Department of Environment and Energy and Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
National Landcare ProgramSeptember 2017 - Transcript
byEmma Campbell, Peter Ottesen
Transcript
Department of Environment and Energy and
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
National Landcare Program
September 2017
Presented by:
Emma Campbell
Department of Environment and Energy
Peter Ottesen
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
[Opening visual of slide with text saying ‘Australian Government with Crest (logo)’, ‘National Landcare Program’, ‘September 2017’, ‘Presented by’, ‘Emma Campbell – Department of the Environment and Energy’, ‘Peter Ottesen – Department of Agriculture and Water Resources’]
[The visuals during this webinar are of the presenters seated on stage, speaking with reference to the content of a PowerPoint presentation being played on a large background screen]
§ (Music Playing) §
Emma Campbell:
Hello. My name’s Emma Campbell. I’m from the Department of Environment and Energy, and we’re here today to talk to you about the next phase of the National Landcare Program.
Before we start I’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet. Here in Canberra that’s the Ngunnawal and the Ngambri people. I want to pay my respects to their Elders past and present, and to acknowledge the continuing contribution they make to the culture and outcomes for the Landcare Program and for natural resource management and our country more generally.
Peter Ottesen:
And hello and welcome. My name is Peter Ottesen. I’m the Assistant Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources responsible for the National Landcare Program. The National Landcare Program is jointly managed by the Departments of Environment and Agriculture. Some elements of the program we deliver jointly and some we’ll deliver separately.
The video today is just the first part of a consultation and information phase that will finish in October. We hope find you find this information useful.
Now this presentation has three parts. The first will be an overview of the program, the key elements and the funds. The second element will involve a more detailed description of some of the programs, and particularly the Regional Land Partnerships Program and the Smart Farms Program, and the third will provide information and opportunities for further consultation.
Emma Campbell:
The government has committed more than one billion dollars to the next phase of the National Landcare Program. That funding will be rolled out over seven years from 16/17. This includes the additional $100 million which was announced in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook in December 2016.
Over the past two decades the government has used funding to deliver environment and agricultural outcomes and to improve the condition of our natural environment.
Peter Ottesen:
Now the government completed a review of the existing Landcare Program and its predecessors, and the results of that have been taken into account with decisions about the design and the delivery of the new program. We’ll provide more details soon about that. And the government’s also announced the details of the new program, and again we’ll provide more information soon.
Emma Campbell:
Last year the government conducted a review of the National Landcare Program. The review found that the program had been effective in meeting its strategic objectives to protect the environment and to support agricultural productivity and it was effective in community engagement, and that these outcomes had flow on social and economic impacts.
There continues to be strong support for regional scale natural resource management, which works with communities and acknowledges local conditions. The program has been effective in engaging the community, and the review found that extended partnerships would increase and improve outcomes. There’s opportunities in the review for improvement of effectiveness and efficiency.
Peter Ottesen:
Now we consulted widely, including with expert groups. We received more than 900 submissions to an online survey. Now the review is available on the website nrm.gov.au.
Emma Campbell:
Over the past two decades the National Landcare Program and its predecessors has protected and improved the quality of our natural environment. We look forward to continue this focus on the next phase of the program.
Peter Ottesen:
And as you can see, the focus of this program will be on protected and productive environments. We know that our natural resources of soils, water, vegetation and biodiversity are at risk. This new National Landcare Program provides the resources to tackle this nationwide challenge.
Emma Campbell:
The programs announced by the government will address environmental and agricultural priorities as well as biosecurity, and it will support communities to manage their land and to adapt to change.
Peter Ottesen:
A number of new programs will be supported through the next phase of the National Landcare Program. The largest investment will be in the Regional Land Partnerships Program. We’ll provide more detail about this soon, and including around information sessions where there will be further opportunities to consult.
Emma Campbell:
The government has announced funding for aEnvironment Small Grants Program for the Smart Farms Program, and for Indigenous Protected Areas as well as funding to continue the existing Indigenous Protected Areas Program.
There’s funding for the management of our world heritage sites which support Australia to meet its international obligations to the World Heritage Convention and protect, conserve and restore these very important places.
Peter Ottesen:
Now other new programs are listed on this slide. The first involves an investment of $49.56 million from the National Landcare Program in the Red Imported Fire Ants Program. This program will help to eradicate these invasive pests from South East Queensland.
Secondly there is an investment of $16 million to establish the Centre for Invasive Species Solution, and this will fund research, development and extension activities to manage these invasive animals and weeds.
Emma Campbell:
The government has announced a further $24.7 million to support the Great Barrier Reef. This builds on the investment announced in the 2016 budget of just over $100 million for the Great Barrier Reef.
The program will also continue a number of ongoing initiatives. It will complete the government’s commitment to plant 20 million trees by 2020, it will continue existing contracts under the Environment Stewardship Program, and will continue delivery of the Threatened Species Recovery Fund. Further details of these programs will be available on the website www.nrm.gov.au.
Peter Ottesen:
In 2016 the government committed an additional $100 million to the National Landcare Program.
Emma Campbell:
The first $15m will be delivered to support the Indigenous Protected Areas. These are for areas additional to those already declared or already under formal consultation as part of the existing program.
There will be $85 million to support on ground projects by Landcare groups, support the work of Landcare Australia and the National Landcare network, and for a sustainable agricultural small grants program. $80 million of this will support the Smart Farms Program, and $5 million will support the Environment Small Grants Program.
The regional stream of the current National Landcare Program has been funding regional organisations across the country to deliver integrated and environmental and agricultural outcomes.
The government has announced it will invest $450 million over five years under the National Landcare Program to the Regional Land Partnerships Program to continue to deliver this important work. This is the largest program element under the next phase of the program and will be jointly delivered by the Departments of Environment and Agriculture.
Peter Ottesen:
Now this new program will build upon the strengths of the existing program. It will have national coverage. It will connect communities and involve communities, and this includes indigenous communities as well. It will be underpinned by a planned and strategic approach and it will deliver both agricultural and environmental outcomes.
Emma Campbell:
While a regional delivery model will be maintained, we’re looking at opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness to ensure the best possible outcomes. The government is considering a competitive approach through an open tender process to select and engage service providers to deliver the program outcomes.
Peter Ottesen:
And we’re considering this approach because it provides the government with clarity on what is it purchasing, there will be greater transparency in reporting on project outcomes and their alignment with Commonwealth priorities, it provides efficiencies for both the government and its administration of the program and for the delivery of services. It provides confidence that the market has helped the government to determine the most efficient and effective approach, and it also allows organisations to demonstrate their innovation in delivering the program.
Emma Campbell:
Our approach is to strongly encourage collaboration and partnerships to give the best opportunities for good outcomes and community involvement. We’ll come back to you in the next couple of weeks with more detail on the program and the proposed approach, the procurement approach. This will be the focus of planned face to face consultations and we’ll be consulting on some draft statements of requirements under the tender process. The changes proposed here are significant and it’s important that we get these right, and we welcome your views.
Peter Ottesen:
Now $134 million has been provided for a sustainable agricultural program called Smart Farms, and it will protect and improve the condition of natural resources on farms which should lead to improved productivity and improved profitability. The program will run over six years, beginning this year, and it has three elements.
The first, we will invest $60 million into the Smart Farms Partnership Grants, and these are mid-size projects which will encourage the development, trial and rollout of new innovative tools and farm practices.
The second, we will invest $50 million in the Smart Farms Small Grants Program, and this will support the adoption of best management practices on the ground.
And third, we’ll invest $24 million in building Landcare community and capacity, and this will support the sharing of knowledge, achievements and community leadership.
Emma Campbell:
The government has announced that it will provide $5 million for the Environment Small Grants Program. This program will be delivered over the next 12 months, and under this program small grants will be made available to community, environment and Landcare groups to deliver local projects that protect and conserve Australia’s biodiversity.
The Department of Environment and Energy and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources will jointly deliver a series of events across the country to provide further information and answer questions about the National Landcare Program delivery arrangements, and to seek your feedback on the changes under consideration for the next phase of the program.
Peter Ottesen:
Now the schedule and further details can also be found on the website nrm.gov.au and also the Austender websites, and more information about this process will be made available in the next video that we make, and also during the face to face meetings.
Emma Campbell:
In addition we’ll be publishing a consultation paper with some draft statement of requirements for the tender process which we’ll be seeking views on. Further details on the program and the process for consultation will be made available on the website.
We look forward to working with you on this important program, and thank you for your time.
§ (Music Playing) §
[Closing visual of slide with text saying ‘Australian Government with Crest (logo)’, ‘National Landcare Program’, ‘September 2017’, ‘Presented by’, ‘Emma Campbell – Department of the Environment and Energy’, ‘Peter Ottesen – Department of Agriculture and Water Resources’]
[End of Transcript]
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