TONY Pasin says he is “seriously concerned” about the Bali outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) and the federal government’s response.
The Barker MP said an outbreak of FMD in Australia would send shock waves through the economy and damage our international reputation for clean, green food and fibre.
Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) modelling projects a FMD outbreak in Australia would have an estimated direct economic impact of around $80 billion.
Last week, Agriculture Minister, Murray Watt, announced increased biosecurity measures in response to the Bali FMD outbreak including biosecurity detector dogs, additional signage and flyers at major airports, as well as social media campaigns informing travellers of FMD risk and precautions, increasing biosecurity staff.
However, Mr Pasin warned the government’s measure were insufficient.
“Labor’s new protocols to respond to the threat of FMD fail to go far enough,” he said.
“Sniffer dogs do not directly detect FMD on footwear and we cannot rely on travellers voluntary doing the right thing.
“I fear Labor is underestimating the biosecurity risk that this situation presents. At a very minimum all returning travellers from Indonesia including Bali should be required to treat their footwear if they insist on bringing them home.
“Labor’s soft approach to this FMD outbreak runs the very real risk of doing the same irrevocable harm to Australia’s livestock industries that the Gillard Government did in banning the live export trade overnight in 2011.”
The highly contagious virus can be carried in live animals as well as in meat, dairy products, soil, vehicles and equipment. It can also be carried on people’s clothing and in particular on their footwear.
Mr Pasin said pre-pandemic, 1.23 million Australians travelled to Bali in 2019 and a resumption in this level travel to Bali posed a serious threat to FMD entering Australia through Aussie travellers escaping the winter.
“July school holidays and a relaxation of travel restriction means returning Aussie holiday makers pose a huge risk to our livestock industry,” Mr Pasin said, “and every regional economy in the country.”
Indonesia authorities confirmed 63 cases of FMD in livestock in Bali on Tuesday, July 2.