Cook Shire calls for Cape York Biosecurity Centre to be expanded

Reports that the government is considering its closure have alarmed and angered Cape-based growers and politicians, including Katter's Australian Party leader Robbie Katter, who described the idea as a joke.

He said the Palaszczuk government needed to immediately commit to keeping the Cape York Biosecurity Centre open and operational.

Agriculture Minister Mark Furner confirmed this week that the future use of the Coen facility will be part of an ongoing review.

"As part of the Cape York Biosecurity Centre review process, Biosecurity Queensland recently commenced consultations with broad range of stakeholders," he said.

"That process is ongoing and will be vital in framing strategy development and future investment in biosecurity in Far North Queensland.

"Biosecurity Queensland's consultative approach has already resulted in the implementation of collaborative arrangements with local communities, councils, and other Queensland government departments to deliver community awareness and training in biosecurity risk management and prevention."

Cook Shire Council Mayor Peter Scott said his council was scheduled to hold a teleconference withe DAF officials on Friday, at which he will be emphasising the important role the Cape York Biosecurity Centre plays.

"There might not be a lot of people there but the fact that it's there shows biosecurity is being taken seriously - it's a visual reminder," he said.

In addition, any closure could impact a men's shed and workshops for older Aboriginal men that operate alongside the facility.

Cr Scott said unnamed sources had told him the facility would be closed within six months.

Rather than close it, the Cook Shire wants to see the service extended to incorporate other government agencies, along with Indigenous rangers and their knowledge.

"Queensland has thousands of kilometres of coastline but the cheapest way to bring drugs in is to put it in the back of a car and drive it down," Cr Cook said.

"Having the centre there stops people from doing the wrong thing," he said. "If the government was smart, they could also use it as a police checkpoint."

A July 2019 Biosecurity Queensland social media post states that 12,874 vehicles were inspected at the Cape York Biosecurity Centre "last year" for plant products such as fruit and vegetables, soil and related equipment or bee hives "that can carry serious pests and diseases".

"A talented team of biosecurity officers are situated on the southern border of the far northern biosecurity zone, near Coen, to protect Cape York and the Torres Strait - as well as the rest of Queensland - from the spread of high-risk pests and diseases," it adds.

Mr Furner said that in late 2018, Biosecurity Queensland established the Far Northern Biosecurity Initiative "to better address the critical role the Torres Strait and Cape York Peninsula area play in mitigating biosecurity risks to Queensland and Australia".

"This, more targeted and efficient way of delivering biosecurity services includes $3.7 million in funding over five years to enhance biosecurity capability in the region, with a strong emphasis on stakeholder empowerment, education, and partnership," he said.

"The FNBI is changing the way biosecurity services are delivered in the region, allowing more efficient and effective management of the risks of pests and diseases moving both north and south."

He said the second phase of the FNBI project was about to commence with the recent announcement of additional emergency animal disease preparedness funding by the state government.

"Additional resources will build on the capacity of both the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and local partners to detect biosecurity threats and respond in a timely and coordinated manner.

"The ability to coordinate and implement an effective emergency response, using local stakeholders and traditional owners, will be strengthened by DAF actively partnering with local communities in skills development and public awareness."

Mr Furner added that a Cape York United native title claim, which includes the land the CYBC is located on, was a separate process from the biosecurity centre review, which began prior to DAF being aware of the claim.

He said DAF was working through the claim process with traditional owners and, out of respect for that, he would not be making further comment on that.

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KAP leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said Queensland's only international border would be exposed to potentially "catastrophic" risk if the state government was to proceed with any plans to shut down the Coen biosecurity centre.

"We are facing (an) unprecedented, heightened biosecurity risk at present with the spread of both foot and mouth and lumpy skin diseases across South East Asia, and still trying to cope with the shameful legacy that has been produced by under-investment in Biosecurity Queensland over many years," he said.

"I am calling on Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Mark Furner to immediate schedule a roundtable meeting to be held in the Cape to discuss with locals the future of the centre, with a view to expanding it, not closing it down.

"The key to properly managing the state's environment and safeguarding against biosecurity threats is ongoing investment and preparation over a period of time, and any reduction in the status quo would fly in the face of common-sense."

The Cape York Biosecurity Centre was first opened in 1999 under the name of the Coen Information and Inspection Centre, and was part of a $3.1 million Northwatch program investment designed to strengthen Queensland's biosecurity surveillance capabilities.

Cr Scott said any infrastructure needed to be built with ongoing operational funding included.

"An analogy is the DAF funding 15 years ago for a seed and weed spraying facility at Lakeland Downs, but they didn't give the council operational funding," he said. "It was a case of, here you go, have a white elephant."

He said that had been out of commission for the past 10 years.

Mr Katter was critical of the Palaszczuk government's funding for biosecurity officers in the state, saying 30 full-time-equivalent biosecurity roles had been lost from regional Queensland in the last 10 years.

"During this year's Budget Estimates, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Mark Furner admitted that in 2013 Biosecurity Queensland boasted 240 full-time staff based outside of the south east corner," he said. "By 2022, that number had dropped to 199 and there also remains 11 unfilled but budgeted vacancies across the regions."

Mr Furner said that any suggestion of a reduction in numbers from 240 was demonstrably untrue, saying it was the LNP in government that cut a swathe through biosecurity staffing in Queensland.

"In fact, total staff numbers in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries fell from 2643 in June 2012 to 1969 in January 2015 - that is the legacy of the LNP on agriculture and biosecurity in Queensland," he said.

"The management and filling of vacancies is an ongoing process for every government department.

"We expect the current vacancies to be filled."