Stronger action needed in response to foot and mouth disease threat

The Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox MP is calling on the Federal Government to immediately ramp up its response to the threat posed by a foot and mouth outbreak.

“With almost half of the national herd located in Queensland, the state is the nation’s largest supplier of beef products. The industry supports more than 11,600 specialist beef enterprises across Queensland, with beef cattle grown across most regions,” Mr Willcox said.

“The gross value of beef production at the farm gate was north of $5.7 billion 2016-17. We have a lot to lose.

“The detection of viral foot and mouth fragments on products brought in from Indonesia and China is alarming. It should serve as a wake-up call to the Labor Federal Government that it is failing to protect our borders,” Mr Willcox said.

Mr Willcox says the disease would be catastrophic for Australian farmers, with the recovery bill estimated at $80 billion. Queensland beef producers and the local processing industry would be devastated.

The Mackay Regional Council area is home to the Thomas Borthwick and Sons abattoir at Bakers Creek south of city, which sits inside the Capricornia electorate.

Federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry MP echoes Mr Willcox’s concerns and has called on the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take over the response from his Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt.

“We simply cannot afford to let our guard down which is why we’ve been calling for disinfectant footpaths at all Australian airports,” Ms Landry said.

“The government has finally responded to the pressure by implementing the move, which should have happened weeks ago.”

Mr Willcox says the Labor government must urgently pursue stronger measures including offering 3D X-ray scanners to Indonesia, so biosecurity officers know what is in passenger luggage before it gets here.

“This is a relatively low-cost initiative in the face of a likely recovery bill of $80 billion,” Mr Willcox said.