Biosecurity overhaul flagged 08 Jul, 2014 05:55 AM Print Increase Text Size Decrease Text Size Comments 0 The biosecurity risks Australia faces have changed significantly since...1908 RELATED Planting the seed for quarantine upgrade Testing biosecuritys value Biosecurity to stay in ag: Joyce Poll: Whats the biggest threat to the Aus beef herd? LATEST Mac Group looks for ag fund fix Nufarm ploughs backs into better shape Italians buy into wool dynasty Japan trade deal sealed Around the crop circles Indo beef goal unsurprising: NTCA NEW powers allowing the Commonwealth to respond to biosecurity risks within Australia and help state and territory governments manage a pest or disease outbreak are among the changes included in a planned overhaul of quarantine legislation. Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has announced the government’s plans to progress the Biosecurity Bill 2014 to replace the Quarantine Act 1908. The Bill will be administered by both the Agriculture and Health portfolios. Along with new Commonwealth powers, some of the Bill’s improvements include a reduction of more than $6.9 million a year in business compliance costs. Other changes include allowing the general compliance history of a business or individual to be considered when deciding whether to let them import a good, or undertake biosecurity activities. The current Quarantine Act only allows for assessment of the risks associated with the goods themselves. Minister Joyce said the Bill was first introduced in 2012, referred to committee for inquiry, but never reported on, due to the proroguing of Parliament in 2013. “Replacing the Quarantine Act will be the biggest change to our biosecurity system in more than one hundred years,” Minister Joyce said in a statement. ”The biosecurity risks Australia faces have changed significantly since the Quarantine Act was drafted in 1908 – a period when policy makers had at the forefront of their minds protecting Australia from outbreaks of small pox and the bubonic plague. “In 2012–13, the Department of Agriculture cleared about 186 million international mail items, 16 million arriving international passengers, 1.7 million sea cargo consignments and 26 million air cargo consignments. “More people, animals, goods and vessels are moving through Australia’s borders than ever before—and this is only going to increase. “In the past decade alone, we’ve seen the volume of air passengers grow by 80 per cent, sea containers by 82 per cent and bulk cargo increase by 16 per cent—so we need legislation that not only safeguards our primary industries and our environment from the increased threat of pest and disease, but also allows us to manage these threats in the most efficient way.” “For the Australian farmer, a strong biosecurity system means crops will be safer from exotic pests and livestock better protected from diseases such as foot-and-mouth—which a recent ABARES report found could cost our economy more than $50 billion over a decade.”
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 23:21:29 +0000
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