PHA Board Meeting 116 Communique
In mid-September 2024, the Plant Health Australia (PHA) Board of Directors convened in Perth, Western Australia (WA), meeting with representatives of the WA Department of Primary Industries and Development (DPIRD), visiting local sites of biosecurity significance, and holding Board Meeting 116 (BM116) on Tuesday 17 September 2024.
The Board discussed several key matters at BM116, with items of special interest to Members including:
- Reviewing and approving the 2023-24 financial statements and notes from PHA’s external auditors Nexia Canberra
- Resolving to hold the 24th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of PHA on Wednesday 27 November 2024, with the Company Secretary to give notice to Members
- Planning for the upcoming five-year review of the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed in 2025
- The enactment of the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Bill 2023 [and associated Bills]) in early 2025, affecting the Australian Government’s imposition, collection and disbursement of levies including those collected for biosecurity activities
- Briefings on new and ongoing incidents and responses, including Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit virus (ToBRFV), Varroa destructor, and banana freckle
- Reviewing the report on the 2024 Board Strategy Workshop and discussing key areas of work highlighted at the Workshop
- Debriefing the highly successful and well-attended 3rd Australian Biosecurity Symposium, held at Sea World on the Gold Coast, 27-29 August 2024, delivered by the four partners of the Biosecurity Collective (including PHA)
- Reviewing and approving a draft of the 2023-24 Annual Report.
During BM116 the Board was also pleased to meet with Dr Mia Carbon (Deputy Director General, Sustainability & Biosecurity) and Ms Jessica Bennington (A/g Chief Plant Health Officer), from the WA DPIRD. Dr Carbon presented the status, successes and challenges of the ongoing polyphagous shothole borer (PSHB) response, with a special focus on measures and challenges in the Perth area.
Following BM116, the Board stayed on in Perth to visit key sites and stakeholders with PHA staff including Ms Sarah Corcoran (Chief Executive Officer), Dr Lucy Tran-Nguyen (General Manager, Partnerships and Innovation), Ms Amanda Yong (General Manager, Corporate Services), and Ms Somania Dahal (Acting Chief Financial Officer).
On Wednesday 18 September 2024, the Board and PHA staff visited Perth’s Hyde Park to witness the impact of PSHB on urban amenity trees and measures being taken to address the threat they pose. Later that day they visited the InterGrain site in Bibra Lake, where they heard more about their wheat, barley and oat breeding programs and were provided a tour and overview of the facility.
On Thursday 19 September 2024, the Board and PHA staff visited the Fremantle Port in South Fremantle, where officials from the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) provided them with a tour of the cargo and maritime facility to view the surveillance methods for exotic pests such as the brown marmorated stink bug for which heightened surveillance measures apply each year between 1 September and 30 April (inclusive) on goods and vessels that berth, load, or tranship from target risk countries.
The Board will meet again in November 2024, starting with Members’ meetings and the 24th AGM on 26-27 November 2024 and followed by Board Meeting 117 on Thursday 28 November 2024.