Today, commercial uses of native plants13 in Victoria include the following:
a) Ornament
i) cut fresh flowers and foliage
ii) dried flowers and foliage
iii) garden plants
b) Food
i) bush foods
ii) honey
iii) kelp-derived food
c) Industrial chemicals, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals
i) cosmetics/perfumes (essential oils)
ii) cleaning products, pesticides
iii) aromatherapy/naturopathy
iv) flavouring in food and beverages
v) pharmaceuticals
vi) tannins
d) Building materials, mulch and fibre
i) brush fencing (broombush)
ii) insulation and mulch (sea grass)
e) Agriculture
i) pasture
ii) fodder crops
f) Land rehabilitation and amenity
i) revegetation
ii) desalination
iii) street and public open space plantings.
In addition, Victorian native flora is an integral part of ecotourism industries and recreational/educational activities such as visiting zoos, wildlife parks and botanic gardens. The Committee discusses these aspects of plant use in Chapter 5.
The horticulture industry, which encompasses the nursery and cut-flower (floriculture) industries, provides plants for ornamental and amenity purposes and is currently the largest commercial sector use of native plants in Victoria.14 These industries, nevertheless, still primarily utilise exotic plant species, with native plants accounting for only a small percentage of overall production. Other uses of native plants in Victoria - for food, essential oils, building materials and fibre, and in agriculture - are still fledgling industries, at varying stages of development.
There are only a few commercial crop plants grown in Australia that are native to it. Those used most are trees for timber (excluded from this Inquiry) and native wildflowers. While a range of other species is grown, few are considered `mainstream' crops. Macadamia nuts, melaleuca for oil, and duboisia for alkaloid extracts are perhaps the only exceptions.
There are a number of reasons for the increasing interest in the utilisation of Victoria's native flora. Proponents believe that not only does it make good economic sense to use a largely untapped resource, but such use may have conservation and environmental benefits. For example, some argue that, where a commercial value is attributed to threatened native plant species, their survival is aided because financial incentives encourage artificial propagation and cultivation.
The use of native plants may also have benefits over the use of exotic species because native plants are generally better suited to Australian conditions, and thus generally require less water, fertilisers and pesticides. The use of native plants may provide opportunities for struggling rural communities, providing sources of alternative income to traditional crops or an income from land that is degraded or unsuitable for other crops. Thus there is potential for native bush food or ornamental plant crops to fulfil a dual purpose in land rehabilitation programs. In addition, use of native species in amenity planting and in urban gardens has a conservation benefit by providing habitat and food sources for native birds, mammals and insects.
Utilisation of native plants may therefore have both commercial and conservation benefits. The Committee notes that utilisation must nevertheless occur within a suitable management framework, otherwise there is a danger that commercial imperatives will override conservation objectives.
