. There is no point in declaring a weed noxious unless there is a firm intention to implement a practical, planned management program. Declaring a weed noxious does not, in itself, provide any benefits to t
