Page 3233 - Week 11 - Thursday, 12 September 1991
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STOCK DISEASES (AMENDMENT) BILL 1991
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (11.19): Mr Speaker, I present the Stock Diseases (Amendment) Bill 1991. I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
The Bill amends the Stock Diseases Act 1933. I am pleased today to table legislation that will bring the ACT into line with the rest of Australia in the control of stock disease. The ACT should no longer be seen in isolation from the rest of the country and, in particular, should be seen as an important part of the south-east region of New South Wales. The ACT is an active member of the Australian Agricultural Council and contributes to national rural production.
The rural industry is a strong part of the local economy. It provides a much needed diversification to our economic base. In the ACT it is estimated that the gross annual value of rural production is $25m. Cattle raising for beef or replacement breeding stock is the second most important rural industry in the wider south-east region, with a gross annual production valued at approximately $74m.
The current ACT Stock Diseases Act dates back to 1933. This Act provides for the destruction of diseased stock, payment of compensation to owners and isolation of areas of the ACT where diseased stock are located. The Government is committed to updating ACT legislation, particularly where it provides consistency with legislation elsewhere in Australia. Uniform legislation throughout Australia is essential in protecting meat export income and providing effective disease control.
The proposed Bill provides for a system of tracing diseased cattle to their property of origin and a system of identifying animals through the slaughtering process. These provisions have been prompted by an approach from the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industries and Energy, which is responsible for the control of animal disease in Australia. It has become apparent that a trace-back system is essential for the success of the national brucellosis and tuberculosis eradication campaign and continued funding of this program by the Commonwealth Government. The amendments will enable the identification and trace-back of any diseased cattle to the property of origin so that isolation and remedial measures can take place.
The Government clearly has a responsibility to ACT consumers, and those supplied interstate with meat, to ensure that the local product is disease free. The Government also believes that rural producers have a responsibility to ensure the identification of cattle presented for sale or slaughter as a means of tracing and isolating animal disease outbreaks. It is important that
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