Push for biosecurity beef-up for Bali flights amid foot and mouth fears
Foot and mouth disease is the closest it’s ever been to Australian shores, prompting a push to introduce footbaths, bag screening and more luggage checks at airports.
NSW
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State authorities have written to the Commonwealth to tighten biosecurity rules for Australians returning from Bali as the threat of a local foot and mouth disease outbreak grows.
The highly infectious disease has rapidly spread through livestock in Indonesia with Australian authorities fearing the devastating impact of a local outbreak.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole and Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders wrote to federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt on Friday pushing for footbaths, bag screening and more luggage checks at airports.
Mr Saunders said the last outbreak in 2001 in the UK cost the country $13bn and saw 6 million animals put down to stop the spread.
“That cost them $13bn and our beef industry is significantly larger … Its impact is not just the animals you have euthanise but also our export partners like our beef going to Japan and Korea. That export market would drop,” he said.
“There are 103 flights a week going to Bali. We are asking for increased luggage surveillance, for every person coming back from Bali to have their luggage check (and) decontamination of shoes.”
Mr Saunders said footbaths at Australian airports or before people board Australian flights could be one way of preventing contamination, but states and the Commonwealth had to come on board.
He is also pushing for packed shoes that travellers wore while overseas to be decontaminated.
“(The risk is) someone who has been out for a bike ride and has picked up some mud or cow poo on their shoes and never even thought about it. We are dealing with floods and varroa mite outbreaks, if someone gets in, it will be very difficult to control.”
Mr Toole said this is the closest foot and mouth disease has been to Australian shores.
“The impacts of an FMD outbreak in Australia would be devastating to our livestock sector and regional communities – and we must do everything in our power to prevent that happening,” he said.
Mr Watt said the measures introduced so far to stop foot and mouth entering the country were based on advice from Australia’s chief vet and other biosecurity experts.
“We are taking this seriously, we are implementing tough measures and we’re prepared to do more,” he said.
He said had specifically asked for advice on the state’s footbaths proposal but had been told it wasn’t an “effective measure”.
“Partly because people returning from a holiday aren’t necessary wearing closed footwear, and those footbaths have pretty dangerous chemicals in them,” he said.
“And also, just because you’re wearing one pair of shoes back through an airport, doesn’t mean you haven’t got two or three other pairs in your bad.”
Mr Watt said in addition to tougher biosecurity screening at the border, the government was encouraging Australians to “take care” in Bali, avoid situations where they could come into contact with foot and mouth, and disinfect their shoes.
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Originally published as Push for biosecurity beef-up for Bali flights amid foot and mouth fears
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