Role of government in management of commercial weeds
J.R.W. Burley, Biosecurity Victoria, Department of Primary Industries, PO Box 4440, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia.
Introduction
We have a long history of government involvement in weed management in Australia. Colonial governments made weed management one of their earliest priorities for legislative action, recognizing the impact of weeds on primary production. For example, one of the first pieces of legislation introduced by the South Australian colonial government in 1851 was an Act to prevent the further spread of Scotch thistle. Despite this legislative commitment, weeds have continued to spread over much of Australia in the last century and a half.
Plant Protection Quarterly (2008) 23 (2) 82-85.