australian veterinary association advancing veterinary science

REPORTAlex Burleigh - NT Division PresidentWhen I first came to the Northern Territory ten years ago, I was told by many thatthe NT was the Wild West, Australia’s last frontier. I was told things happened in NTtime – not today, not tomorrow, not Tuesday, not Thursday. I discovered thatcontinuing education was hard to get up here, besides the one annual conference.This has all changed in the past few years.We, in the NT, no longer live in the belief that weare the special case. The NT has changed in manyways. It is one of the fastest growing states/territories, and public and private expectationshave grown significantly. We no longer can usebeing remote as an excuse.New Education OpportunitiesWe now have access to world class veterinaryeducation resources including conferencematerials, webcasts and scientific papers throughvarious websites. Now even the AVA has come tothe foray with their own VetEd website. Thiswebsite will allow members to have access to allNational and Divisional conference papers. Thiswill be an absolute boon for veterinarians in the NTas there will be far more resources, relevant to allof us up North, that we can access. The NTdivision will be putting up the past several years’conference papers in the coming months, so thatmembers can access them.New ResearchWe have now new research papers coming outrelevant to the NT. Dr Sze Fui Hii has doneresearch in conjunction with Dr Ted Donelan andfound two types of haemotrophic mycoplasmas indogs in the NT (see later). This is a disease thatwe were not aware existed in the NT, let aloneAustralia. This will change the way we approachthe health of many animals in practice in the NT,and possibly throughout Australia.The AVANT continues to have input in theseareas, and we look forward to having further input.New SpecialistsWe are now very lucky to have our ownpermanent veterinary specialist living and workingin the NT and we would like to welcome Dr KimSmith. We are very lucky to have him and call himour own. He has added a new dimension to thetreatment of animals in the NT.Where to now?There are still many areas that the NT needs todevelop further – Disaster preparedness andresponse, more funding for our veterinary labs,and better consumer protections from layoperators. This hopefully will develop in thecoming years.No matter what happens in the future, we will stillhave one old stalwart up north – the NT News willalways remain the NT News.4New LawsThe Vet Act is continuing in its development andwe need to embrace these laws and ensure thatthese will continue to serve veterinarians, animalsand our clients well in the years to come. AnotherAct in development that is very relevant to the waywe work and the way animals are treated is theAnimal Welfare Act.Australian Veterinary Association NT Division BULLETIN ● July 2012Barry Smyth past president of AVA national with Alex Burleighat the NT Division Conference earlier this year .