Forward
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is one of the four national learned academies. Membership is by nomination and its Fellows have achieved distinction in their fields. The Academy provides a forum for study and discussion, to explore policy issues relating to advancing technologies, to formulate comment and advice to government and to the community on technological and engineering matters, and to encourage research, education and the pursuit of excellence.
Australian agriculture and land management has progressively been adapting to the Australian environment as our understanding of it increases. At the same time, it has also been adapting to the increasing pressures of the international marketplace in terms of competition for both price and quality of products and commodities sought by importing nations. Australian agriculture continues to make impressive efficiency gains - the cereal industry, for example, has improved its economic efficiency by over 2 per cent per annum over the past 20 years. A component of continual improvement is the management of unwanted plant and animal pests and diseases. Chemical pesticides have played a vital role in increasing efficiency, and more active and more selective pesticides, together with better application technology are being introduced. Yet the community needs to be assured that these technologies are safe, and that the benefits far outweigh any risks.
The last major review of pesticides in Australia was the July 1990 Report of the Senate Select Committee on Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals, chaired by Senator Mal Colston. The report contained 45 recommendations relating to the then current legislation and regulatory system; the need for a nationally unified approach; the potential place of non-chemical management systems including integrated pest management and biological control; the social, health and environmental impacts of chemicals; and the need for better training in the management of their use. The report recognised that farm chemicals had a significant economic benefit to Australia. It was a time when individual international markets, consumers and producers were responding to chemical and environmental concerns. The report concluded that individual users of farm chemicals must accept the challenge and the responsibility of using agricultural and veterinary chemicals safely and judiciously and in a manner which would safeguard other people and the environment.
Since that time, there have been major changes in chemicals available for pest management, and in the regulatory processes, agency structures, and fanning systems surrounding their use. In addition, biotechnology has introduced some alternative genetic options to the traditional use of chemical pesticides, albeit options that raise a new range of concerns among a segment of the community.
There have also been a number of recent Australian and overseas enquiries into aspects of the use of pesticides, including:-
- Monitoring the Environmental Effects of Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals in Australia - Preliminary Investigations (I 997). A Report to the Environment Protection Group from Aquatech Environment, Economics and Information, Canberra. (Aquatech 1997)
- Management of Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals - A National Strategy (ARMCANZ 1998).
- Review of Trends in Agricultural Pesticide Use in New Zealand (MAF 1 999).
- The Future Role of Pesticides in US Agriculture (National Research Council 2000)
Recognising the time which had elapsed since the 1990 Senate Report and the changes that had since taken place, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering sought and received funding from the Australian Research Council to prepare this report, Pesticide Use in Australia.
The report addresses current trends, particularly since 1994-5, in the use and methods of application of pesticides; the impact of pesticides and their residues on community health and on the environment; current regulatory processes and their accessibility to public scrutiny in Australia; and the impact and potential impact of the introduction of genetically modified material on the use of pesticides. The report has restricted its review to the use of pesticides in the rural environment. It has not considered urban uses of these pesticides, for example in public health, home gardens or for termite control in buildings. The veterinary administration of chemicals internally to livestock has also been excluded from the report's purview.
The purpose of the study is both to generate a succinct update for policy-makers since the Senate Standing Committee Report, and also to make available a detailed account of developments in pesticide regulation, use and monitoring for readers seeking information about current pesticide status issues in Australia.
The study was overseen on behalf of the Academy by a steering committee comprising Prof Roy Jackson (Professor of Chemistry, Monash University), Professor Ian Rae (Technical Director of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering) and Dr John Huppatz (Deputy Chief, CSIRO Plant Industry), supported by Catherine Hollywell (Manager, Chemical Standards Branch, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria), Tim D'Ombrain (environmental consultant, Ballarat), Greg Healy (Global Manager, Regulatory Affairs and Product Development, Nufarm Ltd) and Ron De Groot (Technical and Development Manager, Crop Care Australasia Pty Ltd).
The Academy commissioned a series of papers on aspects of pesticide use from Dr Don McNee assisted by Don Hay; Professor Tony Chisholm; Dr John Chapman; Dr Lyn Fragar AO assisted by Dr Allan Black; and Dr John Stanley assisted by Dr Peter Gregg with Dr Mark Lonsdale. The project was managed and the final report prepared by Dr John Radcliffe AM (formerly South Australian Director-General of Agriculture and subsequently Deputy Chief Executive [Environment and Natural Resources], CSIRO Australia). |
