BARNABY Joyce says a government investment of over $1 million will help accelerate the detection of potential biosecurity risks like foot-and mouth disease that could devastate agricultural industries.
Mr Joyce detailed the new funding measure in a media statement at the weekend that also outlined current statistics on biosecurity control measures.
It said a wild boar head, bear claw, human skulls, live reptiles and dried spiders were among thousands of items intercepted by Australia's strict biosecurity border controls which resulted in 3500 infringement notices.
The data provided by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources data showed 12 million mail items and 4 million passengers were screened, along with 1 million cargo consignments assessed in the 2015-16 financial year.
That testing uncovered a range of items that risked Australian biosecurity, including plants and seeds, whole fresh fish, dried lizards, frogs and spiders.
The Department says FMD is a highly contagious animal disease that would have severe consequences, if introduced into Australia.
An outbreak of FMD in 2001 in the UK caused losses of more $19 billion while it’s estimated a small outbreak in Australia - controlled in three months - could cost around $7.1 billion but a large 12 month outbreak would cost $16 billion.
But Mr Joyce – the Agriculture and Water Resources - said the Coalition would inject $1m in new animal health surveillance and aquatic information systems to strengthen Australia’s biosecurity, protect the health and well-being of Australian animals and plants and the nation’s $57 billion agricultural industries.
He said the government funding would provide better tools to monitor and identify potential biosecurity risks like avian influenza, infectious salmon anaemia or foot-and mouth disease which could “devastate our agricultural industries and threaten our wildlife”.
“Projects funded by these grants will speed up our emergency response capability by providing new technology that makes diagnosis quicker and more accurate so that biosecurity authorities can better manage animal diseases, if they make it to our waters and our shores,” he said.
"Australia is particularly sensitive about biosecurity and it is everyone's responsibility to keep us safe.
“If you take our biosecurity laws as a joke, you take our nation as a joke.”
Mr Joyce said 10 grants - funded under the Agricultural Competiveness Whitepaper – would help ensure biosecurity surveillance programs can better monitor for risks.
He said the enhanced diagnostic capabilities would ensure the government can respond to threats more efficiently and reduce the spread and economic impact of a disease incident.
Mr Joyce said the grants would fund studies into antimicrobial resistance in pigs and chickens, nationally co-ordinated surveillance programs, a producer based surveillance network and boosting diagnostic capability; including establishing a national approach for the use of emerging surveillance tools such as next-generation sequencing.
He said the government had put in place an improved vessel biosecurity clearance system across the nation for improved compliance and enhanced measures to more effectively manage risk.
“The Maritime Arrivals Reporting System (MARS) was brought in to better manage the various and significant risks that incoming vessels pose,” he said.
“It will ensure that more incoming vessels understand our rules to help them comply, saving industry time and money and reducing non-compliance.
“With MARS, the Vessel Compliance Scheme is now in operation.”
Mr Joyce said the scheme provided greater transparency of what department officers looked for when boarding a vessel and the consequences of non-compliance using a demerit system.
“It will also enable improved recording of data - with a single online portal for industry to meet their pre-arrival reporting obligations and provide information relating to the vessel’s biosecurity status - which allows us to better target high risk vessels and reduce unnecessary intervention for those with a history of following the laws,” he said.
“Biosecurity is an ongoing battle from a number of fronts, including regulation of goods, vessels and people at our borders and offshore through setting import requirements for goods arriving in Australia and our work to build biosecurity capability of our neighbouring countries.
“As an island nation, biosecurity will always be critically important for Australia to safeguard our farms and broader agriculture industries, the environment and the community from pests and diseases.”