Northern Territory Second Reading Speeches

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STOCK DISEASES AMENDMENT BILL 2003

(This an uncorrected proof of the daily report. It is made available under the condition that it is recognised as such.)

Bill presented and read a first time.

Dr BURNS (Primary Industry and Fisheries): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that this bill be now read a second time. The main purpose of this bill is to provide a prompt, effective response to an emergency animal disease and ensure minimal effect on the animal industries and the economy, if an emergency animal disease such as foot and mouth disease was detected within the Northern Territory or anywhere within Australia. The cost of a large-scale outbreak of foot and mouth disease was estimated in 2002 to cost $12bn to the Australian economy, comprising direct costs of $4bn and flow-on costs of $8bn.
The amendment bill will strengthen a number of existing powers and introduce new powers to enable an effective response and better risk management. A number of the amendments are necessary to ensure that the Northern Territory legislation is consistent with the national cost-sharing agreement for emergency animal diseases, signed by the Northern Territory in December 2001.

Compensation is now provided for animal products and buildings destroyed or damaged as part of an emergency animal disease response. Top-up compensation is provided for replacing stock, if the value of equivalent stock has increased since the disease outbreak. Compensation may be withheld if a person fails to meet the obligations with respect to reporting disease, or fails to comply with details of a prescribed disease control program and is found guilty of an offence.

Early detection and reporting will greatly limit the scope of the outbreak response and the cost of the response. Prescribed diseases will be classified as an emergency disease that is listed with the national emergency animal disease response agreement; an exotic disease not found in Australia and not listed in the emergency animal disease response agreement; or an endemic disease that is one which occurs naturally within the Northern Territory.

There are obligations for persons to report a suspected or confirmed prescribed disease. There is an obligation for the Chief Inspector to publish a list of all prescribed diseases.

The legislation enables the declaration of a stand still zone if an emergency disease is or maybe present or maybe introduced into an area. The purpose is to prevent further movement of livestock or animal products while the extent of livestock movements from the risk area is determined and disease surveillance is done. This ban will be for a short period of time and released as soon as possible.

This measure will greatly limit the spread of disease by exposed animals or animal products. A permit system will allow low risk movements to occur. For example, stock for slaughter at an abattoir. While it is envisaged that the ban would usually relate to livestock, a ban on livestock and livestock products is provided.

Producer representatives are an important part of the response team and would contribute significantly to the decision process. The ban on feeding of swill to pigs is strengthened by specifying the only conditions for any exemption to the ban and establishing an offence to supply swill to pig farmers.

There is an ouster clause to provide protection from illegal injunction to prevent delays in the rapid response to an emergency animal disease. An order or direction by the Chief Inspector is final and conclusive in a disease control program for an emergency animal disease.

Rapid actions early in an outbreak can greatly limit the spread of the disease. There is no ouster clause for endemic diseases. In order to minimise the risk of poor quality diagnostic test results for emergency diseases there will be an approval system for veterinary laboratories and specified tests for emergency diseases. There are national standards to support the approval process.

There is protection for persons acting in good faith against or civil or criminal proceedings during emergency animal disease response. The penalties have been reviewed and converted to penalty units. There is a substantial increase in penalties. This is due to the fact that penalties have not been reviewed for many years and a deterrent is necessary to the high economic consequence of offences under the Stock Diseases Act.

The proposals in this bill are the result of lessons learnt during the foot and mouth disease outbreak in the United Kingdom in 2002, the national foot and mouth disease exercise conducted in September 2002 and consultations with industry and government organisations.

I commend the bill to honourable members for their consideration.

Debate adjourned.

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