You may have wondered why the January Your Levy at Work Blog update email didn’t appear in your inbox on January 1. The reason for this was that the Blog had been ‘hacked’ over the Christmas/New Year period which prevented us from circulating the update email. Fortunately we have resolved this issue and the system is back on track.

Consequently, there are several important updates on industry activities that have been summarized into this post.

1. NGIA response to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee on the Biosecurity Bill 2012 and the Inspector-General of Biosecurity Bill 2012.

Just before Christmas we submitted our position on the proposed Biosecurity Bill 2012 and the Inspector-General of Biosecurity Bill 2012. On 29 November 2012 the Australian Senate jointly referred the Biosecurity Bill 2012 and the Inspector-General of Biosecurity Bill 2012 for inquiry and report to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee. NGIA highlighted several issues in the response including the process proposed to asses import risk, the lack of independent review as well as hidden costs.  The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee is expected to hand down their report  in late February.

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Often the question is raised regarding what NGIA does for members at the National level. Over the past couple of months we have been actively involved with submissions on behalf of the Nursery sector covering the following:

• Biosecurity Legislation review: a new Biosecurity Bill is before the Senate. Industry made submissions during drafting of the bill and have also submitted our position to the Senate Review Committee. We will be involved with input regarding the new regulations.
• DAFF review of Government charges: Industry has had input into the cost recovery process for Exports, and will continue to ensure our industries position is represented to Government. More

The comment is often made that we constantly need to change to stay still. Ideas for improving production processes can come from a range of sources, sometimes unexpected applications in one area will have an impact on your business. At the TreeNet (Trees, Roads, experimentation and Education Network) Conference in 2011 there was a presentation on how street trees can manage stormwater, and the opportunities for permeable pavers. Tim Johnson an arborist with City of Mitcham and PhD student at University of South Australia presented data on the ability of trees to utilise water against water tension gradients by equalising the water pressure when the stomata were closed and there was no transpiration. By running tests predawn the research showed that trees would reach their potential before stomata opened and water was lost to the environment. More