Live strains of foot and mouth disease (FMD) will soon be brought into Australia, having been recommended to the Government, for the purposes of research, in the report from a major review of Australia's quarantine, released last week.
The review, headed up by former head of the Department of Environment Roger Beale, made 84 recommendations to largely overhaul existing quarantine and biosecurity systems in Australia. All have been accepted in principle, by the Federal Government.
But alarm bells are ringing over a recommendation to abandon a 30-year ban on the import of live viruses and allow samples of foot and mouth disease into Australia to help develop tests and vaccines to combat the disease within Australia. (See separate story).
This is despite last year's outbreak of FMD disease in the United Kingdom which spread from an animal health research laboratory.
The report states: "The import of positive control samples (including the FMD virus) for use in laboratory, diagnostic research and capacity building for exotic disease pathogens is vital and should be permitted under strict import permit conditions to laboratories such as the Australian Animal Health Laboratory."
It goes further to explain that new national priorities should be developed in relation to new technologies, diagnostic research and vaccines.
"The (review) panel was provided with evidence that access to exotic pest and disease material to develop these tests and vaccines is important, but currently difficult," the Beale report says.
Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke, has not commented on the specific recommendation to import the live FMD virus.
But in its initial, written response to the report, the Federal Government gave in-principle agreement to this and all other recommendations in the Beale report.
"The Commonwealth intends to implement the research and training recommendations in consultation with relevant experts and providers," the Government's response said.
Mr Burke said last week that the Productivity Commission has forecast a hit to the Australian livestock sector of between $8 billion and $13 billion if FMD entered Australia, making the case for the need for robust biosecurity arrangements.
National Farmers Federation last week welcomed the review and its recommendations, but chief executive, Ben Fargher, was unaware of the live virus import suggestion, or its Government approval, when it was brought to his attention this week.
Many farm lobby groups, too, have also welcomed a long-awaited overhaul of the country's quarantine and biosecurity.
Neither Cattle Council of Australia nor Sheepmeat Council of Australia raised concerns of the live FMD virus recommendation in their statements to the media last week.
However, NSW Farmers Association quarantine spokesman, Peter Carter, said alarm bells should be ringing loudly with every livestock producer in the country.
Mr Carter said the Government must reject this recommendation because even with the most rigorous of import arrangements guarding the disease's use for research in Australia, human error would always be a problem.
In a letter to The Land newspaper this week, Mr Carter said, "the FMD virus has been given a magnificent Christmas present in that instead of having to come to Australia in frozen meat or even on somebody's shoes, it will now fly first class".
"Once here at Australian Animal Health Laboratory, it will only be a small step away from devastating Australia's livestock population."
Mr Carter said FMD has escaped from several purpose-built facilities many times, and each time has been because of human error, equipment failure or both.
"This is the exact escape route used by Newcastle disease virus to exit AAHL in 1987," Mr Carter said.
NSW Liberal Senator and a quarantine crusader of sorts, Bill Heffernan, said given the well-documented record of human failure when it comes to AQIS and biosecurity failures in Australia and elsewhere, any move to bring the foot and mouth virus onto the mainland should be rejected immediately.
"There is no reason why research can't be carried out in co-operation with other nations in the countries where the disease is already present," Senator Heffernan said.
"We should be able to secure access to the scientific work that is already going on, and if need be send some of our Australian scientists overseas to be part of it. Just don't bring the disease in here."
Senator Heffernan said the recommendation highlights why a Senate Inquiry should be held to examine the implications of all the recommendations before they are implemented.
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