The last few months have seen a number of incidents where DEWNR employees have been put at risk due to the failure of wheel studs or nuts on the vehicles they were driving.
In a number of instances the wheel assembly has separated from the axle and resulted in a serious loss of control and the vehicle leaving the road.
SAFETY ALERT: Loss of vehicle control – loose, damaged and broken wheel studs and nuts (486 KB)
UPDATE - September 2017
We are coming into breeding season again for the red-whiskered bulbul, and thought it might be good to contact our communities again, asking for them to keep a look out for the bird given they are more vocal and more active at this time. I have largely contacted all those listed in the communications plan of the original project plan from last year.
Are you able to forward the email below to your ‘Friends of’ groups or any other parties/groups that may be relevant? I will send hard copies to the Natural Resource Centres at Black Hill, Woodside, Mount Pleasant and Adelaide Hills.
Hi all
You may recall that red-whiskered bulbuls were detected in South Australia last year. As you know, these south-east Asian birds feed on and damage soft fruit, spread weeds and compete with our native bird species. They are known to be serious pests in many countries throughout the world, and there are established populations in New South Wales and Victoria.
Biosecurity SA enacted an incursion response in mid-2016, and by the end of 2016 the number of wild birds had been substantially reduced. However, as we cannot be sure that no birds continue to persist in the wild, we ask for your assistance again. The breeding season for the red-whiskered bulbul is about to commence. During this time, the birds are more active and more obvious.
The best way to prevent their establishment in South Australia is to act quickly.
I have attached a Pest Alert Fact Sheet that was developed last year – it has the contact details for the Pest Alert Hotline. Unfortunately the link is no longer available, but the footage can now be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ArSlD6jKjI. Could you please forward this to your members, post on your notice boards, include in your newsletters, or distribute by whatever means works best within your organisation? If you would like hard copies of the fact sheet, please contact me and I will send some by post.
I thank you in advance for assisting us in keeping this pest bird species out of South Australia.
If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Lindell Andrews | Biosecurity Officer, Pest Animals
Division | Primary Industries and Regions SA - PIRSA
Government of South Australia | CSIRO Building 1, Entry 4, Waite Rd Urrbrae
GPO Box 1671 Adelaide SA 5001 | DX 66710
P: +61 8 8429 0831 | M: + 61 438 351 002
I am working on a project for Biosecurity SA (in partnership with AMLR NRM) trying to eradicate feral Red Whiskered Bulbuls (birds) that have been showing up in the hills. Part of this process is community engagement so that the community is aware of the issue and can cooperate with the program by reporting sightings.
They have been sighted in the vicinity of Houghton/Inglewood, Cudlee Creek and Mt Torrens. We would appreciate assistance from groups and members from these areas: Lobethal Bushland Park, Anstey Hill Recreation Park, Charleston Conservation Park, and Cromer Conservation Park.
P:1800 084 881 | E: www.pir.sa.gov.au
FYI last week (Feb 2016) PIRSA Biosecurity received confirmation of the presence of 2 Red-whiskered Bulbul birds in Houghton, the first sighting since 1993.
Follows a link to the fact sheet for further information about this pest species…
http://pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/232023/Red-whiskered_Bulbul.pdf
If you happen to see a Red-whiskered Bulbul, it’s important that your sighting is reported to the National Pest Alert Hotline: 1800 084 881
To help spread the word, please forward this information onto your networks.
Catherine Austin
District Officer – Lower Torrens
Natural Resources Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges Region
Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources | South Australian Government
P: (08) 8336 0989
M: 0418 810 086
A: 115 Maryvale Road, ATHELSTONE SA 5076
Hi NRM community
Thank you for the email. This looks like the introduced plant Lachenalia aloides, commonly called soldiers.
This is a plant species with few collections (only 11) from South Australia, most from ALMR, one from KI, and one near Mount Gambier see:
Check out this website as it has some good images of the plant, and is a great web site for bulbs in general, worth ‘adding to favourites’.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/LachenaliaSpeciesOne#aloides
It does look like it could be a problem (that’s my feeling), and is regarded by some as a sleeper weed. For further information on this as an ‘Alert weed’ and this includes limited control methods, etc. See: https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/weeds/publications/guidelines/alert/pubs/l-reflexa.pdf
& for chemical control, see: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/13562
& general basic info (no control info): https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/weeds/bulbs-become-bushland-weeds?page=0%2C2
I would dearly love a collection, from all locations / populations you find. If anyone else finds this, a collection would be great! Please find the attached collection sheet to include with your collection. Please dig up the bulb and you can cut this open to help with drying. Please include all the leaves and flower if you can. I’ll need a specimen to add the records to the dataset, an email and photos don’t make it on, so sorry.
I’ll try and spread the word about this. Perhaps you could spread the word in the wider NRM / bush care community? It’s you guys out and about, killing nasties that can jump on it and stop this potential new weed from spreading.
And NO you are not a pain, I really appreciate your email and I’m always here to help with the identification of weeds.
Please contact me any time! However, I will be away on annual leave for most of September and early Oct, so you may not hear from me during that period.
However, Chelsea (CC ed in here) will be available to answer questions or push emails through to others that can help when she is about, ( I hope, Thanks in advance Chelsea).
Kind regards
Chris Brodie
Weeds Botanist
Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium
Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
Ph (08) 8222 9468 | M 0437 825 685
Parks and Regions Group – Safety Bulletin
A new procedure was developed in 2016 governing the use of quad bikes, motorcycles and light utility vehicles (LUVs)
SAFETY BULLETIN: Quad bikes, motorcycles and light utility vehicles (450 KB)
Following the recent sustained wet weather and high river levels, an increased number of mosquitoes has been noted in the region.
In addition, the recent storms left a lot of debris that allowed water to collect, which has created a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
There are a number of mosquito-borne disease that are well established in SA and for which we should be taking preventive measures.
It is always best to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, by following the strategy of ‘Exclusion, Restriction and Destruction’ similar to ‘Slip, Slop and Slap’ for sun protection.
The strategies used to reduce this risk can include the following ...
Download to read more
DEWNR WHS - Mosquitoes (186 KB)
Recently a DEWNR employee attempted to recover a bogged contractor vehicle using two snatch straps joined with a shackle. The weight of vehicles involved (a DEWNR 4WD truck and the contractor’s semi-trailer) exceeded the rated capacity for the snatch straps and as a result a strap broke and the shackle recoiled into the DEWNR vehicle breaking the towing hitch.
The breaking and uncontrolled recoil of a snatch strap and shackle is a very dangerous occurrence with the potential to cause serious injury or even death to members of the recovery team.
Key factors in this instance were the use of snatch straps of insufficient rating for the task at hand and the use of a shackle to join the two snatch straps.
Forthwith, staff and managers must adhere to the following requirements when undertaking vehicle recovery using snatch straps.
1. The snatch straps minimum breaking strength must be at least double the gross vehicle mass (GVM) of the lighter of the two vehicles (plus its load) used in the recovery.
2. A recoil damper must be used in conjunction with the strap. All recovery equipment must be of a known and sufficient rating or strength for the intended recovery.
3. Snatch straps must only be joined by looping together. Under no circumstances are any other devices such as shackles or similar to be used. Only snatch straps can be used together to increase length.
4. Only the manufacturer’s recognised hitching points are to be used (ensure you identify these prior to driving your vehicle). Under no circumstance should any other attachment be used e.g. Tow ball, roo bars etc.
5. Bystanders must be at a safe distance, approximately 1.5 to 2 times the length of an unstretched snatch strap, from the vehicles.
6. Prior to any attempt, staff must be trained and competent in vehicle recovery practices.
While helping others to recover their vehicle(s) staff must not place DEWNR assets, staff, contractors and/or members of the public in jeopardy. Staff should be familiar with any relevant risk assessment and safe work practices, and apply a dynamic risk assessment approach.
If correctly rated and suitable equipment is not available, staff are not to attempt recovery of a vehicle. Under no circumstance should safety be compromised.
DEWNR Contractors should be aware of the foreseeable hazards associated with their work prior to entering into a contract and be able to satisfy DENWR that they have a reasonable capacity to control them. In this case they should carry appropriate equipment to recover their vehicles.
A generic Vehicle Recovery Risk Assessment is available (through DEWNR) but all business units with local procedures or risk assessments are requested to consider this advice and amend any non compliances.
Should you have any questions please contact the Workplace Safety and Wellbeing Unit.
Prepared by:Peter Bercys,
Snr Safety Projects Officer,
Workplace Safety and Wellbeing Unit.
Authorised by:
David Wearing,
Manager Workplace Safety and Wellbeing Unit.
Date Issued: November 2016
Remove from Notice Boards: January 2017
Please find the attached flyer and registration form for the upcoming buffel grass project forum to be held on the 25th and 26th of October 2016 in Adelaide. If you could please post this on your friends of parks website with the other buffel grass content that would be greatly appreciated. Please also feel free to distribute to any other networks that may be interested in attending.
The target audience for the forum is local councils, regional NRM authorities, conservation/volunteer organisations, pastoralists and indigenous ranger groups as well as the mining/transportation industries. I’m planning to have a variety of speakers primarily from SA although also have representatives from WA, NT, Vic and QLD. Topics will include a detailed summary of my project (i.e. Herbicide trials, roadside surveys, criteria based prioritisation tool, strategic response activities etc.) in addition to a number of control case studies and speakers on the impacts on ecology, fire regimes and the use of various herbicides for the control of buffel grass.
The forum is free of charge and will be held at the Plant Research Centre, University of Adelaide Campus , Hartley Grove, Urrbrae South Australia. Refreshments will be provided on the day and there will be a dinner on the first night to provide an opportunity for further networking (at the expense of attendees).
Kind Regards - Troy Bowman
Buffel Grass rego (113 KB)
Buffel Grass Forum (327 KB)
Buffel Grass strategy (1463 KB)
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