Tasmanian farmers today called for heightened biosecurity surveillance and a permanent, enforced ban on New Zealand apples entering the state following the discovery of contaminated NZ fruit entering South Australia.
“We told you so. It took less than a week for NZ exporters to transgress,” Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Jan Davis said today.
“And you have to wonder what has already slipped through unnoticed.”
Ms Davis said that if the fire blight disease were to find its way to Tasmania, it would not only be apples that would be affected. Many other crops and garden plants are also at risk.”
“Tasmania has hundreds of kilometres of hawthorn hedges. They have been a feature of the landscape since the 1820s. The UK experience has been not only that is hawthorn a suitable host for fire blight, but that it is also threatened by it.”
Ms Davis said farmers supported the stance taken by all three major parties in Tasmania to resist the importation of NZ apples, no matter the attitude of the federal government.
She said the Tasmanian Greens were proposing a reference to a parliamentary standing committee to examine Tasmania’s biosecurity.
“I don’t presume to tell the parliament what to do,” she said. “It may be that biosecurity is an issue for government rather than parliament – but what I do know is that this is a risk we cannot afford. The damage would be immense and our disease-free status irretrievable.”
“Australia’s science–based biosecurity system is an essential part of maintaining our relative freedom from many pests and diseases found elsewhere in the world. This minimises the need for chemicals to be used in producing our food.”
“In Tasmania, particularly, we pride ourselves on our clean and green image. Why on earth would we want to take the risk of introducing a disease that would have such a devastating effect on all Tasmanians?”
Earlier on Tasmanian Times: AQIS find demands increased inspections
Jan Davis http://www.tfga.com.au/
