ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT

Of

THE WILD DOG DESTRUCTION BOARD OF NEW SOUTH WALES

AS REQUIRED BY THE PUBLIC FINANCE AND AUDIT ACT, 1983

AND

ANNUAL REPORT (STATUTORY BODIES) ACT 1984

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012

(FOR THE WESTERN DIVISION OF NEW SOUTH WALES)

ABN: 14 286 958 340 Please address all communications to ADELAIDE ROAD The Secretary BROKEN HILL PO Box 279 Broken Hill NSW 2880 Phone: (08) 8088 4724 Fax: (08) 8088 2051 27th May 2013 The Hon. Andrew Stoner MP Deputy Premier Minister for Trade and Investment Minister for Regional Infrastructure and Services Level 30 Governor Macquarie Tower 1 Farrer Place SYDNEY NSW 2001 Dear Minister, I am pleased to present the Annual Report of the Wild Dog Destruction Board for the year ending 31 December 2012 for your information and presentation to Parliament. This Report has been prepared in accordance with the Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984 and the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983. Yours sincerely

Andrew Bell Chairman Wild Dog Destruction Board

Charter The NSW Wild Dog Destruction Board is established and administered in accordance with the provisions of the Wild Dog Destruction Act 1921. The Wild Dog Destruction Act 1921 originally placed responsibility for the fence under Western Lands Commission and an amending Act in 1957 established the Wild Dog Destruction Board and transferred responsibility to the Board. The Board’s primary function is to erect, maintain and repair a dog proof fence along specified sections of the New South Wales borders with Queensland and South Australia, thereby excluding wild dogs from grazing lands of the Western Division of New South Wales. The Board also has regulatory authority in regard to the destruction of wild dogs in the Western Division of New South Wales. The South Australian section of the border fence is erected on or near the western border of New South Wales and extends from the North West border of New South Wales (Cameron Corner) for approximately 219kms along the NSW/SA border. The Queensland section of the border fence is erected approximately 15 metres north of the border of New South Wales and extends from the western border of NSW (Cameron Corner) for 363kms east to a point 15kms east of Hungerford.

The national wild dog fence is depicted above, with NSW managed section shown in ‘red’

MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

The Board The NSW Wild Dog Destruction Board is comprised of six Members, including the Chairman, who in accordance with the provisions of the Wild Dog Destruction Act 1921 is the Western Lands Commissioner. The other five Members are appointed by the Governor on the nomination from the Western Livestock Health & Pest Authority (two Members) and one each from the Darling Livestock Health & Pest Authority, Pastoralists’ Association of West Darling and the Western Division Council of the New South Wales Farmers’ Association. Details of Board Membership: Mr Andrew Bell Western Lands Commissioner Chairman NSW Trade & Investment 45 Wingewarra Street DUBBO NSW 2830 Mr Ben Mannix Western Division Council NSW Farmers’ Association Level 25 66 Goulbourn Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Mr Neill Leigo Darling Livestock Health & Pest Authority BOURKE NSW 2840 Mr Ken Turner Pastoralists’ Association of West Darling BROKEN HILL NSW 2880 Mr Geoff Davis Western Livestock Health & Pest Authority BALRANALD NSW 2715 Mr Nicolaas Bonselaar Western Livestock Health & Pest Authority BALRANALD NSW 2715

Board Members and staff inspecting a new section of fence

The Board’s Staff The Board’s administration is based in Broken Hill in an Office situated on the Adelaide Road, approximately 8kms from Broken Hill, where Ms Robyn Mann, Secretary, is employed to manage the administrative and accounting functions of the Board. The Board’s Operation Manager, Tony Mayo, is based at Smithville Depot located 240 Kilometres from Broken Hill on the NSW/SA border fence and supervises the operational staff on the fence. The operational staff on the fence comprises one Leading Hand based at Wompah, eight Maintenance Employees and two Plant Operators. The Maintenance Employees are located at various locations along the length of the fence and are accommodated in cottages provided by the Board. Maintenance Employees are assigned a section of the fence to both monitor and maintain. The length of the section of fence assigned to each individual varies between 60 – 100 kilometres. Fence inspections are undertaken by each Maintenance Employee twice weekly (Monday and Friday) to ensure the fence remains in a dog proof condition and has not been compromised. Maintenance of the fence is undertaken where required during each inspection and throughout the week. Contact Officers The Wild Dog Destruction Board’s contact officers are: Secretary Ms Robyn Mann Site Address Adelaide Road Broken Hill NSW 2880 Postal Address PO Box 279 Broken Hill NSW 2880 Telephone 08 8088 4724 Facsimile 08 8088 2051 Email wdboard@bigpond.com Office Hours are from 7:00am – 3:00pm Monday to Friday Operations Manager Tony Mayo Address Smithville Broken Hill NSW 2880 Telephone 08 8091 3582 Facsimile 08 8091 3595 Email armayo1@hotmail.com Properties The Wild Dog Destruction Board owns and maintains houses along the Queensland and South Australian fence. Maintenance Employees, Leading Hands and Plant Operators reside in cottages located at the following locations; Queensland Border Fence Hamilton Gate, Wompah Gate and Toona Gate South Australian Fence WhiteCatch, Smithville and Broughams Gate

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

The year commenced with some unseasonal heavy rain along the full length of the fence. Several lakes which bisect the fence and which have held water from the flooding events which occurred in late 2010, received inflows of up to one metre in depth. These inflows delayed the natural drying process of the various lake systems until very late in 2012. The impact of the prolonged period of inundation on several sections of the fence has been significant. Approximately 38 kilometres of fence has been completely destroyed with Staff working tirelessly in the latter part of the year to provide temporary repairs to the fence as the flood waters receded. The flood waters provided an impenetrable natural barrier to the entry of dingoes into NSW through parts of the fence for a period of almost three years. As the flood waters receded, the damage to the fence became evident and urgent repairs were imperative to ensure that the fence continued to serve as an effective barrier. The repairs made to date are temporary only and a full replacement of the flood affected sections is necessary and will occur during 2013.

Staff doing temporary repairs to flood affected fence Several staff terminated their employment with the Division during the year. Attraction and retention of Staff remains an issue which can be attributed to a range of factors including isolation, environment and at times, extreme working conditions. The Board engaged a contractor during the year to undertake essential repairs involving the replacement of 30 kilometres of foot netting. Engagement of the contractors ensured that maintenance staff could remain focussed on undertaking minor repairs, monitoring and flood remediation. During the year, the Board gained approval from the National Parks and Wildlife Service for essential works within Sturt National Park. The works will involve the extraction of clay based material adjoining the fence and utilising this material to stabilise several sand dunes within the Park which bisect the fence. Sand dunes are particularly unstable during high wind events which can either result in significant erosion under the fence or accretion of sand against the fence. It is not uncommon for several metres of sand to build up against the fence during a single dust storm event. The Board was required to have a Statement of Environmental Effects prepared to gain approval for these works.

Preparing for claying The Board held four Meetings during the year and conducted its annual fence inspection of the fence in late August over a four day period. Renata Brooks, Deputy Director General, Catchments and Lands of the Department of Primary Industries accompanied the Board on the inspection. The inspection of the fence by the Board provides it with valuable information on the maintenance and improvement programs required for the fence and the emerging challenges that staff are experiencing. The Auditor General advised the Board in late 2012 that it had approved the appointment of WHK as Contract Audit Agent for the audit of the Board for four years commencing 1 January 2012. Andrew Bell Chairman Wild Dog Destruction Board

Motor Vehicles and Plant The Wild Dog Destruction Board’s Motor Vehicle and Plant on hand for the year 2012: 4 Suzuki light 4wd 3 Argo Amphibious Vehicles 1 Isuzu 4wd 4 Ton Tray Top Truck 1 Isuzu 4wd 6 Ton Tray Top Truck 3 Toyota HiLux 4wd Tray Top Utilities (Purchased during 2012) 1 Mazda Bravo 4wd Tray Top 2 Mitsubishi Triton 4wd Tray Tops 2 Nissan Navara 4wd Tray Tops 2 Nissan Patrol 4wd Tray Tops (Purchased during 2012) 1 Volvo FM12 TI Truck with Axle Tag Trailer 2 Suzuki Quad Bikes 1 Polaris ATV 1 Caterpillar D5B Bulldozer 2 Caterpillar IT28 Loaders 2 Caterpillar 12H motor Graders 2 Branson Agricultural Tractors

Argo Amphibious Vehicle loaded with fencing materials

Workplace Employment Principles The Wild Dog Destruction Board understands and is committed to Equal Opportunity, Occupational Health and Safety and the Principals of Multi-Culturalism and observes and implements these policies and principles. In particular, the Board has been committed to the following policy since 1991;

“That all vacant positions with the Wild Dog Destruction Board will be filled solely on the basis of the person most suitable and available for the position without regard to any position performance criteria which would result in the Board being in breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act or the Government Equal Opportunity Policy. The Board recognises that the austere conditions under which the bulk of the Board’s Staff performs their duties, together with the remote character of work locations and physical nature of work performed would surely limit its ability to safely employ persons with significant physical disabilities”.

Ethnic Affairs Priorities Statement The Board is committed to the principles of Multi-Culturalism as contained in the Community Relations Commission and Principles of the Multi-Culturalism Act 2000. Wild Dog Rates Only land in the Western Division of NSW is subject to payment of dog rates and only where the aggregation of the holding exceeds 1000 hectares. The Board sets the annual dog rate having regard to annual budgeted cost of maintaining the fence less any contribution for the State Government. For 2012, the NSW Government paid an amount of $200,000 to Wild Dog Destruction Board. Rates were subsequently set at 4.5 cents per hectare. The Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services (DTIRIS) continues to issue wild dog rate notices and receipts subsequent monies following collection on behalf of the Wild Dog Destruction Board. The Department also maintains records relating to the collection of wild dog rates and, where necessary, initiates action to recover arrears. The assistance provided in this regard by the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services (DTIRIS) to the Board is formalised by way of a Memorandum of Understanding.

Maintenance Employee

Operations Manager’s Report 2012 saw a return to more traditional seasons with an average of approximately 10 to 11 inches of rain right along the Border Fence. This is still above our average of between 6 to 8 inches, so ongoing problems of weed, rust and earthworks repairs prevailed throughout the year. Because of several good seasons and unprecedented bodies of feed, the beginning and end of the year were dominated by bush fires. The Border Fence received some major damage in the far North West and all men and machinery spent many days and nights protecting this asset. Due to consistently wet sand along the fence many sections had suffered badly from rust and a contractor was employed to replace approximately 40km of fence with PVC coated chain wire, this will be completed by early 2013. Two lakes remained with water on the fence, with a total of 25km of fence being inundated with water for three years now. The Bullagee (23km) in particular, started drying back late in the year, requiring many weeks of temporary repairs to ensure it was dog proof. These repairs were all executed in water up to the maintenance crew’s waist. All materials and staff came in and out by Argo amphibious vehicles for the total of that 23kms. A new 8x8 Argo was purchased late 2012 to assist in this operation. It was an incredible display of dedication and commitment to ensure the NSW Border Fence remained dog proof. Continual good seasons have seen an increase in wild dogs pressuring the fence, along with other pest animals including foxes, pigs, kangaroos and even camels. A larger emphasis has been placed on baiting and trapping along the fence in an attempt to reduce this pressure. I would like to thank all maintenance Staff for their commitment and the Board for their continued support throughout the year. Tony Mayo, Operations Manager