Indonesia’s disease crisis is worsening as Nationals demands answers

International passengers have endured shambolic scenes at customs in Sydney Airport this morning amid the escalating outbreak of foot and mouth disease overseas as MPs demand answers about potential border closures.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has landed back in the country and straight into the chaos at Sydney Airport as the industry grapples with how to deal with Indonesia’s foot and mouth crisis.

Joyce was hurried to his car after spending time in Ireland in recent weeks.

In the wake of his return, a Qantas Group spokesprson said the companycontineus “to work closely with state and federal government agencies to ensure our customers are aware of any quarantine requirements and processes travelling to Australia from Indonesia.”

It comes as one passenger who landed from Indonesia into Sydney this morning detailed the shambolic scenes at customs.

The passenger said border security had begun to wash the shoes of passengers, but others who arrived on the same flight were still bringing in food undeclared.

“They did wash my shoes when I came through, but they handed them back soaking wet,” he said.

“But a family in front of me still came through with a suitcase full of food.

“Another had brought croissants, apples and yoghurt undeclared which meant everyone in the line had to be searched in case we were all lying as well.

“It’s crazy with foot and mouth going around people still have no idea what they’re doing.”

It comes as Indonesia’s Foot and Mouth Disease crisis is getting worse with federal Nationals leader David Littleproud saying he has been told that the virus is now in 22 provinces across Indonesia.

“I have had an updated briefing and I was shocked to find out that this is not contained to the extend we thought it was,” Mr Littleproud said.

“It is escalating not de-escalating in Indonesia and if we have not hit the precipice yet for closing the border to Indonesia the Albanese government needs to explain why not and what that juncture will be.”

“We want to be constructive but there are threshold questions that need to be answered.”

Mr Littleproud’s comments came as it was revealed that foot baths to rinse the shoes of travellers from Indonesia and protect the nation’s $80 billion livestock industry from FMD had still not been installed at Sydney airport on Thursday while farmers waited to find out if the crippling virus had escaped into the country.

But federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt accused Coalition MPs of “fanning the flames of hysteria”, despite fragments of the virus being detected in an undeclared beef product at Adelaide Airport.

Officials at both Sydney Airport and the Department of Agriculture told The Daily Telegraph that the foot baths had shown up yet and there are fears they will not be installed for the weekend.

“The fact we have only foot mats going into Darwin and Cairns when you have 16,000 Australian returning from Bali a week, the risk is huge,” Victorian Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie reportedly said.

Bridget McKenzie watches Nationals party leader David Littleproud speak to media after the Nationals Party Room Meeting at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

Tess Herbert, owner of Gundamain Pastoral Co which runs a massive cattle feed lot as well as running its own Angus breeding herd in NSW’s Central West, said the reports showed how close the agricultural sector was to disaster.

“The threat has been around before but this one feels a bit closer and more real,” Ms Herbert said.

“We have already ramped up our biosecurity measures.”

“No one can just come on site or come in for a chat,” she said, adding that she had cancelled field trips from local schools.

Tess Herbert, owner of Gundamain Pastoral Co, says the agricultural sector is close to disaster. Picture: Monique Harmer

“We are locking down and restricting movement and we are biosecurity risk assessing people and vehicles that come on the site.”

Ms Herbert said she hoped the government would do more to protect against the dangers of travellers unwittingly bringing the virus into Australia.

“The biosecurity measures in place have to be consistent and every traveller must be treated consistently and thoroughly.”

Mick Brown, who with his wife Lyndall and son, Harrison, run a boutique Limousin cattle operation on the NSW south coast, said if FMD came into the country it would be the Australian equivalent of the mad cow outbreak in Britain which saw millions of cows destroyed.

“The government has got to be very proactive on border control and stop it from getting in here,” Mr Brown said.

“It would be devastating for all farming, beef, sheep, pigs.”

“People forget what happened in the UK in the late 1980s when you were talking about killing and burning millions of head of livestock if you can’t control it.”

“If that happened here, where would we get our product from then?” he said.

While farmers pleaded for stricter biosecurity measures to be implemented, politicians and officials remained divided on the question of closing borders with Indonesia.

Rebekha Sharkie, who represents the South Australian agricultural seat of Mayo, said that she was in “support” of a “temporary closure” of the border with Indonesia.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton challenged the Albanese government to provide clarity.

“This is a matter of national significance. The Prime Minister needs to tell Australians what he’s doing to manage this serious risk,” he said.

However Mr Watt defended the government’s response on Sky News Australia, saying, “We’ve acted as quickly as we possibly can.

“The things he’s (Mr Littleproud) demanding we do are not things he did when he was Minster for Agriculture.”

Mr Murray said the foot baths being installed out were “not the kind of thing you get from Bunnings or your local hardware”.