Murray Local Strategic Plan

Local Strategic Plan

2016-2021

Cover photo: L-R Julia McCourt (Murray Local Land Services), Tony Geddes (land manager) and Kylie Durant (Holbrook Landcare

Network) on the Geddes’ property at Holbrook, NSW.

Published by Murray Local Land Services

Murray Local Strategic Plan

First published June 2016

www.lls.nsw.gov.au

Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing June 2016. However,

because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check

currency of the information with the appropriate ofﬁcer of Local Land Services or the user’s independent adviser.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 1

Contents

Acknowledgement of Country ....................................................................................................................................... 2

Minister's foreword ........................................................................................................................................................ 3

Chair’s foreword ............................................................................................................................................................ 4

Intent of the plan ........................................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Previous and future services ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Local delivery and decision making ............................................................................................................................. 5

Governance, transparency and reporting .................................................................................................................... 6

Strategic direction ...................................................................................................................................................... 7

About Local Land Services .............................................................................................................................................. 8

What we do ............................................................................................................................................................... 9

Customers, stakeholders and investors ........................................................................................................................ 9

Vision, mission and values ............................................................................................................................................ 10

The Local Land Services Strategy .................................................................................................................................. 11

The Murray region ...................................................................................................................................................... 12

Our Region .............................................................................................................................................................. 12

Revenue streams of Murray Local Land Services ........................................................................................................ 13

Key challenges for the region .................................................................................................................................... 13

Murray landscapes .................................................................................................................................................... 14

Aboriginal Communities in the Murray Region .......................................................................................................... 15

Strategic direction ....................................................................................................................................................... 16

Local Land Services statewide goals and strategies .................................................................................................... 16

What we will do in the Murray region ...................................................................................................................... 17

Table 1: Murray Local Land Services objectives, early priorities and measures of success against state goals 1 – 4 ...... 18

Implementation ........................................................................................................................................................... 22

Investment principles ............................................................................................................................................... 22

Planning framework ................................................................................................................................................. 23

Measuring success ................................................................................................................................................... 25

Learning and development ....................................................................................................................................... 26

Legislation and guiding inﬂuences ................................................................................................................................ 28

National .................................................................................................................................................................... 28

State ......................................................................................................................................................................... 28

Regional ................................................................................................................................................................... 28

Glossary ....................................................................................................................................................................... 29

List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................... 30

References ................................................................................................................................................................... 31

Appendices .................................................................................................................................................................. 32

Appendix 1 - Short, medium and long-term regional actions against state strategies ................................................. 32

Appendix 2 - Summary of foundational documents and evidence underpinning the Murray Local Strategic Plan ....... 40

Appendix 3 - Murray Local Land Services business approach ..................................................................................... 45

Appendix 4 - Internal project alignment .................................................................................................................... 47

2 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Acknowledgement of Country

Murray Local Land Services acknowledges and recognises traditional owners of the Murray Local Land Services Region and

the primacy of their role in cultural heritage, cultural economy, cultural knowledge and connection to Country.

Murray Local Land Services acknowledges the rich diversity in Aboriginal communities including individuals and groups

who share a responsibility to care for Country and culture into the future.

Murray Local Land Services pay our respects to Elders, both past and present.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 3

Acknowledgement of Country

Murray Local Land Services acknowledges and recognises traditional owners of the Murray Local Land Services Region and

the primacy of their role in cultural heritage, cultural economy, cultural knowledge and connection to Country.

Murray Local Land Services acknowledges the rich diversity in Aboriginal communities including individuals and groups

who share a responsibility to care for Country and culture into the future.

Murray Local Land Services pay our respects to Elders, both past and present.

Minister's foreword

The Hon Niall Blair MLC

Minister for Primary Industries

Minister for Land and Water

The Local Land Services State Strategic Plan was developed in partnership with land managers and the community to set a

clear path for assisting rural and regional communities to be resilient, productive, proﬁtable and sustainable.

Together with the 11 local strategic plans nested under it, the 10-year State Strategic Plan sets the long-term agenda for

Local Land Services at both the state and local levels.

These plans deﬁne the priorities of the organisation and outline the way services will be delivered to build resilient

communities, meet local needs and contribute to state-level priorities.

All plans have been developed with extensive community consultation, emphasising the importance of having farmers,

land managers and community members at the heart of decision making.

Local Land Services represents a fundamental shift in the way advice, services and assistance are provided. When it comes

to decision making, this model is underpinned by local involvement and accountability, with a strong customer focus at its

core.

Using the best available science and support, delivered by experienced and knowledgeable staff, the organisation works in

partnership with passionate and committed land managers and community members to deliver balanced social, economic

and environmental results.

The strategies outlined in this suite of plans provide a clear and consistent direction across NSW to make the most

of current opportunities and guide delivery of the most relevant programs and initiatives to support producers and

communities across the state.

4 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Chair’s foreword

Richard Bull

Acting Chair of

Murray Local Land Services

I am pleased to present the ﬁrst Murray Local Strategic Plan. This

plan will assist us in supporting the Murray community to develop

healthy and productive landscapes with productive farms, vibrant

towns and a healthy environment

The plan sets our strategic direction for the next ﬁve years

– building on our achievements to date and addressing the

challenges of our future. Existing planning documents such as the:

Murray Catchment Action Plan 2013-2023; Murray Biodiversity

Management Plan 2012; NSW Biosecurity Strategy 2013-2021;

Murray Regional Weed Strategy; and NSW State Emergency

Management Plan have been used as the building blocks for our

Local Strategic Plan. Extensive community input has informed those

plans and been further incorporated in the development of this plan. Our community advisory groups have provided

advice in the development of this plan.

Murray Local Land Services is one of 11 Local Land Services regions across NSW. We are a customer-focused organisation

established to deliver efﬁcient and effective services associated with agricultural production, biosecurity, natural resource

management and emergency management.

The Local Land Services State Strategic Plan identiﬁes four goals that provide the framework for Murray’s Local Strategic

Plan. At Murray Local Land Services we are working to achieve these goals: resilient, self-reliant and prepared local

communities; biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and sustainable primary industries; Healthy, diverse and connected natural

environments; and innovative, commercially-focused people.

To pursue these goals a series of strategies, actions and performance indicators have been developed against which we

will measure our success over coming years.

The Murray Local Strategic Plan deﬁnes how the Murray region will deliver on these State Local Land Services goals and

strategies. This plan identiﬁes our areas of focus and deﬁnes the way we do business through the identiﬁcation of core

values that will be applied across all levels of our business. This plan is the road map that unites Murray Local Land Services

with our partners, collaborators and customers in delivering on the Local Land Services vision: ‘resilient communities in

productive healthy landscapes’.

I look forward to working with the Murray Local Land Services Board, staff, stakeholders and customers in managing land

now, and for the future.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 5

Intent of the plan

Introduction

Local Land Services represents a change in service provision to land managers in agricultural advisory services, biosecurity,

emergency management and natural resource management. These services will be delivered in an integrated way which

builds and improves on previous arrangements.

The State Strategic Plan sets the vision and goals for Local Land Services for the next ten years and outlines the strategies

through which these goals will be achieved. A series of key performance indicators provides guidance on what success will

look like and how investors and stakeholders will be able to measure performance.

Success will be driven by local decision making and service delivery supported by transparent, responsive and accountable

local boards. This will be combined with the beneﬁts of greater consistency, leverage and more effective use of resources

stemming from being one organisation.

Previous and future services

Local Land Services consolidates the operations of 27 formerly separate entities. While we respect the history of these

organisations and their predecessors, which span over a hundred years, Local Land Services is about a change in customer

focus, better and more integrated services and an improved structure and culture.

Reﬂecting this integrated approach, our strategic goals do not relate to achieving functional excellence in agricultural

advisory services, biosecurity, emergency management and natural resource management but rather focus on improved

and integrated outcomes for customers and land managers, and for the communities and environments across NSW.

Local delivery and decision making

The 11 strategies’ foundations are built on the local focus of Local Land Services, underpinned by local decision making

and accountability. Each of the 11 local regions is responsible for service delivery and local strategy. As part of strategic

planning, these functions include community engagement, setting and delivering local priorities, and determining how

the priorities for Local Land Services are best achieved at local level. These priorities are outlined through the Murray Local

Strategic Plan that is closely aligned with the State Strategic Plan.

The Murray Local Strategic Plan deﬁnes a set of outcomes that will contribute to the achievement of the goals described

in the State Strategic Plan. Murray Local Land Services has deﬁned some implementation timelines based on current

evidence from a range of sources including existing plans and strategies; community, stakeholder and staff input; investor

preference; and skills and resource availability.

The actions identiﬁed against each strategy have been coded short term, medium and long term (see Appendix 1). These

codings reﬂect an end date rather than a commencement date. We deﬁne the codings as follows

Short term: an activity that will be completed in the ﬁrst two years

Medium term: an action that will usually be completed within two - ﬁve years

Long term: an action that we expect to continue for the life of the plan and beyond.

In addition to coding each action in the plan, we have also deﬁned some priority early activities (see Table 1). These include

more detail than the higher level action statements and provide an indication of the pressing activities on our task lists in

the ﬁrst two years. These early regional priorities are listed against the goal statements.

The implementation and prioritisation schedule does not restrict Murray Local Land Services from opportunistically

addressing a range of strategies and actions - rather it identiﬁes some core foci for attention and delivery. The

implementation schedule reﬂects current knowledge at the time this plan was prepared. It may change to reﬂect a change

in regional circumstances as or as new information comes to light, as an adaptive strategic plan should.

6 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Governance, transparency and reporting

Local Land Services is in the business of creating value for its customers, investors and stakeholders. A key component of

the strategy is to increase our focus on customer service, and report to investors and stakeholders on performance and

customer satisfaction more effectively. Transparent evaluation and reporting underpins the implementation of the strategy

and is integral to how Local Land Services will work for and with its investors and customers.

To meet our responsibilities to investors, stakeholders and customers, Murray Local Land Services ensures that different

levels and lines of reporting are undertaken. These reports are designed to meet the needs of a range of audiences, at a

range of scales, and across a range issues relevant to the programs we are implementing. They include annual reports,

investor reports, project reports, Natural Resources Commission (NRC) and other audit reports, as well as regular reports to

the Board and its sub-committees. Murray Local Land Services provides public access to information in accordance with the

Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

We are continually improving reporting systems to increase the transparency and accountability of Murray Local Land

Services to our customers, stakeholders and investors. We are developing information systems that capture standard and

integrated reporting outputs for short, medium and long-term progress. We have appropriate monitoring and review

processes for programs and processes across all aspects of Local Land Services business, which we are continuing to

develop into a more comprehensive adaptation framework.

Murray Local Land Services has a strong governance framework that supports delegated decision-making at the

appropriate scale and level of risk (see Appendix 3). We value evidence-based decision-making and employ a philosophy of

adaptive learning to manage risk and improve on the delivery of outcomes.

We consult with our customers, stakeholders, communities and investors, and engage through a number of formal

and informal mechanisms to inform our decisions. These include a number of community-based sub-committees of the

Board, program and project steering committees, professional forums, industry and issue-speciﬁc groups and community

organisation networks.

Internally a range of ﬁnancial, human resource and project decision-making delegations enable accountability at all levels

within the organisation. Business decisions are supported by a Workplace Health and Safety committee.

Board decision-making processes are supported by the provision of detailed brieﬁngs, options papers and information

ﬂow. Board members are responsible for speciﬁc portfolios to ensure clear links between decision-making and delivery.

In addition to our own reporting processes, our performance will be independently audited on a regular basis by the

Natural Resources Commission through the Performance Standard for Local Land Services. Reports from this process are

made public and this provides additional assurance that Local Land Services will deliver quality outcomes for investors,

stakeholders, customers and communities.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 7

Strategic direction

The State Strategic Plan has been developed consistent with the Local Land Services Act 2013 which requires the

development of a state strategic plan which sets the vision, priorities and over-arching strategy for Local Land Services with

a focus on appropriate economic, social and environmental outcomes.

The relevant extract from the legislation is below.

The State Strategic Plan must have regard to:

• any state priorities for Local Land Services.

• the provisions of any environmental planning instrument under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act

1979.

• any other existing natural resource management plans.

• sound evidence-based practices to support primary industries, resilient communities and healthy landscapes.

• the need for engagement of the community, including the Aboriginal community.

The 11 Local Land Services regions are each required to develop a local strategic plan which is closely aligned with the

State Strategic Plan and which addresses a similar set of matters. State and local alignment is an essential part of the Local

Land Services model, where strong, highly devolved, local delivery is balanced with the beneﬁts and resources of being

part of a single, larger organisation.

The Murray Local Strategic Plan has been developed with reference to existing planning documents such as the: Murray

Catchment Action Plan 2013-2023; Murray Biodiversity Management Plan 2012; NSW Biosecurity Strategy 2013-2021;

Murray Regional Weed Strategy; and NSW State Emergency Management Plan. Appendix 2 provides more speciﬁc details

about the key plans and legislation that will guide decisions into the future.

Extensive community input captured through the formation of those documents, and more recently consultation with

stakeholders, has been incorporated into this plan. Our Community Advisory Groups have provided advice in the

development of this plan.

The plan describes to our customers, stakeholders and investors the key directions we will take as we play our part in

addressing the multiple goals of government and communities.

It will:

• inform our customers about Murray Local Land Services services and what they can expect from us.

• demonstrate to our investors and stakeholders the strategic approaches that Murray Local Land Services will take.

• provide an overview to customers and stakeholders about our collaborative approach.

• provide staff with a framework for planning and delivery that enables clear alignment, from individual work plans

through to the regional strategy and state strategy.

The state and local strategic plans also seek to draw out best practice strategic planning and delivery. For Local Land

Services, this means the plans are simple, aspirational and evidence based while addressing investor preferences and

the requirements of the Performance Standard for Local Land Services and putting the customer at the centre of the

organisation.

8 Murray Local Strategic Plan

About Local Land Services

Local Land Services was established under the Local Land Services Act 2013 to provide quality, customer-focused services

to landholders and the community across New South Wales.

We work with land managers and the community to improve primary production within healthy landscapes and assist rural

and regional communities to be proﬁtable and sustainable into the future.

We provide primary production advice, biosecurity, natural resource management and emergency management functions

through 11 local regions, around 800 staff and a budget of approximately $175 million.

The State Strategic Plan sets the overarching strategy for the whole organisation.

Local Land Services is governed by the Board of Chairs, which has an independent chair and the chairs of the 11 local

boards. The Board of Chairs is responsible for Local Land Services’ strategy, governance and organisational oversight and

reports directly to the Minister for Primary Industries.

Local regions are in charge of providing all front line services. Each region has a local board that is responsible for

corporate governance, approval of regionally appropriate programs, development of a local strategic plan and budgets in

line with local and state priorities, and communications and engagement with their local communities.

Regions vary in geographic and organisational size and approach their local priorities in different ways, which is why it is

so important to be locally focused.

Local community advisory groups provide input into the development of plans, projects and services and are an integral

link between Local Land Services and the community it serves.

LORD

HOWE

ISLAND

Not to scale

Figure 1: The 11 Local Land Services regions.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 9

What we do

Local Land Services works with our customers, stakeholders and investors to:

• enable. We provide resources, incentives, training, information and advice to build the capacity of our customers

and stakeholders.

• provide assurance. We actively work to protect NSW from invasive animal and plant species, and livestock and

plant diseases that may damage landscapes and production.

• manage natural resources. We work with communities to better manage our water, land, soil, vegetation,

biodiversity and cultural heritage. This includes managing travelling stock reserves and areas of signiﬁcance to

Aboriginal communities.

• broker relationships. We are a bridging organisation, connecting people, organisations, funding and information,

and facilitating productive collaborations and partnerships.

• share knowledge. We provide a hub for the latest scientiﬁc and other forms of knowledge about fully functioning

and productive landscapes in NSW.

• play our part. We work with other agencies to achieve whole of government results for the landscapes and people of

NSW.

Customers, stakeholders and investors

Customers Any land manager within the state, irrespective of whether they are private or public land managers,

ratepayers or non-ratepayers.

Stakeholders Organisations that collaborate and partner with Local Land Services directly to support customer service

delivery.

Investors Organisations and individuals who invest in Local Land Services and leverage outcomes from this

investment.

10 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Vision, mission and values

Figure 2: Local Land Services State vision, mission and values.

Mission

To be a customer-focused business that

enables improved primary production

and better management of natural

resources

Values

Vision

Resilient communities in productive,

healthy landscapes

Accountability

Collaboration

Innovation

Integrity

Performance

Service

Trust

Murray Local Strategic Plan 11

The Local Land Services Strategy

The State Strategic Plan and the Murray Local Strategic Plan will assist Local Land Services achieve its vision of resilient

communities in productive healthy landscapes.

To achieve this vision, Local Land Services needs to align all of its work with its mission of being a customer-focused

business that enables improved primary production and better management of natural resources.

This will see four goals pursued.

• Resilient, self-reliant and prepared local

communities

• Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and sustainable

primary industries

• Healthy diverse and connected natural

environments

• Board members and staff who are collaborative,

innovative and commercially focused.

This strategic approach is designed to deliver products

and services that achieve triple bottom line results at the

property, community, landscape and industry scales through

the improved management of biosecurity, natural resources,

agricultural productivity and emergency management. These

products and services will be tailored to meet local needs.

It also gives Murray Local Land Services the agility and

responsiveness to meet the needs of external investors and

other stakeholders and address state and national priorities.

This includes the development and implementation of a

range of partnerships with key organisations at state and

local level.

Local Land Services will continue to work to develop

a values-based culture with people who are engaged, accountable and add value to our customers. In line with the

organisation’s commitment to build on the past and implement the Performance Standard for Local Land Services, our

strategy will be reinforced by continuous improvement processes which will improve our strategies, culture, products,

services, processes and outcomes over time.

He a lth y d i ver se

an d co nne c ted

na t ura l e n vir onm e nts

Bi o sec ure, p r oﬁt abl e,

pr o duc tiv e an d

su s tai nab l e p rim a ry

in d ust rie s

Board members and

staff who are

collaborative, innovative

and commercially-focused

Re s ili ent , sel f -re lia nt

an d pr epa r ed loc a l

co m mun iti e s

He a lth y

an d co nne

na t ura l e

Bi o sec u

pr o duc tiv e

su s tai nab

in d ust

innovative

y-focused

f- r eli ant

re d lo cal

Resilient communities

in productive healthy

landscapes

Figure 3: An overview of Local Land Services’ vision, goals

and values.

12 Murray Local Strategic Plan

The Murray region

Our Region

The New South Wales Murray region spans more than 42 000 square kilometres across a range of environments,

from the steep alpine slopes in the east to the vast native grasslands, rangelands and riverine ﬂoodplains to the west.

Nationally signiﬁcant areas include Kosciuszko National Park, the Murray River, and the Central Murray Red Gum forests

that are recognised as important wetlands under the Ramsar Convention. The Murray region has always been an

important landscape supporting a large Aboriginal population. There are many important cultural locations throughout

the catchment that are of state, national and international signiﬁcance, and these landscapes continue to support our

communities throughout the region. Murray Local Land Services is responsible for the management of approximately

55,000ha of travelling stock reserves (TSRs).

The region’s population of around 107,000 people is concentrated along the Murray, Edward–Kolety and Billabong -

Yanco river systems in towns such as Barham, Corowa, Moama, Deniliquin, Tocumwal and our only major city, Albury.

There is an extensive urban/peri-urban interface in the region, particularly around Albury, but also around regional centres.

Important regional centres include Moulamein, Berrigan, Finley, Holbrook, Jerilderie and Tumbarumba. Many of these

population centres are closely linked to nearby Victorian communities and services. Many rural villages also service their

local and often remote communities. Approximately 75% of land in the region is privately owned.

Land and water resources within the Murray region support diverse agricultural enterprises, including cropping, grazing

and dairying. There is also an increasing interest in mineral and coal deposits. Extensive water supply infrastructure—

including Australia’s largest irrigation network and the famous Snowy Mountain Hydro-Electric Scheme—supplements low

rainfall areas to support viable towns and industries. Much of the region’s multi-billion dollar economy therefore depends

on continuing access to, and the productivity of, its natural resources. Approximately one-third of our residents are directly

involved in agriculture alone.

Although there are signiﬁcant physical and climatic differences between east and west, issues identiﬁed by the community

are often similar. For example, the need to manage disease-free proﬁtable and sustainable agricultural enterprises, control

weeds and pests, strengthen community cohesion, improve infrastructure and services, and sustainably manage soils and

rivers are consistent across the region. A universal willingness also exists to look after ‘our patch’, but many people are

limited in their capacity to do so.

Figure 4: Murray Local Land Services region.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 13

Revenue streams of Murray Local Land Services

The functions and services provided by Murray Local Land Services are supported through several revenue streams.

Landholder rates and levies

• Biosecurity/invasive species

• Emergency services

• Meat and Livestock levy

NSW Government

• Catchment Action NSW - natural resource

management programs

• Recurrent

Australian Government

• National Landcare Programme

• Environmental and sustainable agriculture

programs

Other Sources

• External grants - industry, government,

other

• Fees and contracted services

• Philanthropy

Landholder

Rates & Levies

Australian

Government

NSW

Government

Other

Key challenges for the region

Maintaining viable, vibrant and cohesive communities – We face signiﬁcant challenges in supporting our rural

and regional communities as the rural population declines and ages, and the availability of volunteers and services

diminishes. Promoting strong community leaders, good governance and local decision-making by local communities

is a key strategy for addressing this challenge.

Aboriginal culture - We want to increase recognition of Aboriginal cultural heritage, spirituality and connections to

country, as well as provide economic and employment opportunities.

Maintaining healthy, diverse and connected natural environments – we recognise the importance of balancing

resource use to sustain our livelihoods and lifestyle, with the maintenance of healthy natural environments. We value

the native forests, woodlands, grasslands, rivers and wetlands, and the threatened and iconic species that inhabit

them. A challenge is to ﬁnd better ways to share the costs of public and private beneﬁts equitably.

Maintaining productive and proﬁtable farming systems is a major challenge as we adapt to changing markets,

a future with less water, changing climatic conditions for food production and pests, while ensuring sustainable

resource use, and minimising environmental impacts.

Changes in rainfall and temperature patterns and expected increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme

weather events (e.g. ﬂoods, storms, heatwaves, frosts) and changes in water sharing arrangements. Preparing for

and adapting to a changing climate is essential if our region is to ﬂourish – socially, economically and environmentally.

Figure 5: Average breakup of Murray Local Land Services revenue as

at April 2015.

14 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Murray landscapes

Murrakool

Main towns: Barham, Moulamein,

Balranald, Swan Hill

Elevation: 60-90m

Av annual rainfall: 300-400mm

Main land use/industry: Grazing,

cropping, horticulture, forestry,

conservation, tourism, recreation.

Family-owned properties form the

basis of our rural communities, and

agriculture provides the economic

base for larger towns. Although our

landholders are self-motivated to

adapt to change, the closure of the

timber harvesting industry, economic

instability and uncertainty regarding

water resources are slowing investment

and planning decisions.

Billabong - Yanco

Main towns: Deniliquin, Conargo,

Jerilderie

Elevation: 70-120m

Av annual rainfall: 300-500mm

Main land use/industry: Dryland

cropping, grazing, irrigation.

The area supports a mixture of

farming systems, including irrigated

and dryland cropping, and grazing.

Our local economy and communities

are largely dependent on irrigation.

With only low-moderate rainfall, the

certainty of water supply and access

to a range of land management

options underpins the viability of

local agriculture and therefore our

community.

Eastern Riverina

Main towns: Corowa, Howlong, Urana

Elevation: 110-310m

Av annual rainfall: 400-650mm

Main land use/industry: Dryland cropping and grazing.

Modern agricultural practices and local natural resource

management have improved our soil health, beneﬁtting

production and the environment. Extreme climate

variability and volatile markets have impacted on farm

productivity and proﬁtability. We value our natural

landscape, and balancing production and biodiversity

values in a changing natural and economic environment

is an ongoing challenge.

South West Slopes

Main towns: Holbrook, Culcairn, Walla Walla

Elevation: 250-750m

Av annual rainfall: 650-950mm

Main land use/industry: Agriculture (dryland

sheep and cattle grazing, cropping), conservation

(national parks).

Our farming community, partially through our

involvement with Landcare, actively supports a

balance between production and environmental

values. The climate and productivity has attracted

new farming enterprises and residents to the area.

Cadell

Main towns: Moama,

Mathoura, Deniliquin

Elevation: 75-90m

Av annual rainfall: 200-400mm

Main land use/industry:

Irrigated and dryland agriculture,

conservation, tourism, recreation.

The Murray and Edward-Kolety

Rivers and Gulpa Creek have

been important to our economic

development. Water from these

regulated systems supports our

irrigation, tourism and recreation

activities, and supplies water for

our town as well as for stock

and domestic use. Economic

instability, uncertainty regarding

water security and closure of

the timber industry are stalling

recovery, and the ability of

landholders and businesses

to invest in our area with

conﬁdence.

Berriquin - Murray

Main towns: Mulwala, Finley, Berrigan, Deniliquin

Elevation: 90-170m

Av annual rainfall: 400-500mm

Main land use/industry: Irrigated and dryland

agriculture, grazing, conservation, recreation, tourism,

transport and processing.

We value our natural resources, and appreciate the role

of water to support our lifestyles and economy. Variable

climate and markets are challenging the viability of our

farming industries. Effective government/community

partnerships and individual investments will be needed

to enhance the natural environment, mixed farming

systems and continue to deliver innovative management

practices.

Upper Murray

Main towns: Tumbarumba,

Khancoban, Jingellic, Rosewood

Elevation: 250-2200m

Av annual rainfall: 700-1020mm

Main land use/industry: Agriculture, forestry,

conservation, tourism and power generation.

We are supported by a strong sense of community and

local networks – as shown by our recovery from the

Millennium drought and following ﬂash ﬂoods. These

experiences have heightened our concerns about the

impact of future climatic extremes and water supply,

and the need for greater coordination between all land

managers – both public and private.

Albury

Main towns: Albury-Wodonga, Lavington, Thurgoona, Jindera

Elevation: 150-450m

Av annual rainfall: 650-700mm

Main land use/industry: Urban and residential development, small landholdings, education, conservation, tourism,

manufacturing, transport, retail, health and social services.

Our area is an important regional centre for services such as health and education, and is accessed by many residents

from both New South Wales and Victoria. Our location makes it an attractive place to live and visit. However, our

city’s increasing size creates a unique set of natural resource management issues.

Source: Murray Catchment Action

Plan 2013.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 15

Aboriginal Communities in the Murray Region

Murray region is a place steeped in Aboriginal history, culture and spiritual signiﬁcance. Today there are over seven

Aboriginal nations, 12 local Aboriginal land councils and two Aboriginal corporations in the Murray region.

The Murray region’s Aboriginal population has a markedly younger age structure than the non-Indigenous population,

with a larger proportion of young people and a smaller proportion of older people.

The health gap challenges for Aboriginal communities in Murray region, along with similar differentials in a range of

socio-economic indicators (such as housing, education and employment) are at the forefront of current commitments by

the Commonwealth and State/Territory governments to “Close the Gap” between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous

populations.

To this end, the NSW Government has a number of policies and program across a range of administrative portfolios which

speciﬁcally aim to address and overcome the multifaceted disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal people. Speciﬁcally,

these actions seek to positively improve the lives of Aboriginal people in seven priority areas: health, education, economic

development, justice, families and young people, culture and heritage, as well as housing and infrastructure. In targeting

these areas, the Government recognises that outcomes in one area (e.g. Natural Resource Management) will inﬂuence

outcomes in other areas (e.g. education, employment and health).

The Aboriginal community in our region as a whole has developed a strong cultural resilience and determination in the

face of adversity. This is exempliﬁed through strong local community efforts to maintain knowledge and practice of

traditions and culture embodied in respect for family relationships/kinship and “connection to Country” (e.g. spiritual ties

to the land).

Figure 6: Local Aboriginal Land Council Areas in the Murray region

16 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Strategic direction

Local Land Services statewide goals and strategies

The following pages provide the detail of what we will do over the next ﬁve years. Figure 7 describes the Local Land

Services goals and strategies and outlines how the detailed information presented in Table 1 and Appendix 1 links to them.

GOAL 1: Resilient, self-

reliant and prepared

local communities.

GOAL 2: Biosecure,

proﬁtable, productive

and sustainable primary

industries.

GOAL 3: Healthy,

diverse and connected

natural environments.

GOAL 4: Board

members and staff

who are collaborative,

innovative and

commercially-focused.

STRATEGY 1: Provide data, information and knowledge that supports and enables

land managers, customers and government to improve decision making.

STRATEGY 10: Develop

engaged and accountable

people with a strong

customer and stakeholder

focus.

STRATEGY 11: Foster a

values-based culture which

emphasises collaboration,

innovation and continual

improvement.

STRATEGY 12: Ensure

a safe, efﬁcient,

effective and sustainable

organisation.

STRATEGY 2: Provide products and advisory services that support and enable

customers to implement improved practices.

STRATEGY 3: Provide products and services that support and enable customers,

land managers and the community to prevent, prepare, respond and recover from

biosecurity and natural disaster events.

STRATEGY 4: Collaborate with investors, stakeholders and external organisations to

deliver improved products and services to customers.

STRATEGY 5: Ensure local people participate in decision making.

STRATEGY 6: Connect research and development with advisory services to address

priority data, information and knowledge gaps and barriers to improved practice.

STRATEGY 7: Deliver services that support Aboriginal people to care for Country and

share traditional land management knowledge.

STRATEGY 8: Deliver consent and compliance services that educate and protect

communities, landscapes and industries.

STRATEGY 9: Manage Crown Land vested in Local Land Services for environmental,

social, and economic outcomes.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 17

What we will do in the Murray region

In Murray Local Land Services we envisage a future where local communities ﬂourish in healthy, productive landscapes.

Murray Local Land Services is committed to being an innovative and responsive organization that is valued by our clients,

providing and connecting communities with high quality services and programs that promote productive farms, vibrant

towns and a healthy environment. Table 1 describes how Murray Local Land Services will contribute to the achieving

the state goals in the next one-two years, outlining the regional objectives, early regional priorities, signs of success and

indicators related to each of the four goals.

Figure 7: Signposts for understanding the details of the Murray Local Strategic Plan.

State Local Land

Services Goals

Strategy 1: Provide data, information and knowledge that supports and

enables land managers, customers and government to improve decision

making.

Strategy 2: Provide products and advisory services that support and

enable customers to implement improved practices.

Strategy 3: Provide products and services that support and enable

customers, land managers and the community to prevent, prepare,

respond and recover from biosecurity and natural disaster events.

Strategy 4: Collaborate with investors, stakeholders and external

organisations to deliver improved products and services to customers.

Strategy 5: Ensure local people participate in decision making.

Strategy 6: Connect research and development with advisory services

to address priority data, information and knowledge gaps and barriers

to improved practice.

Strategy 7: Deliver services that support Aboriginal people to care for

Country and share traditional land management knowledge.

Strategy 8: Deliver consent and compliance services that educate and

protect communities, landscapes and industries.

Strategy 9: Manage Crown Land vested in Local Land Services for

environmental, social and economic outcomes.

Strategy 10:

Develop engaged

and accountable

people with a

strong customer and

stakeholder focus.

Strategy 11:

Foster a values-

based culture

which emphasises

collaboration,

innovation

and continual

improvement.

Strategy 12:

Ensure a safe,

efﬁcient, effective

and sustainable

organisation.

Appendix 1: State

Local Land Services

Strategies.

Strategy

descriptions, state

indicators and

regional actions

are deﬁned in

Appendix 1.

Murray Local

Land Services has

developed actions

that respond to

these strategies.

These actions

are designed to

deliver on state

strategies while

also addressing

goal-speciﬁc

regional objectives,

local needs,

legislative

requirements and

investor priorities.

State Local Land Services vision

Resilient communities in productive, healthy landscapes

Table 1: Goal-speciﬁc

Murray Local Land

Services objectives,

measures of success

and early priorities.

Detail deﬁned in

Column 2 Table 1

Detail deﬁned in

Column 3 Table 1

Detail deﬁned in

Column 4 Table 1

Detail deﬁned in

Column 1 Table 1

Goal 2

Biosecure, proﬁtable,

productive and

sustainable primary

industries

Goal 3

Healthy, diverse and

connected natural

environments

Goal 4

Board members

and staff who

are collaborative,

innovative and

commercially-focused

Goal 1

Resilient, self-reliant

and prepared local

communities

18 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Table 1: Murray Local Land Services objectives, early priorities

and measures of success against state goals 1 – 4

Goal 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared

communities

Goal 2: Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and

sustainable primary industries

Rationale

By actively engaging with our customers and stakeholders -

providing information, sharing knowledge, building capacity,

creating opportunities and encouraging participation of local

people in decision-making - Murray Local Land Services will help

communities to achieve resilience, self-reliance and preparedness.

By offering independent, scientiﬁcally sound advice and advisory

services for agricultural productivity, land capability, biosecurity

and livestock health services Murray Local Land Services will assist

primary producers to become and remain proﬁtable, productive

and sustainable land managers. Through our role in consent,

compliance and our management of Crown Lands and paddock

trees Murray Local Land Services will also contribute to the

sustainability of primary industries.

Regional objectives

(Numbers in brackets provide the link to strategies described in Appendix 1, for example S7 = Strategy 7. Against each strategy we

describe the actions we will take to achieve these objectives)

RO 1.1 Increase in Local Land Services engagement and support

for customers and stakeholders including information exchange,

capacity support, devolved planning and decision-making and

devolved project delivery. (S 1,4,5 & 10)

RO 1.2 Increase in employment outcomes for Aboriginal

Australians working on country (S7)

RO 1.3 Increase in community leaders, active within their

communities and engaging with Local Land Services (S5)

RO 1.4 Increase in engaged and empowered Aboriginal people

actively working on Country (S7)

RO 1.5 Increase in community prevention, preparedness,

response and recovery from natural disasters and emergency

events (S3)

RO 1.6 Increase in enduring partnerships with relevant

community organisations (S4)

RO 2.1 The majority of primary production enterprises are

operating proﬁtably and sustainably (S2 & S6)

RO 2.2 Increase in ground cover and improved soil condition in

priority areas (S2)

RO 2.3 Reduce impact of priority invasive animal and plant species

on primary production (S7)

RO 2.4 Increase in livestock productivity due to improved livestock

biosecurity management practices (S3)

RO 2.5 Increase in the number of land managers utilising science

based, best practice production systems (S1,2,4)

RO 2.6 Increase capability of land managers to prevent, prepare,

respond and recover from emergencies and natural disasters) (S3)

RO 2.7 Increase uptake of practices that support the adaption to

the impact of climate variability and long-term climate change

(S2,4)

Early regional goal speciﬁc priorities: 1-2 years

(Full lists of actions are found against the strategies in Appendix 1. This list identiﬁes early priorities)

P 1.1 Develop and implement a plan for monitoring, mapping

and supporting the capacity, resilience, motivations and

aspirations of customers and stakeholders such as landcare and

producer groups

P 1.2 Support increased sharing of knowledge and skills internally

and externally

P 1.3 Develop a framework for decision-making associated with

investment with groups for project delivery or group capacity

support

P 1.4 Increase MATG and LCAG functionality as clear pathways to

inﬂuence decision-making

P 1.5 Improve communications and engagement processes with

customers and stakeholders

P 1.6 Increase collaboration and devolution of decision-making

and delivery

P 1.7 Support education and awareness activities for the broader

community

P 1.8 Develop and conduct a stakeholder satisfaction survey

P 2.1 Deliver a regional animal advisory service and compliance

biosecurity program that addresses legislative requirements

particularly those associated with footrot, NLIS and saleyard

compliance

P 2.2 Deliver a regional pest advisory service and compliance

biosecurity program that addresses legislative requirements

particularly those addressing wild dogs, rabbits, feral pigs and

locusts

P 2.3 Develop and implement a regional plant biosecurity

operational plan

P 2.4 Deliver a program to decrease the effect of emergency

biosecurity events (plants and animals) and natural disasters (e.g.

animal welfare in ﬂood and ﬁre) on regional primary production

P 2.5 Develop and deliver discretionary group pests and animal

health biosecurity programs including those addressing fox control,

ovine Brucellosis and ovine Johnes disease

P 2.6 Support a coordinated approach to weeds and implement

key recommendations from the NSW Weeds Review including

forming a Regional Weed Advisory Committee

P 2.7 Support land manager adaptations to climate variability

through application and extension of locally-speciﬁc modelling

scenarios and local monitoring and groundtruthing

P 2.8 Support activities that promote land managed within capability

P 2.9 Deliver effective and relevant agricultural services that support

key regional industries (including dairy, dryland cropping, rice, sheep

and beef), and sound, evidence-based management of key natural

resources (e.g. soil and water) that are vital to primary production

P 2.10 Promote sustainable travelling stock reserve grazing

opportunities

Murray Local Strategic Plan 19

Goal 3: Healthy, diverse and connected

natural environments

Goal 4: Board members and staff who are

collaborative, innovative and commercially-focused

Rationale

By increasing the number of sustainable and compliant natural

resource management practices that promote biodiversity

conservation and ecosystem function, and by building and

sharing knowledge to support evidence-based adaptive

management, Murray Local Land Services will help land managers

to establish and maintain healthy, diverse and connected

environments.

To effectively support the attainment of Goals 1, 2 and 3,

Murray Local Land Services needs to be an organisation staffed

by innovative, commercially-focused and collaborative people.

Murray Local Land Services will support staff to become and

remain highly skilled and motivated, with a strong customer and

stakeholder focus, and committed to an organisational culture

based on core values.

Regional objectives

(Numbers in brackets provide the link to strategies described in Table 2, for example S7 = strategy 7. Against each strategy we describe the actions

we will take to achieve these objectives)

RO 3.1 Increase in the knowledge, skills and capacity of land

managers to improve the extent, condition and connectivity of

native ecosystems (S1, 2,4,6)

RO 3.2 Increase in land managers, community groups and key

stakeholders actively engaged in local decision-making and

partnerships to achieve sustainable natural resource management

(S4, 5,7)

RO 3.3 Increase in priority landscapes, aquatic ecosystems and

habitat corridors being managed, including TSR’s (S4, 9)

RO 3.4 Reduction in key threats to biodiversity in priority areas

(S1,2,4)

RO 3.5 Increase in communities’ connection to their environment

and action to improve local environments (S1, 2,7,11)

RO 3.6 State, regional and local priorities in NRM are addressed

(S4,6,9)

RO 3.7 Increase in research directly addressing regional issues and

contributing to adaptive management (S2,6)

RO 4.1 An embedded values-based service culture responsive to

client, customer and community needs and based on core values

(S 10,11)

RO 4.2 Increase in staff and customer satisfaction and wellbeing

(S10,11,12)

RO 4.3 Increase in governance standards including a commitment

to review, adaptation and accountability (S12)

RO 4.4 Clear evidence-based decision-making frameworks (S6,12)

RO 4.5 Improved business systems improved to support delivery

and reporting (S12)

RO 4.6 Skilled, experienced and motivated staff (S10)

RO 4.7 Increase in internal and external relationships and

collaboration that add value for stakeholders and customers

(S4,11)

RO 4.8 Increase in external funds sourced to the region (S7,12)

RO 4.9 Increase in customer, stakeholder and staff feedback

being sought and addressed (S10,11)

Early regional goal speciﬁc priorities: 1-2 years

(Full lists of actions are found against the strategies in Table 2. This list identiﬁes early priorities)

In partnership with key stakeholders and communities,

including Aboriginal communities:

P 3.1 Deliver and adapt social-ecological systems projects in the

Upper Murray, Billabong-Yanco and Edward-Wakool areas

P 3.2 Deliver projects that improve landscape scale native

vegetation connectivity and wetland enhancement in priority

areas

P 3.3 Deliver projects to support threatened species and

communities’ including small bodied native ﬁsh, squirrel gliders,

endangered orchids, bush stone curlews and endangered

ecological communities

P 3.4 Deliver programs to reduce the impacts of key threats to

the conservation estate including the Central Murray Forests

P 3.5 Further integrate program delivery with biosecurity

services to achieve coordinated approaches to natural resource

management, biosecurity, pest plant and animal control

P 3.6 Complete travelling stock reserve valuation and asset review

P 3.7 Develop a clear and adaptable travelling stock reserve

management plan that incorporates economic, environmental,

social and cultural values

P 3.8 Further develop prioritisation frameworks and decision-

support tools to guide investment and delivery mechanisms

P 4.1 Develop theme plans for each area of Murray Local Land

Services business

P 4.2 Implement a plan to drive integration and develop a values-

based regional culture

P 4.3 Develop processes to ensure organisational standards and

legislative requirements are met

P 4.4 Address next level planning and create a clear alignment

between all levels of the planning framework

P 4.5 Establish systems for accountability, appropriate to all

levels of internal and external utilisation, monitoring, review and

reporting

P 4.6 Understand and address risk across the business and in co-

delivery and devolution of funds to stakeholders and customers

P 4.7 Prioritise workplace health and safety

P 4.8 Explore opportunities to increase resources into the region

P 4.9 Develop the leadership, management, communication and

engagement skills of our people

P 4.10 Continue to pursue integration across all aspects of our

business

P 4.11 Contribute to, adapt and improve as a result of audits,

reviews and lessons learned processes

P 4.12 Continue to support and review monitoring programs

and research that build our adaptive management and decision-

making capacity across all of our business

20 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Goal 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared

communities

Goal 2: Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and

sustainable primary industries

How will we know the expected outcomes will be achieved?

• Information and service delivery is aligned with our

customers’ needs and expectations

• Customer adaptive capacity increases

• The capacity of customer groups increases

• Our customers are using the knowledge and information we

offer

• Our customers return for more information, knowledge and

services

• Our customers seek an expanded range of information,

knowledge and services

• Murray Local Land Services is a partner/collaborator of choice

in projects addressing capacity needs related to community

resilience, biosecurity, sustainable agriculture and natural

resource management

• Stakeholders promote the beneﬁts of working with Murray

Local Land Services to their members

• The impact of priority pests and weeds on primary

production has reduced

• Improved community capacity and early warning systems for

biosecurity risks and natural disasters result in fewer, well-

managed incursions and more localised biosecurity impacts,

and smaller natural disaster impacts

• The diversity, productivity and proﬁtability of agricultural

industries in the Murray region has increased

• Primary producers throughout the region have a sense of

wellbeing supported by a sustainable farm business

Early indicators::

To provide an early measure of regional success against objectives

2-5 years

• Access and use of information

• Participation rates across all channels of communication and

engagement

• Use of advisory services and other opportunities offered

• Number of partnerships and devolved grants

• Customer and stakeholder satisfaction

• Customer awareness of services

• Emergency response practices implemented

• Stakeholder and customer participation in decision-making

• Participation rates across all channels of communication and

engagement

• Participation in the training, extension, devolved grants and

other opportunities provided

• Number of partnerships and devolved grants

• Area of devolved grants

• Customer and stakeholder satisfaction

• Customer awareness of services

• Staff capacity to implement biosecurity response

• Participation in collaborative ventures to address biosecurity

• Biosecurity response practices implemented

• Area of impact of biosecurity events

Longer term indicators::

To provide a long-term measure of regional success

Greater than 5 years

• Community wellbeing and health

• Community and individual capacity

• Customer group capacity

• Aboriginal sharing of traditional knowledge

• Aboriginal employment in caring for and working on country

• Demand for emergency services

• Adoption of recommended practices

• Ground cover percentages

• Soil condition attributes

• Farm diversity, proﬁtability and productivity

• Biosecurity response efﬁciency and effectiveness

• Area of impact of biosecurity events

• Customer capacity and knowledge

Murray Local Strategic Plan 21

Goal 3: Healthy, diverse and connected

natural environments

Goal 4: Board members and staff who are

collaborative, innovative and commercially-focused

How will we know the expected outcomes will be achieved?

• The extent of native terrestrial and aquatic habitat under

active management in the region has increased

• The condition of native terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in

priority areas across the region has improved

• Connectivity of native terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

across multiple tenures in priority areas across the region has

increased

• The abundance of selected threatened and iconic species in

priority areas of the region has been maintained or increased

• The impact of key threats to biodiversity in priority areas of

the region has reduced

• Community understanding, appreciation and interaction

with the natural environment has increased

• Murray Local Land Services is a workplace of choice

• Decision-making has a strong evidence base behind it

• Clear processes and guidelines are in place for board and

staff.

• Innovative systems and services are acknowledged by

customers, stakeholders and investors

• Learning is an integral part of Murray Local Land Services

• Murray Local Land Services has a reputation for being an

organisation that collaborates and shares knowledge with

other regions and organisations, across multiple institutional

scales.

• Data is captured and easily accessed

• Organisational culture is based on core values including

accountability and transparency

• Processes are in place to drive integrated service delivery

Early indicators::

To provide an early measure of regional success against objectives

2-5 years

• Area of on-ground activity – wetlands enhanced; terrestrial

vegetation, riparian corridors, aquatic systems

• Number of conservation/management agreements

• Access and use of information by key collaborators

• Participation in training, extension, devolved grants and

other opportunities provided

• Number of clearing applications/notiﬁcations and area of

clearing

• Staff capacity to engage community

• Staff satisfaction

• Realistic workloads

• Clear responsibilities

• Training opportunities provided

• Staff routinely engage in “upselling” of Murray Local Land

Services services

• Robust, fully functional MERI frameworks are implemented

routinely

• Business systems meet the needs of the organisation

• Staff understand roles and alignment with organisational

and state goals

• WH&S compliance and zero harm

Longer term indicators::

To provide a long-term measure of regional success

Greater than 5 years

• Native vegetation extent, condition and connectivity

• Wetland condition

• Riparian and stream condition

• Trends in breeding success and abundance of threatened and

iconic native species/ communities

• Adoption of recommended practices

• Community and individual environmental appreciation,

awareness, understanding, capacity and attitude

• Stable workforce (reduced turnover of staff)

• Investors, customers and stakeholders trust and value Murray

Local Land Services staff, advice and services

• Successful audits

• Staff and board capacity

• Increased external funding sourced

• Increased levels of cross-region collaboration and stakeholder

collaboration

22 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Implementation

An effective implementation of the State

Strategic Plan will require consistent

internal alignment and a robust approach

to performance monitoring, evaluating and

reporting.

To help with this a set of investment

principles have been developed. The

application of the investment principles

will be informed by e.g. climate, ﬁscal,

organisational and policy outlooks that may

change from year to year (Figure 8).

Investment principles

Evidence-based – The processes we use

in planning will be evidence-based, fair and

inclusive.

Localism – We will encourage community

ownership, provide support, engage with and

enable local communities to manage local

landscapes in an integrated way.

Investor conﬁdence – We will demonstrate

to investors and other stakeholders that

investment choices represent value for money,

are outcomes driven, manage risk appropriately, and incorporate triple bottom line accounting.

Learning and adapting – The decisions we make, and how we make them, will be informed by a rigorous learning

process that improves peoples’ ability to respond to change, and fosters creativity.

Integrated planning and service delivery – We will seek to implement multi-functional planning and delivery –

projects managed by cross-functional teams, planned and delivered through collaboration and partnerships operating

at appropriate scales. Strong partnerships and collaboration between neighbouring regions and Government agencies,

including those in Victoria, will ensure a coordinated approach and optimise synergies in program delivery and landscape

management.

Systems approach – A systems approach will enable us to investigate and better understand the complex social,

economic and ecological problems we must address, and the interactions that result from the land management decisions

and actions we take at varying scales.

Leadership – Murray Local Land Services will promote leadership and lead by example – employing good governance,

applying identiﬁed operational standards and inspiring excellence and innovation in our relationships, planning and

delivery.

Values consistency – The decisions we make will be consistent with our core values – Accountability, Collaboration,

Innovation, Integrity, Performance, Service, Trust.

Customer service – High quality customer service will be an integral element of our decision making.

Risk management – We will consider risk and respond appropriately to optimise the potential positive outcomes while

minimising the potential negative outcomes.

Figure 8: Principles to guide investment

Climate

outlooks

Policy

outlooks

Investor

preferences

Resource

outlooks

Values

consistency

Localism

Leadership

Evidence-based

Integrated planning

systems and service

delivery

Investor

conﬁdence

Customer

service

Learning and

adapting

Systems

approach

Murray Local Strategic Plan 23

Planning framework

The State Strategic Plan is designed to guide local strategic plans, which in turn guide operational/business plans and

then personal workplans. The personal workplans align with and contribute to results outlined in each of the planning

documents. This provides internal alignment and focus and a single line of sight from day-to-day delivery to strategy

(Figure 9).

The State Strategic Plan exists as part of an overall framework that links NSW, Australian and Local Government plans and

initiatives through all levels of its operations.

The Murray Local Strategic Plan is built on a solid foundation of legislation, scientiﬁc and community knowledge, plans,

policies and strategies (see Appendix 2). Information from a broad suite of documents has been synthesised and prioritised

into a succinct summary of the broad strategies and delivery approaches that Murray Local Land Services is committed to

achieving over the next 5 years.

Higher order documents informing the Murray Local Strategic Plan include the Local Land Services State Strategic Plan,

Premier’s Priorities and State Priorities, the Native Vegetation Act (2003), the Local Land Services Act (2013), the NRC

Performance Standard for Local Land Services, the NSW Biosecurity Strategy, the NSW State Emergency Plan, and the

IPART Review of Local Land Services (2013).

Regional documents include plans such as the Murray Catchment Action Plan (developed as a whole-of-community

document based on extensive consultation with customers and key stakeholders), the Murray Local Land Services

Communications Strategy, the Murray Biodiversity Management Plan, the Murray Adaptation Strategy, and the Murray

Regional Weed Strategy. See Legislation and guiding inﬂuences on page 28.

The Murray Local Strategic Plan is supported by a range of other operational plans and strategies including:

Theme plans that align the programs and projects with State goals, and allow for seamless integration across the

business. Theme plans will link individual and project plans to multiple strategic objectives and goals. They will enable

‘cross-them’ analysis of programs to occur.

A three-year business plan that delivers an integrated plan and delivery model deﬁning program and project

objectives. A key element of the business plan is an investment framework that supports evidence-based decision-

making.

Annual investment plans will provide speciﬁc details on annual budget allocations and activities.

Personal workplans that identify staff activities that will deliver on annual investment plans.

Local integration will occur at a range of scales and will include, where relevant, plans for operating and delivery in

sub-regional geographic areas.

An adaptation strategy that will guide monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement in all aspects of our

business and performance.

A communications strategy that will guide communication internally and externally.

24 Murray Local Strategic Plan

The Murray Local Strategic Plan provides the foundation for the development of subsidiary regional planning.

As new information and evidence becomes available, we will incorporate it into our strategic planning, ensuring that the

Murray Local Strategic Plan is truly adaptive. The strategic plan will undergo a major review in 2020.

Figure 9: Overview of planning framework. Adapted from the State Strategic Plan.

State Strategic Plan

STRATEGY 1: Provide data, information and knowledge that supports and enables land

managers and customers to improve decision making.

Description:

The objective of this strategy is to support

and enable customers to make improved

decisions in relation to biosecurity, agricultural

production, natural resource management

and emergency management.

Examples of the products and services include

one on one customer interactions over the

counter or in the ﬁ eld, group activities,

IT products, social media, data sharing,

publications or events, with services designed

to add value to land managers.

These services are available to all Local Land

Services customers and will be tailored to

meet local needs, addressing the particular

issues, risks or opportunities that are relevant

to that landscape, industry or community.

Lead Indicator:

Customer access to

data, information and

knowledge products

and services.

Lag Indicators:

Customer satisfaction –

data, information and

knowledge products

and services.

Customer capacity –

data information and

products capacity, use

in decisions and triple

bottom line impact.

GOAL 1:

Resilient, self-

reliant and

prepared local

communities

GOAL 2:

Biosecure,

proﬁ table,

productive and

sustainable

primary industries

GOAL 3:

Healthy, diverse,

connected

natural

environments

GOAL 4:

Innovative,

commercially

focused and

collaborative

people

STRATEGY 1: Provide data, information and knowledge

that supports and enables land managers and customers to

improve decision making.

STRATEGY 10:

Develop engaged

and accountable

people with a

strong customer

and stakeholder

focus.

STRATEGY 2: Provide products and advisory services that

support and enable customers to implement improved

practices.

STRATEGY 3: Provide products and services that support

and enable customers, land managers and the community to

prevent, prepare, respond and recover from biosecurity and

natural disaster events.

STRATEGY 4: Collaborate with investors, stakeholders and

external organisations to deliver improved products and

services to customers.

STRATEGY 11:

Foster a values-

based culture

which emphasises

collaboration,

innovation

and continual

improvement.

STRATEGY 5: Ensure local people participate in decision

making.

STRATEGY 6: Connect research and development with

extension to address priority data, information and knowledge

gaps and barriers to improved practice.

STRATEGY 7: Deliver services that support Aboriginal people

to care for country and share traditional land management

knowledge.

STRATEGY 12:

Ensure a safe,

efﬁ cient, effective

and sustainable

organisation.

STRATEGY 8: Deliver consent and compliance services that

educate and protect communities and industries.

STRATEGY 9: Manage Crown land vested in Local Land

Services for environmental, social, and economic outcomes.

Goals and Strategies

Strategies and Performance Indicators

Vision Resilient communities in productive, healthy landscapes

Mission To be a customer focussed business that enables improved primary

production and better management of natural resources

Values Accountability, Collaboration, Innovation, Integrity, Performance,

Service, Trust

Local Strategic Plan

Vision Resilient communities in productive, healthy landscapes

Mission To be a customer focussed business that enables improved primary production and better management of natural resources

Values Accountability, Collaboration, Innovation, Integrity, Performance, Service, Trust

Goal 2 Productive, biosecure and sustainable primary industries operating in resilient landscapes.

Objective Land managers are implementing practices that build productive agricultural enterprises, biosecure primary industries and resilient landscapes.

Strategies LM1: Support land managers and stakeholders to manage threats to improve biodiversity outcomes.

LM2: Support land managers and stakeholders to improve management of terrestrial and aquatic environments for ecological and agricultural outcomes.

LM3: Support land managers to implement practices that increase enterprise productivity and sustainability.

LM4: Deliver consent, compliance and enforcement activities that educate and protect Western communities and industries from biosecurity risks.

LM5: Support land managers and stakeholder groups to identify, contain and manage pest, disease and weed risks to reduce impacts on landscapes and agriculture.

LM6: Support primary industries to maintain the integrity and traceability of plant and animal product to ensure containment of risks and market security of

agricultural enterprises in the Western Region.

LM7: Care for, control and manage Crown Land vested in Local Land Services Western Region for environment, social and economic outcomes.

Key

Performance

Indicators

(To be achieved

by 2020)

Biodiversity

• An increase in the area of land being managed to maintain or improve native vegetation composition and structure in optimal condition for improving

biodiversity.

Productivity and sustainability

• An increase in the area of land being managed to maintain protective groundcover above 50%.

• An increase in the capacity of land managers to increase enterprise productivity and sustainability.

#2, #10

• An increase in the level of regional collaboration on programs aimed at improving the management of aquatic environments.

Actions

Actions that support the achievement of these strategies can be found in Appendix 1

Business plans

STRATEGY 1: Provide data, information and knowledge that supports and enables land

managers and customers to improve decision making.

GOAL 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared local communities

GOAL 2: Biosecure, proﬁ table, productive and sustainable primary industries

GOAL 3: Healthy, diverse, connected natural environments

GOAL 4: Innovative, commercially

focused and collaborative people

STRATEGY 1: Provide data, information and knowledge

that supports and enables land managers and customers to

improve decision making.

STRATEGY 10:

Develop engaged

and accountable

people with a

strong customer

and stakeholder

focus.

STRATEGY 2: Provide products and advisory services that

support and enable customers to implement improved

practices.

STRATEGY 3: Provide products and services that support

and enable customers, land managers and the community to

prevent, prepare, respond and recover from biosecurity and

natural disaster events.

STRATEGY 4: Collaborate with investors, stakeholders and

external organisations to deliver improved products and

services to customers.

STRATEGY 11:

Foster a values-

based culture

which emphasises

collaboration,

innovation

and continual

improvement.

STRATEGY 5: Ensure local people participate in decision

making.

STRATEGY 6: Connect research and development with

extension to address priority data, information and knowledge

gaps and barriers to improved practice.

STRATEGY 7: Deliver services that support Aboriginal people

to care for country and share traditional land management

knowledge.

STRATEGY 12:

Ensure a safe,

efﬁ cient, effective

and sustainable

organisation.

STRATEGY 8: Deliver consent and compliance services that

educate and protect communities and industries.

STRATEGY 9: Manage Crown land vested in Local Land

Services for environmental, social, and economic outcomes.

Goals and Strategies

Strategies and Performance Indicators

Vision Resilient communities in productive, healthy landscapes

Mission To be a customer focussed business that enables improved primary

production and better management of natural resources

Values Accountability, Collaboration, Innovation, Integrity, Performance,

Service, Trust

Personal workplans

STRATEGY 1: Provide data, information and knowledge that supports and enables land

managers and customers to improve decision making.

Description:

The objective of this strategy is to support

and enable customers to make improved

decisions in relation to biosecurity, agricultural

production, natural resource management

and emergency management.

Examples of the products and services include

one on one customer interactions over the

counter or in the ﬁ eld, group activities,

IT products, social media, data sharing,

publications or events, with services designed

to add value to land managers.

These services are available to all Local Land

Services customers and will be tailored to

meet local needs, addressing the particular

issues, risks or opportunities that are relevant

to that landscape, industry or community.

Lead Indicator:

Customer access to

data, information and

knowledge products

and services.

Lag Indicators:

Customer satisfaction –

data, information and

knowledge products

and services.

Customer capacity –

data information and

products capacity, use

in decisions and triple

bottom line impact.

GOAL 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared local communities

GOAL 2: Biosecure, proﬁ table, productive and sustainable primary industries

GOAL 3: Healthy, diverse, connected natural environments

GOAL 4: Innovative, commercially focused and collaborative people

STRATEGY 1: Provide data, information and knowledge

that supports and enables land managers and customers to

improve decision making.

STRATEGY 10:

Develop engaged

and accountable

people with a

strong customer

and stakeholder

focus.

STRATEGY 2: Provide products and advisory services that

support and enable customers to implement improved

practices.

STRATEGY 3: Provide products and services that support

and enable customers, land managers and the community to

prevent, prepare, respond and recover from biosecurity and

natural disaster events.

STRATEGY 4: Collaborate with investors, stakeholders and

external organisations to deliver improved products and

services to customers.

STRATEGY 11:

Foster a values-

based culture

which emphasises

collaboration,

innovation

and continual

improvement.

STRATEGY 5: Ensure local people participate in decision

making.

STRATEGY 6: Connect research and development with

extension to address priority data, information and knowledge

gaps and barriers to improved practice.

Goals and Strategies

Strategies and Performance Indicators

Vision Resilient communities in productive, healthy landscapes

Legislation and

guiding documents

Murray Local Strategic Plan 25

Measuring success

Local Land Services has a responsibility to demonstrate to its customers, investors and stakeholders that its strategies

are sound and effective. All strategies, programs and systems will be required to monitor, evaluate and report on

performance.

Measuring and reporting on progress against key performance indicators is particularly important, as are practices that

promote reﬂection and learning to inform decision making.

Local Land Services uses the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Improvement framework for assessing the state and

trend of asset conditions and allows a comparison of results against planned immediate, intermediate and long-term

outcomes. This enables a systematic and objective assessment of the appropriateness, effectiveness and efﬁciency of

policies, projects and programs.

The data collected and the results of evaluations are necessary tools for Local Land Service to make informed decisions

about our priorities and investment decisions. The data and information collected will be integrated into statewide data

sets wherever possible; will be fully accessible through open government; and will contribute to whole-of-NSW reporting

on the state and trend of asset conditions.

Local Land Services is working with the Natural Resource Commission to develop a method of performance evaluation

that drives a consistent approach across and between regions. It will rely on a consistent set of metrics to guide internal

business performance, direction setting, adaptation and meet multiple investor needs, and promote innovative and

commercially-driven transformation over time.

Key components of the framework include:

1. a core set of state-wide key performance indicators, metrics and outcome statements

2. a performance evaluation framework, including indicative tools, systems and practices

3. an overview of opportunities to innovate and transform over time

4. a roadmap to implement the framework

Local Land Services will be reporting publicly on progress against this performance framework, which will be in place by

1 July 2016. Public reporting is in line with legislative requirements under the Local Land Services Act 2013.

In addition to the statewide key performance indicators, Murray Local Land Services has identiﬁed a suite of measures to

assess its performance in working towards regional objectives. These measures align with Local Land Services goals but are

set to our regional context (see Table 1).

We have identiﬁed early indicators, selected to predict short-term (2-5 years) measures of success in addressing our

regional objectives, and longer term indicators selected to conﬁrm longer-term (5+ years) measures of success in meeting

our regional objectives. Early indicators are more likely to focus on activities and outputs, while longer term indicators will

focus on outcomes.

As we progressively integrate program delivery, further prioritisation and more reﬁned scoping of targets and timelines,

and appropriate measures of success based on comparative change will be undertaken. At the operational level, key

success measures will be embedded in MERI plans of relevant projects.

26 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Learning and development

Murray Local Land Services fosters adaptive management and continual improvement across the organisation. In its

simplest form, adaptive management is about a three step continuous improvement cycle: ‘plan–do-learn’.

This is achieved through strategic planning, implementation and knowledge management and then adapting plans based

on key learnings. Each step in the adaptive management cycle is linked, to ensure continuous improvement over time.

A triple loop learning approach is applied to evaluate for adaptive management and drive continuous improvement at

different scales of planning:

• annual plans,

• business implementation plans,

• strategic plans, and

• governance.

Each loop entails progressing to more speciﬁc levels of questioning.

The ﬁrst loop of evaluation and learning occurs frequently, at least annually, and involves regular monitoring, auditing,

evaluating and reporting of actions. This level of learning leads to incremental changes in projects and actions.

The second loop of learning focuses on challenging, and potentially reframing, strategies and objectives, as well as

examining evidence and assumptions that underpin our strategic approaches, regional objectives and the projects that

underpin them.

The third loop of evaluation and learning focuses on challenging, and potentially transforming governance arrangements,

value systems, vision and mission, and other high level processes. This level of learning can lead to changes in our direction

and goals (e.g. transforming our business to accommodate climate change adaptation needs).

While learning at the second and third loops typically occurs at longer intervals than at ﬁrst loop, learning at all levels will

occur when the need arises.

This approach allows us to review our efforts on a number of scales by asking key questions and making decisions using

best available evidence at each point.

This approach will result in Local Land Services continually improving the way in which it delivers services to its customers,

stakeholders and investors.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 27

Figure 10: Triple loop learning applied to the Local Land Services planning framework (adapted from Murray Catchment

Action Plan 2013).

Vision and mission

Values and goals

Strategies

Regional outcomes

Programs

Projects

Activities

3. Learning for transformation

Changes in governance and values

• Do we have the right value systems/processes in

place to achieve our vision and goals?

• Are our governance structures appropriate?

2. Learning for re-framing

Changes in strategies, targets and underlying

assumptions

• Are we asking the right questions?

• Are our strategies and desired outcomes

appropriate?

• Are our assumptions sound?

1.Learning for incremental change

Improvements in project design and practices

• Are we achieving the desired outcomes?

• Are we doing things appropriately?

• Are there ways to do things more effectively/

efﬁ ciently?

10 years

State Strategic Plan

5 years

Local strategic plans

1-3 years

Business plans

Adaptive

management

Adaptive

governance

28 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Legislation and guiding inﬂuences

The State Strategic Plan exists as part of an overall framework that seeks to link a range of NSW, Australian and Local

Government plans and initiatives through all levels of its operations.

As a NSW Government entity, Local Land Services is responsible for contributing to the NSW Premier’s and State Priorities

as well as other plans such as the Agricultural Industry Action Plan, the NSW Biosecurity Strategy and the OCHRE:

Aboriginal Affairs Plan. Local Land Services also contributes to the strategic objectives and outcomes of the Australian

Governments National Landcare Programme.

In addition, a range of NSW and Australian Government legislation, policies and plans have inﬂuenced the development of

the State Strategic Plan. When combined, these plans, policies and strategies lay out the overarching goals for NSW and

Australia.

The actions that contribute to these overarching goals are appropriately reﬂected at state and local level in the state and

local strategic plans and their goals, strategies, objectives, actions and key performance indicators.

Appendix 2 provides the evidence base derived from these foundational documents.

National

Agricultural Competitiveness White

Paper 2015

Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation

Strategy 2010-2030

Australian Weeds Strategy 2007

Close the Gap 2014

Environmental Protection and

Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

International agreements such as:

China-Australia Migratory Bird

Agreement

Japan-Australia Migratory Bird

Agreement

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Republic of Korea-Australia

Migratory Bird Agreement

National Landcare Programme

National Plant Biosecurity Strategy

2010

Quarantine Act 1908

Water Act 2007

State

NSW making it happen: Premier’s

Priorities and State Priorities

Portfolio commitments and priorities

Local Land Services Act 2013

Local Land Services Regulation 2014

Local Land Services State Strategic Plan

Biosecurity Act 2015

Environmental Planning and

Assessment Act 1979

Government Sector Employment Act

2013

Native Vegetation Act 2003

Noxious Weeds Act 1993

Threatened Species Conservation Act

1995

Water Management Act 2000

Agricultural Industry Action Plan 2014

Catchment Action Plans

Department of Planning &

Environment Regional Plans

NSW Animal Biosecurity and Welfare

Strategic Plan 2013-15

NSW Biosecurity Strategy 2013-2021

NSW Invasive Species Plan 2008-2015

NSW State Emergency Management

Plan 2012

NSW State of the Environment 2012

NSW Wetland Policy 2010

NSW Wild Dog Strategy 2012-2015

Ochre Strategy 2013

Performance Standard for Local

Land Services—Natural Resources

Commission 2015

State Agriculture and Animal Services

Functional Area Supporting Plan 2011

Regional

Environmental planning instruments

Local Government Community

Strategic Plans 2012-2030 (x14)

Murray Catchment Action Plan 2013-

2023

Murray Customer Research Report

2014

Murray Murrumbidgee Regional Plan

(once approved)

Murray Regional Weed Strategy 2008

NSW Murray Biodiversity Management

Plan 2012

NSW Climate Impact Proﬁle 2010

Water sharing plans:

Lower Murray Groundwater

Lower Murray Shallow

Groundwater

Murray Unregulated and Alluvial

Murrumbidgee Regulated River

Murrumbidgee Unregulated and

Alluvial

NSW Murray-Darling Basin

Fractured Rock Groundwater

NSW Murray-Darling Basin Porous

Rock Groundwater

NSW Murray and Lower Darling

Regulated Rivers

Upper Billabong

Regional stakeholders

Customers and community

Murray Aboriginal Technical Group

Local Community Advisory Group

Local Government

Landcare and producer groups

Agencies

Project steering committees

Murray Local Strategic Plan 29

Glossary

Aboriginal cultural heritage: Aboriginal cultural heritage consists of places and items that are of signiﬁcance to

Aboriginal people because of their traditions, observances, lore, customs, beliefs and history. It provides evidence of the

lives and existence of Aboriginal people before European settlement through to the present. Aboriginal cultural heritage is

dynamic and may comprise physical (tangible) or non-physical (intangible) elements.

Adaptive capacity: For the purposes of this strategy this term refers to community or land manager capacity to learn

from mistakes, generate experience of dealing with change, and learn to manage land and water resources more

sustainably (Jacobs 2013).

Adaptive management: A management approach based on the science of learning by doing. It involves testing the

response of a system then applying this understanding to improve future decisions (Walters & Holling 1990).

Biosecurity: Means the protection of the economy, environment and community from the negative impact of pests,

diseases and weeds.

Collaboration: Working together to develop an understanding of all issues and interests to work out alternatives and

identify preferred solutions for joint decision making.

Community wellbeing: Wellbeing is related to concepts such as ‘quality of life’ (Vernon et al. 2009) and has been

described as the stable state of being well, feeling satisﬁed and contented (Australian Unity 2012). Wellbeing is linked to

personal and community health, social justice, security, interpersonal relationships, social networks and connectedness,

education, housing and health of the surrounding environment (Vernon et al. 2009).

Country: A term that Aboriginal people use to describe the lands which they have a traditional attachment or relationship

to. Caring for Country is based in the laws, customs and ways of life that Aboriginal people have inherited from their

ancestors and ancestral beings (Weir et al. 2011).

Continuous improvement: Ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes.

Current recommended practices: The best management practices at a particular time, recognising that what is

considered ‘the best’ will change over time as new knowledge, technology and information becomes available.

Customer: Any land manager within the state or region, irrespective of whether they are private or public land managers,

ratepayers or non-ratepayers.

Customer service: Local Land Services exists to create value for its stakeholders and customers. A key component of our

strategy is an increased focus on customer services and a preparedness to measure performance and customer satisfaction.

Corridor: A landscape element that connects two or more areas of habitat.

Early indicator: Predictive indicators that focus on short-term performance drivers and inputs/activities. They are expected

to ‘lead to’ an outcome (Lee et al. 2013; Seath 2009).

Ecosystem: A community of organisms that interact with each other, and with their physical environment (Groom et al.

2006, p.473).

Key drivers: A small number of external forces or conditions that cause a system to change (Walker & Salt 2006). Critical

success factors can be seen as key drivers that cause a system (or business) to change in a positive or desirable way

(Leidecker & Bruno 1984).

Governance: The interactions among structures, processes and traditions that determine how power and responsibilities are

exercised, how decisions are taken, and how citizens and other stakeholders have their say (Lockwood et al. 2010, p 987).

Ground cover: Vegetation below the shrub layer that covers and binds the soil surface.

Habitat: A place suitable for survival and/or reproduction of a particular plant or animal.

Implementation Timelines:

Short term: an activity that will be completed in the ﬁrst 2 years

Medium term: an action that will be completed within 2-5 years

Long term: an action that we expect to continue for the life of the plan and beyond.

30 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Investor: Those organisations and individuals that invest in Local land Services and leverage outcomes from this

investment.

Key Performance Indicators: Quantiﬁable measurements that reﬂect the organisation’s goals, and are for long-term

consideration (Reh nd)

Landscapes: For the purpose of this publication, the term landscapes refers to any section of land or coast and its natural

features, including rivers and other water bodies.

Longer term indicator: Retrospective indicators that focus on longer-term outcomes following interventions (Lee et al

2013; Seath 2009). Changes in long term indicators may result from aggregate changes in multiple early indicators (Seath

2009).

Resilience: The capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and still retain and develop its basic structure and function

(Chapin et al. 2009, p. 9; Walker & Salt 2006, p.xiii).

Sustainability: Management and practices that create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can

exist in productive harmony, and that permit fulﬁlling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future

generations.

Stakeholder: Organisations that collaborate and partner with Local Land Services to support customer service delivery.

Theme plans: Internal plans that will link individual and project plans to multiple strategic objectives and goals. They will

also enable ‘cross-theme’ analysis of projects that occur.

Travelling stock reserve means:

• any route or camping place reserved for travelling stock route or camping place under the Crown Lands Act 1989

• any reserve for travelling stock, water reserve, reserve for access or crossing (where the reserve is for the purpose

of providing travelling stock with access to or a crossing of water, whether expressly notiﬁed for that purpose or

not), or

• any stock watering place.

Triple bottom line: Refers to the pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice for sustainability

(Mitchell et al. 2012, p.1048). In the context of government policies and programs, triple bottom line considers the

economic, social (including cultural) and environmental outcomes and impacts.

Triple loop learning: A multi-layered approach to monitoring, evaluation, learning and reﬁning that underpins adaptive

management and adaptive governance (Pahl-Wostl 2009; Peschl 2007).

List of Abbreviations

Av Average

CMA Catchment Management Authority

COAG Council of Australian Governments

DPI NSW Department of Primary Industries

Ha hectares

KPIs Key performance indicators

LCAG Local Community Advisory Group

LHPA Livestock Health & Pest Authority

Local Land Services Local Land Services

LSP Local Strategic Plan

MATG Murray Aboriginal Technical Group

MBMP Murray Biodiversity Management Plan

MERI Monitoring, evaluation, reporting and

improvement

MOU Memorandum of understanding

NRC Natural Resources Commission

NRM Natural resource management

NLIS National Livestock Identiﬁcation Scheme

PHA Plant Health Australia

R&D Research and development

RD&AS Research, development and advisory services

TSR Travelling stock reserve

WH&S Workplace health and safety

Murray Local Strategic Plan 31

References

Australian Unity 2012, What is ‘wellbeing’ and how does the index measure it?, www.australianunitycorporate.com.au/

Community/auwi/Pages/whatiswellbeing.aspx.

Chapin, FS, Koﬁnas, GP & Folke, C 2009, ‘Principles of ecosystem stewardship: Resilience-based natural resource

management in a changing world’, Springer, New York.

Groom, MJ, Meffe, GK & Carroll, CR 2006, Principles of conservation biology, rev. 3rd, Sinauer Associates Inc.,

Massachusetts, USA, p. 779.

Jacobs, B 2013, Natural resource manager capacity in the expanded Murray catchment, Institute for Sustainable Futures,

Sydney.

Lee, AV, Vargo, J & Seville, E 2013, ‘Developing a tool to measure and compare organizations’ resilience’, Natural Hazards

Review, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 29-41.

Leidecker, JK & Bruno, AV 1984, ‘Identifying and using critical success factors’, Long Range Planning, vol. 17, no. 1, pp.

23-32.

Local Land Services, 2015, State Strategic Plan 2015-2025, Local Land Services, Dubbo.

Lockwood, M, Davidson, J, Curtis, A, Stratford, E & Grifﬁth, R 2010, ‘Governance principles for natural resource

management’, Society & Natural Resources, vol. 23, no. 10, pp. 986-1001.

Mitchell, M, Curtis, A & Davidson, P 2012, ‘Can triple bottom line reporting become a cycle for “double loop” learning

and radical change?’, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 1048-68.

Murray Catchment Management Authority 2013, ‘Murray Catchment Action Plan 2013-2023’, Murray Catchment

Management Authority, Deniliquin.

Pahl-Wostl, C 2009, ‘A conceptual framework for analysing adaptive capacity and multi-level learning processes in

resource governance regimes’, Global Environmental Change, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 354-65.

Peschl, MF 2007, ‘Triple-loop learning as foundation for profound change, individual cultivation, and radical innovation:

Construction processes beyond scientiﬁc and rational knowledge’, Constructivist Foundations, vol. 2, no. 2-3, pp. 136-45.

Reh, FJ nd, Key performance indicators (KPI), About.com, 2015, www.owfc.com.au/_edit/rto/Key_performance_indicators.pdf

Schirmer, J & Berry, HL 2014, People and place: The 2013 Regional Wellbeing Survey, University of Canberra, Canberra.

Seath, I 2009, ‘Lead vs. lag indicators’, www.ianjseath.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/lead-vs-lag-indicators/

Vernon, D, Thomason, R, Measham, TG, Cavaye, JM, Brown, PR, Nelson, R & Cummins, T 2009, A consultative process

for examining the links between natural resource management decisions, economic sustainability and social wellbeing in

the NSW catchment, Working Paper 3 in Target 12 Working Paper Series, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange,

NSW.

Walker, B & Salt, D 2006, Resilience thinking: Sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world, Island Press,

Washington, DC, p. 174.

Walters, CJ & Holling, CS 1990, ‘Large-scale management experiments and learning by doing’, Ecology, vol. 71, no. 6, pp.

2060-8.

Weir, J, Stacey, C & Youngetob, K 2011, The beneﬁts associated with caring for Country: Literature review, Australian

Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra.

32 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Appendices

Appendix 1 - Short, medium and long-term regional actions

against state strategies

Appendix 1 describes the 12 State Local Land Services strategies, regional actions responding to those strategies and the

state early and longer term indicators for measuring performance against the strategies.

Implementation Timelines for regional actions are coded as follows:

Short term: an activity that will be completed in the ﬁrst two years

Medium term: an action that will be completed within two - ﬁve years

Long term: an action that we expect to continue for the life of the plan and beyond.

Early indicators are predictive indicators that focus on short-term performance drivers and inputs/activities.

Longer term indicators are retrospective indicators that focus on longer-term outcomes following interventions. Changes

in lagging indicators may result from aggregate changes in multiple leading indicators.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 33

Goal 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared

communities

Goal 2: Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and

sustainable primary industries

Goal 3: Healthy, diverse and connected natural

environments

State strategy 1: Provide data, information and knowledge that supports and enables land managers, customers and government to improve decision making

State description:

This strategy delivers relevant information and

knowledge services to customers. The objective

is to support and enable customers to make

improved decisions in relation to biosecurity,

agricultural production, natural resource

management and emergency management.

Regional actions: (completion dates: S - short term, M- medium term, L- long term, see page 5)

A 1.1 Develop a communications and engagement strategy that clearly identiﬁes appropriate, fair

and equitable delivery methods and channels for addressing all facets of Murray LLS business. (S)

A 1.2 Develop a process that allows the identiﬁcation of customer and stakeholders’ priority

information and knowledge needs (S)

A 1.3 Support access to education and awareness programs that improve decisions in relation to

biosecurity, agricultural production, natural resource management and emergency management.

(SML)

A 1.4 Develop and implement a portfolio of programs and projects that address the priority

information and knowledge needs of customers in relation to community resilience, biosecurity,

sustainable primary industries and healthy natural environments. (M)

A 1.5 Provide information to customers and stakeholders in relevant, easy to understand and

accessible formats. (ML)

A 1.6 Identify priority information and knowledge needs of customer and stakeholders (ML)

State early

indicators:

Customer access to

data, information and

knowledge products

and services.

State longer term

indicators:

Customer satisfaction

- data, information

and knowledge

products and services.

Customer capacity -

data information and

products capacity, use

in decisions and triple

bottom line impact.

State strategy 2: Provide products and advisory services that support and enable customers to implement improved practices

State description:

This strategy delivers relevant advisory services to

groups of customers in priority primary production

industries or landscapes. The objective is to

support and enable customers in those industries

or landscapes to implement improved practices

to achieve targeted agricultural, biosecurity or

natural resource management outcomes.

Regional actions: (completion dates: S - short term, M- medium term, L- long term, see page 5)

A 2.1 Develop processes to capture and prioritise industry and natural resource management

issues in the region. (S)

A 2.2 Promote an understanding of the causes and potential impacts of climate change and

seasonal variability and potential mitigation and adaptation practices. (S)

A 2.3 Identify priority training and capacity needs of communities and customers. (S)

A 2.4 Deliver advisory services based on sound knowledge and recommended practices, and

explore and encourage diversiﬁcation, innovation and the use of changed behaviours and

practices to achieve positive outcomes for land manager resilience, biosecurity, sustainable

primary industries and healthy natural environments. (SML)

A 2.5 Support access to training and capacity building programs. (M)

A 2.6 Trial and demonstrate research that supports practice change. (L)

State early

indicators:

Customer access to

advisory services.

State longer term

indicators:

Customer satisfaction

- advisory services.

Customer capacity-

knowledge, physical

and ﬁnancial.

Customers

implementing

proﬁtable, productive

and sustainable

land management

practices.

Priority pest

containment.

34 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Goal: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared

communities

Goal 2: Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and

sustainable primary industries

Goal 3: Healthy, diverse and connected natural

environments

State strategy 3: Provide products and services that support and enable customers, land managers and the community to prevent, prepare, respond and recover

from biosecurity and natural disaster events

State description:

This strategy delivers prevention, preparation,

response and recovery services to priority

communities impacted by or anticipated to be

impacted by biosecurity incidents and natural

disaster emergencies. The objective is to increase

the capacity of communities to mitigate the risks

and minimise the impacts of these events.

Regional actions: (completion dates-S - short term, M - medium term, L- long term, see page 5)

A 3.1 Collaborate with state and regional stakeholders to ensure a coordinated and effective

regional response to biosecurity and natural disaster events. (S)

A 3.2 Develop and implement a regional biosecurity operations plan that includes speciﬁcation of

appropriate governance, communications, risk assessments, scenarios and response triggers. (S)

A 3.3 Develop and deliver a portfolio of information and advisory services to support customers

and communities to build their capacity for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery from

biosecurity and natural disaster events. (SM)

A 3.4 Provide materials and assistance to encourage customers to develop individual biosecurity

plans. (ML)

A 3.5 Meet relevant obligations for biosecurity and emergency management contained in the

Local Land Services Biosecurity Operations Plan, the NSW Animal Biosecurity and Welfare Business

Plan, and the Murray LLS Emergency Management Operational Plan. (L)

A 3.6 Promote shared responsibility and self-management of biosecurity. (L)

State early

indicators:

Customer access

- biosecurity and

natural disaster

preparedness and

emergency response

products and services.

Local Land Services

critical response

times.

Business plan targets.

State longer term

indicators:

Customer satisfaction

- biosecurity and

natural disaster

products and services.

Stakeholder

satisfaction -

biosecurity and

natural disaster

products and services.

Community capacity

- emergency

preparedness.

Improvements in

response time and

actions.

State strategy 4: Collaborate with investors, stakeholders and external organisations to deliver improved products and services to customers

State description:

This strategy promotes collaboration with

stakeholders, public, private and community,

to deliver improved services to customers. The

objective is to align the effort and activities of

stakeholders with similar goals and priorities

to Local Land Services to deliver a higher value

service to Local Land Services customers.

Regional actions: (completion dates-S - short term, M - medium term, L- long term, see page 5)

A 4.1 Identify key stakeholders and delivery agents. (S)

A 4.2 Identify and prioritise areas for collaborative action and design appropriate delivery models.(S)

A 4.3 Develop and implement a plan for supporting and monitoring the capacity of customers/

stakeholders. (S)

A 4.4 Develop a capacity-building strategy that clearly identiﬁes appropriate, fair and equitable

delivery methods and channels for addressing all facets of Murray LLS business. (S)

A 4.5 Share skills and knowledge across and between organisations. (ML)

A 4.6 Maintain networks and work closely with researchers, industry providers and government

and community stakeholders across the Research, Development and Extension continuum. (L)

A 4.7 Deliver agreed programs that address a range of priorities and scales including local,

regional, state and legislative priorities. (L)

A 4.8 Develop and work within a clear investment framework that guides and deﬁnes investment

and partnership decisions, including matching devolution and partnership decisions to governance

and delivery capacity.

A 4.9 Partner with stakeholders and customer organisations, and wherever possible devolve

functions, resources and accountability to capable local people. (L)

State early

indicators:

Level of customer-

facing partnerships.

Stakeholder

participation - group

activities.

Customer

participation - group

activities.

State longer term

indicators:

Value of

collaboration.

Investor satisfaction.

Stakeholder

satisfaction -

collaboration.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 35

Goal 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared

communities

Goal 2: Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and

sustainable primary industries

Goal 3: Healthy, diverse and connected natural

environments

State strategy 5: Ensure local people participate in decision making

State description:

This strategy provides opportunities that enable

local people to participate in Local Land Services

decision-making. The objective is to understand

local priorities and to enable a broader set of

skills, capabilities and perspectives in decision-

making.

Regional actions: (completion dates-S - short term, M - medium term, L - long term, see page 5)

Work with customers, stakeholders and community advisory committees to:

A 5.1 Set up and support governance frameworks to increase local decision-making including a

Local Community Advisory Group and the Murray Aboriginal Technical Group. (S)

A 5.2 Build appropriate community involvement mechanisms into program and project planning.

(SM)

A 5.3 Support leadership training and mentoring opportunities for customer groups, land

managers and other community members. (SM)

A 5.4 Support communication networks, steering committees, reference groups, industry group

forums and consultative forums to create opportunities to inﬂuence and participate in, decision-

making by relevant external stakeholders (such as water decisions, weeds review, IPART). (ML)

State early

indicators:

Stakeholder and

customer participation

- decision making.

State longer term

indicators:

Customer and

stakeholder

satisfaction -

decision making and

collaboration.

State Strategy 6: Connect research and development with advisory services to address priority data, information and knowledge gaps and barriers to improved

practice

State description:

This strategy builds understanding of local R&D

priorities or knowledge gaps and promotes

collaboration with research and industry

organisations to address these priorities. The

objective is to ﬁll key knowledge gaps and to

support innovation and continuous improvement

by customers.

Regional actions: (completion dates-S - short term, M - medium term, L - long term, see page 5)

A 6.1 Build, maintain networks and partnerships with researchers, industry providers, stakeholders

and producers to share, discuss, guide and demonstrate research and practices. (SML)

A 6.2 Build and support Research and Development that provides evidence, learning and

improvement for organisational and project development and delivery. (SML)

A 6.3 Trial and demonstrate new information or technology to support uptake of new approaches

and improved practices. (ML)

A 6.4 Link and support research and monitoring programs to adaptive management frameworks

and decision-making. (L)

A 6.5 Support appropriate research to improve customer knowledge. (L)

State early

indicators:

Active RD&AS

partnerships.

Provision of advice on

R&D related to local

priorities.

State longer term

indicators:

Stakeholder

satisfaction - RD&AS

partnerships.

36 Murray Local Strategic Plan

State strategy 7: Deliver services that support Aboriginal people to care for Country and share traditional land management knowledge

Goal 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared

communities

Goal 2: Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and

sustainable primary industries

Goal 3: Healthy, diverse and connected natural

environments

State description:

This strategy delivers services to Aboriginal

people, primarily Aboriginal land managers. The

objective is to support and enable Aboriginal

customers to implement practices that care for

Country or adopt traditional land management

practices.

Regional actions: (completion dates-S –short term, M- medium term, L- long term, see page 5)

A 7.1 Develop a communications and engagement plan to establish and maintain strong working

relationships with Aboriginal communities. (S)

A 7.2 Understand and map the capacity and aspirations of Aboriginal stakeholder groups whose

key focus is working on Country. (S)

A 7.3 Support strong consultative processes to ensure true co-design of programs and projects

that support Aboriginal aspirations. (SML)

A 7.4 Support capacity-building in areas such as leadership, governance and local decision-

making. (SML)

A 7.5 Build consideration of Aboriginal issues and aspirations including Aboriginal heritage and

culture (such as traditional ecological knowledge) across Murray LLS programs. (M)

A 7.6 Deliver a range of programs, projects and information sharing that support communities’

involvement in NRM. (L)

A 7.7 Support the development of Aboriginal business and employment opportunities in the

management of contemporary landscapes. (L)

A 7.8 Source external funding for Aboriginal projects associated with connection to Country and

traditional land management. (L)

A 7.9 Maintain a team of specialist staff with appropriate cultural expertise and a strong customer

focus. (L)

State early

indicators:

Active partnership

projects or

agreements.

State longer term

indicators:

Customer satisfaction

- Aboriginal people

engaged.

Customers

implementing

Aboriginal caring for

Country programs.

State strategy 8: Deliver consent and compliance services that educate and protect communities, landscapes and industries

State description:

This strategy delivers services to customers

that implement the legislative requirements of

Local Land Services. The objective is to support

customers to understand and comply with

statutory and industry requirements aimed

at protecting industries, communities and

landscapes.

Regional actions: (completion dates - S - short term, M - medium term, L - long term, see page 5)

A 8.1 Develop an investment framework to ensure rate funding is delivered appropriately for

industry beneﬁt based on legislative requirements, evidence, and transparent prioritisation based

on risk and resources. (S)

A 8.2 Deliver priority recommendations of the Natural Resources Commission 2014 weeds review. (S)

A 8.3 Establish a Regional Weeds Committee as a sub-committee of the Board. (S)

A 8.4 Support planning for, and delivery of, national, state and regional emergency response

programs. (SML)

A 8.5 Provide biosecurity surveillance and assessment to the State of NSW. (L)

A 8.6 Identify, prioritise and address risks posed by pests, weeds, diseases and contaminants. (L)

A 8.7 Provide compliance, advisory services and education programs that increase the uptake of

sustainable industry and community practices.(L)

A 8.8 Deliver customer-supported discretionary group programs for herd/ﬂock health (e.g. OJD

Biosecurity) and invasive species (e.g. fox baiting programs). (L)

A 8.9 Deliver native vegetation management and clearing advice in line with legislation. (L)

State early

indicators:

Customers

implementing

voluntary codes.

Certiﬁcates issues.

Inspections

undertaken.

State longer term

indicators:

Customer satisfaction

- consent, compliance

and enforcement

services.

Customers

implementing

statutory

requirements.

Market access

maintained.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 37

Goal 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared

communities

Goal 2: Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and

sustainable primary industries

Goal 3: Healthy, diverse and connected natural

environments

State strategy 9: Manage Crown Lands vested in Local Land Services for environmental, social and economic outcomes

State description:

This strategy is to effectively manage Crown

Lands that are under the care and control of Local

Land Services, particularly travelling stock reserves.

The objective is to manage these lands consistent

with best practice.

Regional actions: (completion dates - S - short term, M - medium term, L - long term, see page 5)

A 9.1 Establish and deliver on a clear and adaptable travelling stock reserve (TSR) management

plan with investment strategies, goals, policies and procedures considering issues such as:

• maintenance of TSRs for use by travelling stock

• preservation and protection of Aboriginal and European heritage values

• environmental values

• community and social values

• legislative responsibilities related to animal health, invasive species, native vegetation,

threatened species, Aboriginal cultural heritage, ﬁre risk and emergency management. (S)

A 9.2 Manage TSRs efﬁciently and in a sustainable, fair and transparent manner. (L)

A 9.3 Consider private and public good in the use and resourcing of TSR management. (L)

State early

indicators:

Implementation

of best practices

for Crown Land

management.

State longer term

indicators:

Customer satisfaction

- Crown Land/TSR

care, control and

management.

Stakeholder

satisfaction - Crown

Land/TSR care, control

and management.

38 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Goal 4: Board members and staff who are collaborative, innovative and commercially-focused

State strategy 10: Develop engaged and accountable people with a strong customer and stakeholder focus

State description:

This strategy is focused on building high levels

of Board member and staff engagement and

accountability, and through this, a customer and

stakeholder focus.

The objective is to invest in Board members and

staff as our most critical assets, recognising that

a highly capable and results-focused staff team is

critical to success.

Regional actions: (completion dates - S - short term, M - medium term, L - long term, see page 5)

A 10.1 Provide opportunities for staff feedback and respond appropriately including to state-wide

the People Matter Survey (S)

A 10.2 Develop transparent reporting systems that recognise the organisation’s accountability to

customers , stakeholders and investors (S)

A 10.3 Instigate processes to review and improve staff and board performance (S)

A 10.4 Establish systems to collect, benchmark, measure, analyse and respond to customer and

stakeholder feedback and needs including a repeatable customer satisfaction survey (SM)

A 10.5 Ensure staff and board members apply the organisational values in the conduct of

their business. These drive the behaviours our customers can expect, and include a focus on

accountability and customer service (SML)

A 10.6 Ensure high standards of integrity and accountability are applied across Murray LLS (SML)

A 10.7 Develop a service culture providing activities and programs responsive to client, customer

and community needs (SML)

A 10.8 Attract, develop and retain critical knowledge and skills within Murray LLS to drive service

excellence (L)

A 10.9 Review processes to ensure Murray LLS is an employer of choice by providing a safe,

rewarding and high-performing workplace (L)

State early

indicators:

Staff satisfaction -

staff surveys.

Board member

satisfaction - Board

member surveys.

State longer term

indicators:

Performance against

Local Land Services

Performance

Standard.

Investor satisfaction

with implementation

of agreements.

Ongoing performance

improvement.

State strategy 11: Foster a values-based culture which emphasises collaboration, innovation and continual improvement

State description:

This strategy develops an organisation that uses

the Local Land Services values to deﬁne and

build a common culture which works together to

innovate and improve organisational performance

on an ongoing basis.

The intent is to promote internal and external

collaboration and innovation to make best use

of the resources and capabilities that exist inside

and outside Local Land Services and in doing so

provide ongoing organisational improvement and

maximum value to customers.

Regional actions: (completion dates - S - short term, M - medium term, L - long term, see page 5)

A 11.1 Utilise the organisation’s values to drive development of the organisation’s culture (S)

A 11.2 Build an inclusive and collaborative organisational culture, where staff understand and

value the diverse range of expertise and capacity held within the organisation, and share this

understanding with customers (S)

A 11.3 Actively pursue activities to foster integrated service delivery (S)

A 11.4 Support the functions of a Local Community Advisory Group and Murray Aboriginal

Technical Group for co-design of a framework for collaboration, local delivery and partnerships (S)

A 11.5 Establish baseline indicators (S)

A 11.6 Develop and implement processes to understand regional skills across a range of

stakeholder organisations and support sharing of knowledge and expertise, identify a role for

Local Land Services that adds value to the broader stakeholder environment (SM)

A 11.7 Develop a culture which embraces localism, and supports land management groups to

achieve their goals (SML)

A 11.8 Participate in cross-regional collaboration and pooling of resources to foster sharing and

learning (L)

State early

indicators:

Staff satisfaction -

staff surveys.

Board member

satisfaction - Board

member surveys.

Performance reports.

State longer term

indicators:

Performance against

Local Land Services

Performance

Standard.

Investor satisfaction

with implementation

of agreements.

Ongoing performance

improvement.

Innovative

partnerships and

practices.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 39

Goal 4: Board members and staff who are collaborative, innovative and commercially-focused

State Strategy 12: Ensure a safe, efﬁcient, effective and sustainable organisation

State Description:

This strategy is intended to develop an enduring

organisation as indicated by strong and

sustainable performance and an approach to

workplace health and safety which requires

“everyone home safe every day”.

Sustainability in this strategy covers triple bottom

line performance (ﬁnancial, social, environmental)

and when viewed in this context it links well to

ongoing safety requirements for our people,

practices and services.

Regional Actions: (completion dates - S - short term, M - medium term, L - long term, see page 5)

A 12.1 Develop a clear planning framework and ensure clear links between all levels of the

planning matrix (S)

A 12.2 Identify reporting requirements, at a range of scales and for a range of functions (S)

A 12.3 Develop information systems that capture and deliver for business needs including

standard and integrated reporting outputs for medium and long-term progress (SM)

A 12.4 Build a sound corporate governance framework including an enterprise-wide risk

management process and a system of internal policies, procedures and guidelines to promote

sound and ethical decision-making (SM)

A 12.5 Design appropriate monitoring and review processes for programs and processes across all

aspects of Local Land Services business and apply triple-loop learning (SML)

A 12.6 Build and maintain internal organisational capacity to provide administration and

operational response to biosecurity and natural disaster events, particularly emergency animal

disease (SML)

A 12.7 Develop and implement a staff safety and wellbeing strategy, and strive for zero harm (SML)

A 12.8 Explore business opportunities, including funding proposals and fee for service, in a

resource-challenged environment (SML)

A 12.9 Develop processes and decision tools for evidence-based decision-making. Consider scale

in investment decisions (M)

A 12.10 Develop frameworks and processes to ensure governance standards and accountability

are maintained when devolving funds (M)

A 12.11 Develop a culture attuned to risk including ongoing, identiﬁcation, review and adaptation (M)

A 12.12 Ongoing development of expertise in practical application of systems thinking and

adaptive management (L)

A 12.13 Ensure Murray LLS appropriately balances legislative requirements, investor preferences,

customer satisfaction and public good (L)

A 12.14 Ensure appropriate application of legislation, standards, policies, procedures, biosecurity

strategy, CAP, BMP, NRC standards and other guiding documents (L)

A 12.15 Business is transacted in accordance with relevant frameworks and policies (S)

A 12.16 Staff are accountable and transparent in their decision making (SML)

A 12.17 Appropriate audit and probity processes are embedded in assessing funding proposals

with third parties (M)

State early

indicators:

Workplace health and

safety (WH&S) near

misses.

Staff satisfaction -

staff surveys.

Board member

satisfaction - Board

member surveys.

Financial

performance.

Resource use.

State longer term

indicators:

Zero lost time injuries.

Investor satisfaction.

Triple bottom line

impact.

Expenditure on front

line service delivery.

40 Murray Local Strategic Plan

National

National Landcare Programme

(NLP)

The Australian Government is a major investor, providing approximately 45% of Murray

Local Land Services’ funding.

NLP is the vehicle for the Australian Government investment in regional organisations.

NLP supports activities that protect the environment and make agriculture more

sustainable and productive.

Environmental Protection &

Biodiversity Conservation Act

(1999)

Peak Australian Government legislation for environmental protection.

Provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally

important ﬂora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places—deﬁned in the Act

as matters of national environmental signiﬁcance.

Applies to Ramsar wetlands of international importance in Murray region.

International Bilateral migratory

bird agreements including

Japan-Australia Migratory Bird

Agreement, China-Australia

Migratory Bird Agreement,

Republic of Korea-Australia

Migratory Bird Agreement,

and Ramsar Convention on

Wetlands

For over 30 years, Australia has played an important role in international cooperation

to conserve migratory birds in the East Asian - Australasian Flyway (the Flyway),

entering into bilateral migratory bird agreements with Japan in 1974, China in 1986

and most recently the Republic of Korea in 2007. Each of these agreements provides

for the protection and conservation of migratory birds and their important habitats,

protection from take or trade except under limited circumstances, the exchange of

information, and building cooperative relationships. Birds listed on the annexes to these

three agreements, together with those on Appendices I or II of the Bonn Convention,

must also be placed on the migratory species list under the Environment Protection and

Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

Australia’s Biodiversity

Conservation Strategy 2010-

2030

The guiding framework for conserving our nation’s biodiversity. Identiﬁes three national

priorities for action:

• Engaging all Australians in biodiversity conservation

• Building ecosystem resilience in a changing climate

• Getting measurable results

• The strategy underpins Murray Local Land Services’ environmental programs.

Water Act (2007)

Established the MDBA as a single body to oversee water management and prepare a

Basin Plan.

Establishes the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder to manage environmental

water for protection of environmental assets in the MDB.

Murray Darling Basin Plan

A strategic plan for the integrated and sustainable management of water resources in the

Murray-Darling Basin.

Sets limits on the amount of water (both surface and ground water) that can be taken from

Basin water resources on a sustainable basis.

Establishes boundaries for Murray Local Land Services programs and projects to operate in.

Close the Gap

A national partnership agreed by COAG in 2008.

Seeks to close the gap in Indigenous health outcomes.

Commits governments to around $1.6 billion of expenditure over four years.

Murray Local Land Services Aboriginal projects align with Close the Gap objectives

by seeking to improve Aboriginal wellbeing through building connection to Country

and traditional ecological knowledge, and advocating educational, employment and

business opportunities for local Aboriginal communities.

Quarantine Act (1908)

Peak Australian Government legislation for managing biosecurity. Underpins biosecurity

approaches at state and regional levels.

Appendix 2 - Summary of foundational documents and

evidence underpinning the Murray Local Strategic Plan

Murray Local Strategic Plan 41

National

National Plant Biosecurity

Strategy (2010)

Ten year strategy for governments, plant industries and the community to work closely

together to strengthen Australia’s plant biosecurity system. Endorsed by the Australian

Government, state and territory governments and PHA industry members.

Ten key strategies underpin Murray Local Land Services plant biosecurity projects.

Australian Emergency

Management Arrangements

Provides a high level overview of how Australia addresses the risks and impacts of

hazards through a collaborative approach to the prevention of, preparedness for,

response to and recovery from emergencies. Outlines the collaboration necessary

to match the effort and assistance required to the nature of the impact, taking into

account the nature and scale of different emergencies.

Australian Veterinary

Emergency Management Plan

(2008)

Brings together the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments and livestock

industry groups to collectively and signiﬁcantly increase Australia’s capacity to prepare

for, and respond to, emergency animal disease (EAD) incursions.

Sets out the various roles, responsibilities and policy guidelines for agencies and

organisations involved in an EAD response.

Underpins Murray Local Land Services emergency management programs and projects.

New and Emerging Industries

National Research,

Development and Extension

Strategy (2010)

Industry sector strategy that brings together 16 rural R&D corporations and industry-

owned companies (RDCs), as well as the federal, state and territory governments,

CSIRO, universities and private providers concerned with primary industries RD&AS.

Recognises that basic and strategic research (R) can be provided from a distance, with

regional adaptive development (D) and local extension (E) required to improve the

uptake of innovation by industry. It will allow agencies to retain and build capability in

ﬁelds strategically important to their jurisdictions and industries.

State

NSW Premier’s and State

Priorities

The NSW Premier’s and State Priorities set the current Government’s agenda for change

in NSW. From 30 State priorities designed to grow the economy, deliver infrastructure,

and improve health, education and other services across NSW the Premier has

identiﬁed 12 personal priorities. Each priority has a speciﬁc target.

Catchment Action NSW

Catchment Action NSW is the NSW Government’s regionally-delivered project funding

to address state natural resource management priorities. Catchment Action NSW is

a major investor, providing approximately one-third of Murray Local Land Services’

funding.

Department of Planning and

Environment Regional Plans

Regional plans are being developed to plan for our future population’s needs for

housing, jobs, infrastructure and a healthy environment. The NSW Government is

transforming the system of local government to ensure councils can deliver the quality

services and infrastructure that communities deserve. This may impact some current

council boundaries. Until this process is ﬁnalised, planning for regions and districts will

continue to be developed based on existing council boundaries.

Reviews

The NSW Government and Local Land Services periodically undertake reviews which

may impact on organisational arrangements, roles and responsibilities. Examples of

reviews undertaken in 2014-2015 include IPART, NRC performance audits, Ernst and

Young Local Land Services Effectiveness and Sustainability Review and the Review of

Biodiversity Legislation in NSW.

Local Land Services Act (2013)

The Local Land Services Act 2013 No 51 establishes Local Land Services and deﬁnes its

priorities. The Act goes in to some detail regarding activities of Local Land Services. It

includes a whole section (Section 4) on the strategic plan.

42 Murray Local Strategic Plan

State

Government Sector

Employment Act (2013)

Provides the statutory framework for NSW Government sector employment and

workforce management.

Sets out rules for recruitment, employment, ethics and behaviour.

Environmental Planning &

Assessment Act (1979)

The overarching structure for planning in NSW Supported by a number of other

statutory documents:

State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPP) that outline the NSW Government’s

approach to dealing with planning issues speciﬁc to the State and people of NSW.

Local Environment Plans (LEP) that guide development and protect natural resources

such as waterways and heritage within local government areas.

Water Management Act

(2000)

Addresses the sustainable and integrated management of the state’s water for the

beneﬁt of both present and future generations.

Governs the allocation and provision of water for the environmental health of our

rivers and groundwater systems, while also providing licence holders with more secure

access to water and greater opportunities to trade water through the separation of

water licences from land.

Crown Lands Act (1989)

TSRs are parcels of Crown Land reserved under the Crown Lands Act 1989 for use by

travelling stock. The objectives of this Act are to ensure that Crown Lands are managed

for the beneﬁt of the people of NSW. Principles of Crown Land Management cover

a range of social, environmental and economic matters including; environmental

protection, public use and enjoyment, multiple use, ensuring the land and its resources

are sustained in perpetuity.

NSW State Emergency

Management Plan (EMPLAN)

Provides a strategic overview to emergency management in New South Wales.

Ensures that no one individual or agency is responsible for emergency management in

New South Wales. Contains regional sub-plans.

OCHRE

The NSW Government’s Plan for Aboriginal affairs.

Murray Local Land Services Aboriginal projects align with OCHRE objectives by

seeking to improve Aboriginal wellbeing through building connection to Country

and traditional ecological knowledge, and advocating educational, employment and

business opportunities for local Aboriginal communities.

Agriculture Industry Action

Plan (2014)

Outlines the NSW Government’s strategy for the agriculture sector, and provides a clear

road map for industry and government to work together to drive growth.

Biosecurity Act (2015)

The Biosecurity Act complements the principle that biosecurity is a shared responsibility

between governments, industries and individuals, and provides for a range of tools and

powers that can be used to support risk based management and allow for increasing

efﬁciency and decreasing regulation.

It is a signiﬁcant piece of modern legislation that will provide NSW with the essential

tools and powers to manage animal and plant pests and diseases, weeds and

contaminants that threaten the NSW economy, environment and community.

NSW Biosecurity Strategy

The NSW Biosecurity Strategy 2013 - 2021 sets four goals for biosecurity activities in

NSW and makes speciﬁc mention of services to be provided by Local Land Services.

Associated strategies include:

• NSW Invasive Species Plan

• Wild Dog Management Strategy

• NSW Animal Biosecurity and Welfare Strategic Plan

Murray Local Strategic Plan 43

State

NRC Review of weed

management in NSW

This review makes a range of recommendations for ongoing weed management that

including proposed changes to biosecurity legislation associated with weeds.

Native Vegetation Act (2003)

This Act regulates the clearing of native vegetation on the majority of land in NSW

Governs the administration of property vegetation plans (PVPs).

NRC Performance Standard for

Local Land Services

The NRC Standard has been developed to guide improvement in Local Land Services

operations and give conﬁdence to investors. Each Local Land Services region will need

to ensure it can demonstrate how it has considered and implemented activities in

accordance with the Standard.

The Standard identiﬁes eight components which Local Land Services will be audited

against. These components are Governance, Leadership, Customer Satisfaction,

Community ownership, Understanding Scale, Collaboration, Risk management and

Evidence-based Decisions.

Local Land Services State

Strategic Plan 2016-2026

The State Strategic Plan sets the vision and goals for Local Land Services for the next

ten years, and outlines the strategies through which these goals will be achieved.

NSW Trade & Investment

Safety Strategy

A strategy to eliminate all preventable work related injuries and illnesses, create a

workplace culture that takes safety, health and well-being of staff and others into

account.

Aims to make the NSW public sector recognised as an industry leader in safety

Key objectives underpin WHS, risk management and cultural actions in the strategy.

Behaving Ethically

Designed to help government sector employees better understand the obligation to act

ethically and in the public interest.

Supports the Ethical Framework for the NSW government sector, which requires all

government sector employees to conduct themselves in ways that demonstrate the

core values of integrity, trust, service and accountability.

Doing Things Differently

Designed to enable NSW public sector agencies to improve productivity, and the

measurement of customer satisfaction and take a more collaborative approach to the

way they provide their services.

People Matter Employee

Survey (2014)

Assesses levels of employee engagement, determines the extent to which Departments

and agencies are embedding the NSW government sector core values, ensures

workplaces are supporting diversity and ethical behaviour, and gives employees the

opportunity to voice their opinions about their workplace experiences.

NSW State Water

Management Outcomes Plan

2000

This plan sets out the over-arching policy context, targets and strategic outcomes

for the development, conservation, management and control of the State’s water

sources. The plan promotes the objects of the Water Management Act 2000 and its

water management principles, and seeks to give effect to the NSW Government’s

salinity strategies. It is also consistent with government legislative obligations,

Commonwealth international agreements and government policy. It explicitly provides

for the protection and enhancement of the environmental services provided by aquatic

ecosystems, while delivering a stronger and clearer framework for the use of water

to meet human needs, including more secure access licences. The plan provides clear

direction for all water management in New South Wales including (but not limited

to) the creation of management plans addressing: water sharing, water use, drainage

management, ﬂoodplain management, controlled activities and aquifer interference,

and environmental protection.

44 Murray Local Strategic Plan

Regional

Murray Catchment Action Plan

2013-2023 (CAP)

The CAP was the key guiding document for sustainable NRM developed for the former

Murray CMA. It sets a vision, goals, targets and strategies for sustainable NRM across

the region.

A planning hierarchy links long-term catchment goals through to annual investment

and actions. This also links to an adaptive management hierarchy.

A systems approach was used focusing on understanding and addressing “deep

drivers” of change in a system, and improving adaptability.

NSW Murray Biodiversity

Management Plan

The Murray BMP was published in 2012 based on Murray CMA area prior to October

2012.

The plan identiﬁes in very broad terms, where investment in biodiversity management

is likely to have the greatest beneﬁt for biodiversity outcomes.

OEH, a major investor in biodiversity management, was a partner in the BMP project

Community priorities for biodiversity were incorporated during BMP development The

plan prioritises areas in need of active management or repair.

It is used in current biodiversity planning and implementation.

NSW Climate Impact Proﬁle

2010

Assessment of the biophysical risks presented by climate change in New South

Wales. Information about current and future risks to climate induced natural hazards

Underpins priority areas for action identiﬁed in the CAP.

Murray Regional Weed

Strategy

Developed by local government with support from Murray Local Land Services,

NSW DPI and the Eastern Riverina Noxious Weeds Advisory Group to guide weed

management by private and public land managers

Identiﬁes priority weeds, actions, key stakeholders and roles of existing organisations in

implementing the strategy.

Murray Customer Research

Report 2014

Results of survey assessing customer awareness, perceptions, needs, desired services,

barriers to working with Murray Local Land Services, preferred communication

channels, satisfaction with Murray Local Land Services and assessment of performance.

Key insights for improving customer satisfaction with Murray Local Land Services, and

directions for improving performance.

Murray Murrumbidgee

Regional Plan

The Murray Murrumbidgee Regional Plan is currently under development (March

2016). The Plan will provide a framework for creating a strong economy to generate

jobs, essential infrastructure, greater housing choice, lively centres for shopping,

entertainment and dining, productive rural areas, and healthy natural areas in the

Murray Murrumbidgee region.

Local Government Community

Strategic Plans (x14)

Murray Local Land Services works in partnership with local councils to ensure best

practice management of natural resources, including weed management and pest

control in areas under council jurisdiction.

Councils in the Murray region developed Community Strategic Plans, outlining strategic

directions based on extensive community consultation.

Areas of strategic alignment with the Murray CAP provided the basis for MOUs

between councils and the former Murray CMA.

Water Sharing Plans (x8)

Water sharing plans follow the introduction of the Water Management Act 2000.

They establish rules for sharing water between the environmental needs of the river

or aquifer and water users, and also between different types of water use such as

town supply, rural domestic supply, stock watering, industry and irrigation. These plans

protect the health of our rivers and groundwater while also providing water users with

perpetual access licences, equitable conditions, and increased opportunities to trade

water through separation of land and water.

Murray Local Strategic Plan 45

Appendix 3 - Murray Local Land services business approach

Murray Local Land Services has set itself organisational standards that reﬂect our core values. These standards guide our

culture and deﬁne what our customers and stakeholders can expect from us as we deliver on our strategies.

Organisational standards

Organisational

standards

What does it mean How will it be displayed

Workplace

culture

Our workplace culture consistently

reﬂects the core values of Local

Land Services – integrity, trust,

service, innovation, accountability,

collaboration and performance.

These values, along with a high

safety culture, are supported by

strong and clear leadership within

Murray Local Land Services.

• Murray Local Land Services values are aligned with Local Land Services

values.

• A safe, rewarding and high-performing workplace.

• A culture of anticipation, alertness and adaptation that is reﬂected in

the leadership, and understood and demonstrated by all Board and

staff.

• Unacceptable behaviour and unsafe practices are addressed

appropriately, effectively and in a systematic way.

• We place the public interest over personal interest, uphold the law,

institutions of government and democratic principles.

High Quality

Service

We deliver high quality services

that inform, enable, connect and

give assurance to our customers

and stakeholders.

• Our services are focused on customer and stakeholder needs.

• We treat all customers fairly and without prejudice.

• Our service delivery is ﬂexible, innovative, reliable and timely.

• We offer apolitical and non-partisan advice to our customers.

• We perform efﬁciently, effectively, ethically, and leave an enduring

legacy for our landscapes and communities.

Relationships

We have strong and enduring

relationships, engagement and

partnerships with our customers,

stakeholders and investors.

• We are committed to forming internal and external relationships based

on integrity, open communication, honesty, accountability, mutual

respect, dignity and trust.

• Our relationships are based on successful collaborations to address

complex problems, and achieve our goals.

Diversity

We value social and cultural

diversity, including diversity of

opinion

• Our Board and staff respect social and cultural diversity among

customers, stakeholders and the workforce.

• We engage in genuine, inclusive consultation with our staff, customers

and stakeholders, providing opportunities for them to speak up and

express their views without fear or favour.

• We support and promote opportunities for Aboriginal people to

strengthen Connection to Country as well as recording and sharing

traditional ecological knowledge.

Adaptation

We operate in an environment

of innovation, continual learning,

evidence-based decision-making

and adaptive management

• Board members promote a culture of innovation and continual learning

within a systems framework.

• The culture of innovation is supported by high quality business

planning, strategies and management systems

• Evidence-based decision-making is ﬂexible, adaptable, transparent, and

manages risk appropriately.

• Our evidence is open to public scrutiny.

• We undertake regular reviews and surveys of staff, customers,

stakeholders, projects and strategies.

• Our organisation understands its capabilities and vulnerabilities, and

seeks to adapt its strategies when required, to optimise its resilience.

Collective

Knowledge

We value the collective

knowledge, skills and experience

of our customers, stakeholders

and staff, as a resource to draw

on in the conduct of our business.

• Our evidence base is built on diverse sources of knowledge including

scientiﬁc literature, cultural knowledge, citizen science, observations

and anecdotal information.

• We learn from knowledge gathered in a variety of ways, by a variety of

people, and at a variety of scales.

• We encourage participation of stakeholders with diverse knowledge,

skills and experience on advisory committees and project steering

committees, through social network platforms, and other engagement

opportunities.

46 Murray Local Strategic Plan

In Murray our highly skilled teams offer a range of specialist services and advice.

• Agricultural advisory services – mixed farming systems, livestock, rice, dryland and irrigation systems, land

capability, group extension experience.

• Biosecurity advisory and regulatory services - animal biosecurity and welfare, invasive animal and plant species and

plant health.

• Support for Aboriginal communities and cultural heritage.

• Community engagement with customers and stakeholders including Local Government, Landcare and industry

groups, schools and non-government organisations.

• Land management – travelling stock reserve (TSR) management, property vegetation management plans, a native

species seedbank and seedbank services.

• Environmental management and restoration – terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, threatened species.

• Customer group engagement and capacity support.

• Emergency services – support for landholders in preparing for and responding to livestock disease emergencies,

pest plant and animal invasions, such as locusts, and natural disasters such as ﬁre and ﬂood.

Services offered by Murray Local Land Services

Murray Local Land Services governance structure

Sign off on Murray Local Strategic

Plan

Strategic direction

Organisational oversight

Governance

Workplace

Health & Safety

Committee

Advice on management of

wellbeing and safety

General

Manager

Delivery - all aspects of

Murray LLS business. State

collaboration and consistency.

Leadership

All: Maintain organisational

standards, behaviour and

culture

Delivery - all aspects of unit

business

Develop business plan

Annual investment plan

Local integration

Measuring success

Murray

Executive Team

Delivery - all aspects of

sub-unit business

Contribute to development

and delivery of business plan

Annual investment plan

Stakeholder engagement

Program and project delivery

Senior

Management

Group

Delivery - workplans which

address regional actions

Project management

Support

Staff

Project Teams

State LLS

Board of Chairs

Murray LLS Board

Project implementation

Stakeholder input and

liaison

Project Steering

Committees

Local strategic direction

Murray LLS vision and

mission

Approve Murray Local

Strategic Plan

Organisational performance

and delivery of strategic

plan

Monitor performance

Apply NRC and regional

performance standards

Financial accountability

Audit & Risk accountability

Delegation management

Project Management

Layer

Regional Weed

Committee

Strategic planning and

coordination of weed

management activities at the

regional level

Local

Community

Advisory Group

Advice, co-design and

feedback on delivery of

community aspects of Murray

LLS business

Murray

Aboriginal

Technical Group

Advice, co-design and

feedback on delivery of

Aboriginal community aspects

of Murray LLS business

Murray Local Strategic Plan 47

P3.3 Deliver projects to support threatened species and

communities’ including small bodied native ﬁsh, squirrel

gliders, endangered orchids, bush stone curlews and

endangered ecological communities

A4.2 Identify and prioritise areas for collaborative action and

design appropriate delivery models

A4.7 Deliver agreed programs that address a range of priorities

and scales including local, regional, state and legislative

priorities

A4.9 Partner with stakeholders and customer organisations,

and wherever possible devolve functions, resources and

accountability to capable local people

A5.2 Build appropriate community involvement mechanisms

into program and project planning

A11.7 Develop a culture which embraces localism, and

supports land management groups to achieve their goals

The Local Area Management Plan Squirrel Glider Project

Project Summary: The development and implementation of a

community-driven Local Area Management Plan (LAMP) which

aims to secure a viable population of squirrel gliders. Some of

the planned project activities include community workshops,

squirrel glider surveys, mapping, on-ground works to restore

or maintain squirrel glider habitat, and the development of a

map-based management plan by the community.

Goal 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared communities

Goal 3: Healthy, diverse and connected natural environments

Goal 4: Board members and staff who are collaborative,

innovative and commercially-focused

S1: Provide data, information and knowledge that supports and

enables land managers, customers and government to improve

decision making

S4: Collaborate with investors, stakeholders and external

organisations to deliver improved products and services to

customers

S5: Ensure local people participate in decision making

S10: Develop engaged and accountable people with a strong

customer and stakeholder focus

S11: Foster a values-based culture which emphasises

collaboration, innovation and continual improvement

RO3.2 Increase in land managers, community groups and

key stakeholders actively engaged in local decision-making

and partnerships to achieve sustainable natural resource

management

RO3.4 Reduction in key threats to biodiversity in priority areas

RO3.5 Increase in communities connection to their

environment and action to improve local environments

RO3.6 State, regional and local priorities in NRM are addressed

RO4.7 Increase in internal and external relationships and

collaboration with which add value for stakeholders and

customers

P2.5 Develop and deliver discretionary group pests and animal

health biosecurity programs including those addressing fox

control, ovine Brucellosis and ovine Johnes disease

A1.3 Support access to education and awareness programs

that improve decisions in relation to biosecurity, agricultural

production, natural resource management and emergency

management

A2.4 Deliver advisory services based on sound knowledge

and recommended practices, and explore and encourage

diversiﬁcation, innovation and the use of changed behaviours

and practices to achieve positive outcomes for land manager,

resilience, biosecurity, sustainable primary industries and healthy

natural environments

A8.6 Identify, prioritise and address risks posed by pests, weeds,

diseases and contaminants

A8.8 Deliver customer-supported discretionary group programs

for herdﬂock health (e.g. OJD biosecurity) and invasive species

(e.g. fox baiting programs)

Sheep Biosecurity Groups

Project summary: This project is working with a

community-based group in a deﬁned geographical area to

minimise the risk of spread into the area of biosecurity issues,

particularly ovine Johnes disease, and to maintain market

access.

Goal 1: Resilient, self-reliant and prepared communities

Goal 2: Biosecure, proﬁtable, productive and sustainable

primary industries

Goal 4: Board members and staff who are collaborative,

innovative and commercially-focused

S2: Provide products and advisory services that support and

enable customers to implement improved practices

S4: Collaborate with investors, stakeholders and external

organisations to deliver improved products and services to

customers

S5: Ensure local people participate in decision making

S8: Deliver consent and compliance services that educate and

protect communities and industries

RO1.1 Increase in Local Land Services engagement and support

for customers and stakeholders including information exchange,

capacity support, devolved planning and decision-making and

devolved project delivery.

RO2.3 Reduce impact of priority invasive animal and plant

species on primary production

RO2.4 Increase in livestock productivity due to improved

livestock biosecurity management practices

RO4.7 Increase in internal and external relationships and

collaboration that add value for stakeholders and customers

These projects

demonstrate

the application

of goals,

strategies

and actions

reﬂected in this

plan

State LLS

Goals

State LLS

Strategies

Regional

Objectives

examples

Regional

Actions

examples

Appendix 4 - Internal project alignment

The diagram below provides two examples of regional projects and their alignment with the broader goals, strategies and

actions described in this plan.

Murray Local Land Services

1300 795 299