By CRAIG HOUGH, STRATEGY & POLICY DIRECTOR, AUSTRALIAN DAIRY FARMERS
Dairy is working alongside partners in the livestock industry and the Australian Government to transform Australia’s biosecurity system.
As globalisation continues to increase the rates of movement of both people and goods into Australia from areas where pests and diseases are more widespread, the risk to our industry is increasing.
Biosecurity affects the profitability and sustainability of our industry. An incursion, of any sort, lowers production, disrupts trade and adversely impacts animal welfare and the mental health of farmers and stakeholders. For example, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) estimated a widespread FMD outbreak in Australia would have a direct economic impact of around $80 billion.
In August 2022, Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) made a submission to the Senate’s Rural and Regional Affairs’ committee’s Inquiry into the Adequacy of Australia’s biosecurity measures and response preparedness, in particular with respect to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
Our submission endorses, and builds on, the Australian Government’s National Biosecurity Strategy, which provides a 10-year roadmap for significant change to our biosecurity system.
An analysis of various reports from the Inspector General of Biosecurity, the CSIRO, independent reviews and consultation with ADF members and stakeholders informed this submission. For example, the CSIRO report Australia’s Biosecurity Future: Unlocking the next decade of resilience in 2020 found that between 2012 and 2017, the annual number of interceptions of biosecurity risk materials at Australian borders rose by almost 50 per cent. Such an increase in threats requires an increase in capability and efficiency in response.
So, ADF is calling on the Australian Government for additional reforms to the biosecurity system to ensure Australia is fully prepared to respond swiftly to the growing biosecurity threats.
Specifically, our submission calls for everyone to ensure exotic animal diseases do not enter Australia. We call for reforms to governance, funding, disease categorisation, surveillance and detection, diagnostics and vaccine development and a review of compliance measures.
The key recommendations in our submission include:
An explanation of the rationale of these reforms can be found in the ADF submission. A final report from the Senate committee is due to be tabled in the Senate on 24 November 2022.
As we know, there are no silver bullets for biosecurity. Biosecurity is everyone’s business – it is a shared responsibility. We need adequate measures in place to protect Australia’s agricultural industry from any threats of pests and disease, and this involves working together to protect our farms, livelihoods and natural environment.
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ADF’s submission can be viewed at: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Rural_and_Regional_Affairs_and_Transport/FMDBiosecurity/Submissions
For more about the National Biosecurity Strategy:
www.biosecurity.gov.au/about/national-biosecurity-committee/nbs