Confirmation that viral fragments of Foot and Mouth Disease have been found in meat products for sale in Melbourne supermarkets underlines the need for urgent action to protect Tasmania from an outbreak.
The Primary Industries Minister Jo Palmer has been dragging her feet in response to the threat of Foot and Mouth and the detection of viral fragments is a wake-up call. The strongest possible measures to protect Tasmanian farmers must now be an absolute priority.
While the detection is not a live threat, it is still a major threat to Australia’s FMD-free status and shows the need for increased biosecurity measures and resources to protect Tasmania.
Tasmania must move immediately to undertake a simulated exercise to test our preparedness for an outbreak, to ensure lines of communication, systems and key partner interactions are up-to-date and ready for an immediate response.
Tasmania needs to implement electronic tagging of all at-risk livestock to track any outbreaks.
The government also needs to have a clear plan to deal with the massive risk feral animals such as wild fallow deer have in the management of an outbreak.
With the Federal Government rolling out sanitation mats at international borders, the government must immediately provide the same at all Tasmanian entry points.
As with COVID, we can use the fact that Tasmania is an island to our advantage but we need to provide the measures and awareness to ensure people do the right thing.
The State Government needs to clarify what provisions are held within the budget to mitigate the risk and rapidly respond to an outbreak.
While these are significant measures, we need to do all we can to keep Foot and Mouth Disease out of Tasmania, given the devastation an outbreak will have on farmers and their communities, the cost to the state and the loss of billions of dollars generated by the industry.
This government cannot sit on its hands any longer – we need the tightest possible biosecurity measures for people and products entering Tasmania from every flight and port before it is too late.
Shadow Minister for Primary Industries
