GasFields Commission Queensland is calling for more collaboration between agricultural representative organizations, landholders and gas companies to achieve improved biosecurity outcomes.
With producers facing increased legislative biosecurity obligations, the GasFields Commission reports continual feedback from landowners regarding a lack of focus from agriculture’s top representative bodies on biosecurity issues and a development of ‘best practices’ for landholders who face much of burden in meeting biosecurity standards.
GasFields Commission engagement officer Jane Walker said the government-funded independent body are in the early stages of bringing together agricultural groups to create a collaborative approach in developing ‘fit to purpose’ biosecurity management for landholders who have gas companies accessing their properties.
“Landholders want good data, research and information on how to best manage their biosecurity obligations without it all becoming to onerous,” Ms Walker said.
“It’s a can of worms topic, but it needs more discussion and focus plus something everyone involved is responsible for achieving.”
Ms Walker said a ‘one size fits all’ approach won’t work for biosecurity best practices due to the large variety of agricultural business operating on many different land types.
“This is the reason more collaboration is needed between peak agricultural organizations to share research information and ideas on how producers can be helped in achieving good biosecurity in a way that isn’t overwhelming for landholders,” she said.
“I want to try and ascertain a clear message I can deliver to landholders on the interaction between coal seam gas companies, landholders and biosecurity.
“We need a unified understanding of how to achieve that.”
Queensland Farmers Federation CEO Travis Tobin said there’s a shortfall in biosecurity research and implementation funding by government.
“It’s time we revisit, in a sophisticated way, how we capture and encompass the risk creator in the biosecurity issue because currently they are not part of it,” he said.
Mr Tobin said often in agriculture the risk creator of a biosecurity issue is not directly involved in the industry, so it’s the producer who suffers the losses and not the risk creator.
“Often the risk creator is not part of the biosecurity response or solution and that needs to change,” he said.
