WARWICK livestock producers say they are being asked to do more with less when it comes to livestock biosecurity management in southern Queensland.
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The concerns were aired at a recent meeting of the Warwick and district AgForce branch, where attendees said greater responsibilities were now expected of individual producers in complying with biosecurity regulation. Attendees at the meeting also expressed concern at dwindling state government biosecurity surveillance services.
Local producer and AgForce Warwick branch member David Cory said the progressive decline of state government livestock biosecurity surveillance services in the area had been a concern for many years.
"There is a lack of state government personnel on the ground to supervise the surveillance work required and that leaves us in a very vulnerable position," he said.
The producers said biosecurity should be well-planned and 'strategised'. The concerns come when Biosecurity Queensland is reviewing 12 pieces of subordinate legislation relating to biosecurity with a view to consolidating them into one biosecurity regulation under the new Biosecurity Act 2014.
Tomorrow afternoon (Friday, 5pm) is the deadline for feedback on a regulatory impact statement outlining options and explaining the need for a change. It focuses on new measures to minimise impact of cattle ticks; alternative regulatory approaches for banana, mango and bee pests; and introducing a fee for registering as a biosecurity entity.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister John McVeigh said there had been plenty of feedback on property identification codes (PICs) and options for cost-recovery.
