There should be nothing to fear if live strains of foot and mouth virus are brought to the Australian Animal Health Laboratory for research, with the man in charge this week declaring it the safest research facility in the world.
Furore erupted late last year when deep within a report on Australia's quarantine arrangements was a recommendation to import live strains of the FMD virus so Australian scientists can test the disease and develop vaccines under local conditions.
The report suggests research could be conducted at the AAHL site, but the livestock lobby don't think the risk was worth it, arguing similar research could easily be conducted off-shore by Australian scientists.
Farmers believe this would avoid outbreaks occurring as a result of human error or lapses in biosecurity safeguards, like at Britain's Perbrite laboratory in 2007 which triggered the UK's most recent outbreak of FMD.
Yet Dr Martyn Jeggo, the director the AAHL facility, says he is confident the lab has the "best practices in the world" in place to manage FMD and stop it from spreading if the Government decides to adopt the Beale recommendation in a bid to boost preparedness for a disease outbreak.
Dr Jeggo wouldn't comment on whether he supported the Beale recommendation or not, but said if live strains came here, they would be properly and carefully managed.
"If that work was to be done at AAHL, it would be safe," Dr Jeggo said.
"AAHL looks at many infectious agents at its facilities and has done for many years, if they were to escape they would cause major problems, even for humans.
"But we are a high-containment laboratory, with many procedures that can ensure strict biosecurity which make us the highest security containment laboratory in the world."
Dr Jeggo said it was up to the Government to consider the recommendations, and the issue of whether research be done in Australia or elsewhere was a separate debate.
"We feel there are some significant unknown areas surrounding FMD needing substantial research," Dr Jeggo said.
"But we're in no way suggesting that work necessarily has to be done in Australia."
Dr Jeggo said AAHL has not made a formal proposal to import the disease in the seven years he has been there, and there is no reference to the suggestion in any submission made by CSIRO, which is responsible for AAHL.
Federal Opposition spokesman for agriculture, John Cobb, said it was important Australia's animal health experts had access to live FMD virus, but did not support its import.
"I fully recognise the need for animal health researchers, veterinarians and scientists to be familiar with the virus as we have not had an FMD virus outbreak since 1890 in Australia and not many of our animal health experts have a hands-on working knowledge of the disease," Mr Cobb said.
Mr Cobb said instead the Government should reverse its decision to sell off Australia's off-shore quarantine station on Cocos Island and co-locate the quarantine station with a high security bio-laboratory which would allow on live virus with no danger of it escaping.
"The second option is for the Australian Animal Health Research Laboratory (AAHL) at Geelong to be 'twinned' with the Regional FMD Reference Laboratory in Pakchung, in Thailand," he said.
"Australia has invested a large amount of funding and resources into FMD control in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia where FMD was successfully eradicated and in The Philippines where FMD has now been all but eradicated.
"We have a very good working relationship with the Thailand authorities, particularly at the FMD Regional Reference Laboratory in Pakchung.
"This option would be a win-win situation."
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