Page 3271 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 October 2022
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Some emergency animal disease risks to the ACT include the Hendra virus and diseases exotic to Australia, such as avian influenza, Newcastle disease, African swine fever and African horse sickness. The ACT cannot afford to be complacent about these risks. Biosecurity is a shared responsibility between all jurisdictions, the commonwealth and industry.
This is formally captured in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity, known as the IGAB. The IGAB establishes Australian governments’ commitments to strengthen, participate in and lead the national biosecurity system. It describes the responsibilities of all states and territories to manage biosecurity within their borders. Further bolstering strategic collaboration, the first ever National Biosecurity Strategy was released by the federal Minister for Agriculture, Murray Watt, during his Press Club address in August this year.
The ACT is engaged in a national biosecurity policy development and coordination effort through the Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting, the Agriculture Senior Officials Committee and the National Management Group, which bring together all Australian governments and industry partners. These bodies are actively meeting at present in response to the heightened biosecurity threat environment and incursions.
In response to the heightened biosecurity threat environment and the varroa mite incursion in New South Wales, the ACT government is bolstering its biosecurity preparedness and planning. Some of the measures include: refreshing the ACT’s biosecurity emergency plan and incident management system to ensure that they meet contemporary expectations for an emergency response; activating the ACT biosecurity committee—comprising representatives from directorates and the Canberra Airport—to provide a coordinated and whole-of-government approach to biosecurity policy and operation in the ACT; and engagement with ACT beekeepers and planned engagement with ACT landholders on the risk of varroa mite, emergency animal diseases and how they can contribute to manage that risk.
Whilst working in cooperation with all jurisdictions, it is important that we work particularly closely with New South Wales to ensure that we work effectively in cross-border biosecurity management. A memorandum of understanding between the ACT and the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries was established in 2016 on cross-border security. With the recent occurrence of varroa mite in New South Wales, this MOU is being reviewed to ensure that it remains fit for purpose and reflective of the current arrangements.
In this spirit of cooperation, I am proud that ACT biosecurity officers have answered the call from New South Wales to assist in field operations for the pollination event at Balranald, in western New South Wales. Despite there being no known varroa mite incursion in this area, the pollination event involves bringing together bee colonies from a range of areas, and the operation will be an added safeguard to ensure that procedures are followed to prevent further potential spread. These deployments will prove invaluable in growing the ACT’s knowledge base and experience in responding to and managing a biosecurity outbreak.
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