1 Mar 2017
The recent white spot disease (WSD) outbreak affecting the Queensland prawn industry is a reminder of the vulnerability of Australia’s disease-free farming systems to exotic pests and diseases. Our biosecurity system has continuously evolved and adapted to address emerging challenges, opportunities, changing risks, priorities and circumstances.
Today, the movement of people and goods across the globe has never been greater. Australian agriculture, and the nation more broadly, has benefitted from increased trade and travel, but it has also meant that our isolation as an island nation is rapidly changing and this biosecurity barrier is becoming less relevant.
The WSD outbreak is the latest in a number of biosecurity incidents in the past five years. Other failures in the system include fire ants, Panama disease tropical race 4, myrtle rust and Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus (CGMMV). Unsurprisingly, all of these biosecurity incidents have been experienced in Queensland – frequently Australia’s frontline biosecurity state.
A lot of the focus in biosecurity evolution tends to be on the cost of providing an ‘Appropriate Level of Protection’ (ALOP). However, the WSD outbreak is a timely reminder against complacency. South East Queensland’s $25 million prawn industry has all but been wiped out. As devastating as this is, it pales in comparison to incursions that would impact larger plant and animal industries. For example, ABARES put the cost of a large foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Australia at more than $50 billion over 10 years.
The integrity of our biosecurity framework remains at the highest priority for the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) and its industry members. With more than 60,000 kilometres of coastline to protect, QFF acknowledges that it is not an easy or inexpensive task. However, it should also be remembered that Australia’s biosecurity system plays a critical role in protecting the quality of life of all Australians. The economic, environmental and social benefits, and Australia’s reputational advantages—worth many billions of dollars—rely on a strong, focused and adequately resourced national biosecurity system.
The post Biosecurity wake up appeared first on Queensland Farmers' Federation.