Prevention better than cure on biosecurity
NSW Farmers Biosecurity Committee Chair Ian McColl has thanked the federal government for listening to industry concerns on biosecurity, but warned urgent action is needed to prevent an outbreak.
The confirmation of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Bali was a major concern for farmers who had been warning Australia’s biosecurity systems were clearly substandard following the Varroa mite outbreak in NSW.
Mr McColl said the announcement of increased measures from federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt was a positive move, but warned more needed to be done to reform the system.
“More signage, more detector dogs, more announcements on flights from Indonesia, these are all good things,” Mr McColl said.
“However, we are still highly-exposed to the $80 billion threat FMD poses to Australian agriculture.
“I am pleased to hear the minister speak about biosecurity being top priority, those words should now be followed by a long-term, sustainable funding model that moves us to preventing outbreaks, rather than responding to outbreaks.”
Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Media contact: Steve Mudd | 0429 011 690 | mudds@nswfarmers.org.au