vegetables

18
The Front Line
Biosecurity measures implemented on-farm.
Photo courtesy of NT Farmers.
The Australian biosecurity system
under the magnifying glass
THE FACE OF THE AUSTRALIAN BIOSECURITY SYSTEM IS
QUICKLY EVOLVING, WITH INDUSTRY BEING REQUIRED
TO TAKE AN INCREASINGLY ACTIVE ROLE IN THE SPACE.
A RAPID RE-EVALUATION OF BIOSECURITY, OWNERSHIP
OF ASPECTS IN THE SYSTEM AND DETERMINATION
OF WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING GOOD
PRACTICE AND DECISION MAKING IS CURRENTLY IN
MOTION. AUSVEG NATIONAL MANAGER – SCIENTIFIC
AFFAIRS DR JESSICA LYE EXPLAINS.
R&D
Farm Productivity,
Resource Use
& Management
with Dr Jessica Lye
The changing landscape of
Australian biosecurity has
never been more evident than
during 2014 and 2015, when
Australia was bombarded with
a range of pest incursions
and insufficient resources
to adequately deal with the
outbreaks without strong support
from industry.
Recent redevelopments in
state and federal biosecurity
legislation has made it clear
that there is a push towards
simplifying our currently
complex biosecurity system and
making biosecurity a shared
concern across government and
stakeholders.
Joint responsibility now
enshrined in legislation
The Queensland Government
has ratified the new Biosecurity
Act 2014, which will come
into effect on 1 July 2016.
A significant component
of the Act is the General
Biosecurity Obligation, which
makes provisions for shared
responsibility of biosecurity
duties across industry and the
wider community.
The General Biosecurity
Obligation places the
responsibility on all persons to
take reasonable and practical
steps to prevent activities from
causing a biosecurity event,
such as spreading a pest
insect or disease or introducing
a weed. In introducing the
obligation, the Act recognises
each person’s role in preventing,
eliminating or minimising
biosecurity risks based on
their level of knowledge and
understanding.
Under this obligation, all
reasonable and practicable
measures to prevent, eliminate
or minimise the biosecurity risk
must be taken. An example
of a reasonable measure may
be holding a meeting in a
neutral location, rather than at
a property that is susceptible
to a pest outbreak. While the
regulations resulting from the
Act are not finalised, it is likely
that not fulfilling the General
Biosecurity Obligation will result
in a warning and/or fines.
Other states, such as New
South Wales, are also adopting
a similar concept within
biosecurity legislation. The
New South Wales Biosecurity
Act 2015, which was assented
to in September 2015 and is
expected to come into effect
in 2017, contains a General
Biosecurity Duty. The General
Biosecurity Duty can be found
in Part 3 of the NSW Act.
Specifically, section 22 of the
Act specifies:
Any person who deals
with biosecurity matter or a
carrier and who knows, or
ought reasonably to know, the
biosecurity risk posed or likely
to be posed by the biosecurity
matter, carrier or dealing has
a biosecurity duty to ensure
that, so far as is reasonably
practicable, the biosecurity
risk is prevented, eliminated or
minimised.
Update on the Federal
Biosecurity Act 2015
The Federal Biosecurity Bill
2014 and supporting legislation
received royal assent from the
Governor-General on 16 June
2015 and has now become
the Biosecurity Act 2015. The
12-month delay is to ensure
clients, staff and stakeholders
understand their rights and
responsibilities under the new
Act and that there is a smooth
transition to the new regulatory
arrangements.
AUSVEG provided a
submission on the draft
Biosecurity Bill in January 2014
and will be providing comment
on draft regulations during
the consultation period. When
they are passed and come into
effect, these draft regulations
will supersede the Quarantine
Regulations 2000.
Draft regulations for
Biosecurity Import Risk
Analyses (BIRAs) are now
available for comment from