Boundaries for the Rural Lands Protection Board structural changes have now been finalised and $3 million provided by the State Government to help implement them.

The funding will help deliver the major changes necessary to reduce the number of Boards from 47 to 14 and modernise the RLPB system, as recommended by an independent review.

Change management consultants from PricewaterhouseCoopers have been appointed to work with State Council and assist during the process.
The new boards will be operational by January 2009 and will continue to provide the same level of service to the State’s 138,000 ratepayers.

There will be no closures of shop fronts or reductions in local services.

Landholders can continue to visit their local RLPB office to order NLIS tags, pick up fox baits, or get help to fill out drought assistance forms.

Travelling stock reserves will also still be made available to drovers and livestock owners.

Farmers will still have ongoing access to reserves during times of need, even if they are returned to the Department of Lands.

Last year RLPB vets made more than 10,000 on-farm visits to diagnose problems, provide advice and respond to animal disease outbreaks.

This service will continue unchanged.

RLPB rangers co-ordinated 1400 group pest animal control programs last year.

This service too will continue unchanged.

New OJD era

The management of Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD) is about to enter a new era in the wake of a major review of the NSW control program by former National Party MP, Richard Bull.

As a result of the review and on advice from the committee, I have decided to wind up the OJD Transaction Contribution Scheme.

One of the tasks undertaken by Mr Bull was to get feedback from NSW sheep producers about the viability of maintaining the scheme.

After extensive consultation, Mr Bull recommended that Rural Lands Protection Board in exclusion areas report annually to local producers and the NSW Department of Primary Industries about achievements.

This type of reporting process will help ensure that producers are meeting the requirements to keep their local RLPB informed of sheep movements into the region.

The review also found producers saw benefit in industry being able to raise its own funds to run programs as required.

Producers also made it clear they were happy to put money into activities that show clear benefit to the industry and expressed a desire to see a break between the scheme for OJD and any future proposal.

A new Sheep Advisory Group will be formed to replace the former OJD Industry Advisory Committee.

This new group will take a more strategic approach to consider sheep health management in the context of other broader issues affecting the industry.