Biosecurity ramps up amid foot-mouth disease fear

Biosecurity measures have increased for flights from Bali after the detection of foot and mouth disease dramatically increased the threat against Australia’s livestock industry.

A veterinarian prepares a vaccine for foot-mouth disease for cows in Indonesia. Picture: AFP

Biosecurity measures have ­increased for flights from Bali after the detection of foot and mouth disease dramatically increased the threat against Australia’s multibillion-dollar livestock ­industry.

The highly infectious virus was identified in Indonesian cattle in May, 30 years after it had been eradicated, but its presence in Bali, a step closer to the Australian mainland and a hub for Australian tourists, was confirmed on Tuesday.

It has prompted the urgent tightening of security measures at Australian airports, including assessment of all passengers arriving from Indonesia, as well as boarding of flights by biosecurity officers.

Foot and mouth disease affects cattle, sheep, goats and pigs and can be transmitted directly by animals or carried in mud sticking to footwear or clothes.

An outbreak in Australia would require extensive control measures, including red meat export bans and large-scale culling.

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences modelling projects a widespread outbreak in Australia would have a direct economic impact of about $80bn.

Control costs alone have been estimated at $50bn over 10 years.

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the government had increased biosecurity measures to combat the growing threat.

“Following official confirmation from Indonesian authorities yesterday that FMD had spread to Bali, new measures were immediately imposed to protect Australia’s livestock industry from this threat,” Mr Watt said. “These new measures build on additional measures the Government had already put in place when the Indonesian outbreak first began.

“These existing strengthened measures include new targeted operations at major airports servicing travel from Indonesia to check a wider range of passengers who could be contaminated with FMD or be carrying contaminated goods and assessment of all passengers on flights from Indonesia, with high-risk passengers identified for intervention.”

Biosecurity staff will be given additional training and biosecurity detector dogs will be deployed in Cairns and Darwin airports.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed to providing vaccines and technical expertise to help deal with the Indonesian outbreak.

National Party leader David Littleproud said the measures did not go far enough and called on all passengers arriving from Bali to be screened by biosecurity officers. “There should be foot dips for all travellers returning from Bali so that any trace of the disease on the bottom of shoes is stopped at the border,” he said. “Our livestock producers need to be told explicitly that compensation is available if they spot and report any signs of the disease on our shores because if the disease comes into Australia, we will lose the genetic of our valuable livestock.”

National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson said the government should consider screening all incoming arrivals from high-risk areas. “We may need to move to questioning each person to determine the need for a biosecurity inspection, or simply sending each person for an inspection,” Ms Simson said.