AGY-3644 | Department of Agriculture [II] (1983-1988) Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (1988-1991)

Full description

The Department of Agriculture [II] was established on 16 March 1983 when responsibility for fisheries was transferred to the Department on 16 March 1983. (1) As a result, New South Wales State Fisheries was amalgamated into the Department, becoming the Division of Fisheries.

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries was responsible for the fostering of agricultural and fisheries resources to ensure their efficient sustainable use; to safeguard and improve the productivity and profitability of agricultural industries and fisheries and to contribute to the development of new industries; and to encourage the marketing of safe, acceptable produce and assist in the development of markets. (2)

In 1985 the Department’s functions were: disseminate technical and management knowledge to the agricultural and fisheries community and associated processing and service industries; enforce statutory requirements for the control and eradication of animal, fish and plant diseases; secure quality standards in respect of agricultural and fisheries products; provision of post-secondary vocational oriented agricultural education for prospective farmers and farm managers; conduct applied and basic agricultural and fisheries research; provide diagnostic and analytical service to the agricultural and fisheries community. (3)

To achieve this, the Department was organised into five regions, each with a board of management to control research, regulatory, veterinary, advisory, educational, and administrative services. The Department was organised along the following Divisions: Administration, Animal Health, Animal Production, Agricultural Services, Plant Industries, Marketing and Economic Services, and Fisheries. (4) This structure did not change significantly until 1991. In 1985, the Department also administered the animal quarantine service, the Glenfield Veterinary Research Station, regional veterinary laboratories, and the Biological and Chemical Research Institute at Rydalmere.

Due to the increasing importance of fisheries, the Department of Agriculture was renamed the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries on 6 May 1988. (5)

In 1990, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries was responsible for a large number of Acts, including the following legislation: Agricultural Holdings Act 1941, Apiaries Act 1985 (No.16), Banana Industry Act 1987 (No.66), Biological Control Act 1985 (No.199), Dairy Industry Act 1979, Fertilisers Act 1985 (No.5), Grain Sorghum Marketing Board (Special Provisions) Act 1983, Meat Industry Act 1978 (No.54), Plant Diseases Act 1924 (No.38), Rural Assistance Act 1989 (No.97), Stock Diseases Act 1923 (No.34), Stock Foods Act 1940 (No.19) and the Sydney Market Authority Act 1968). (6)

On 1 July 1991, the Fisheries Division was removed from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and was established as a separate Administrative Office with the title “Office of Fisheries”. The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries reverted to its previous title of the Department of Agriculture. (7)

Endnotes
1. New South Wales Government Gazette No.52, 25 March 1983, p.1377.
2. NSW Government Directory 1985, p.35.
3. ibid., pp.35-36.
4. ibid., pp.36-47.
5. New South Wales Government Gazette No.82, 6 May 1988, p.2486.
6. NSW Government Directory 1990, pp.39-40.
7. New South Wales Government Gazette No.101, 28 June 1991, p.5335.