Karen Andrews calls on government to enact ‘appropriate measures’ to keep foot and mouth disease out of Australia

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews is calling on the government to put “appropriate measures” in place to ensure foot and mouth disease (FMD) does not enter Australia.

The contagious viral disease of livestock, which causes fever followed by the development of vesicles (blisters) in the mouth and on the feet, was reported in Indonesia in May.

FMD has not occurred in Australia since 1872, but if detected, the outbreak could result in multibillion-dollar losses to the agricultural industry.

Stream more travel news with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 

Ms Andrews said the risk of it entering Australia was “very concerning” and it could devastate the $80 billion agriculture industry.

“We don’t want that disease here. It would effectively wipe out some key parts of our agricultural industry – so we don’t want that to happen,” Ms Andrews told Sky News Australia on Thursday.

“We are concerned that people are already arriving in from Bali, they have been standing in animal manure – they will be bringing it in on their shoes, they will be brining it in on their suitcases.”

Ms Andrews urged the government to “step in” and make sure there are appropriate measures in place.

“Whether that means we have to put in greater regulation for people coming in from Indonesia – from Bali – so that we can be assured there is no Foot and Mouth disease coming into Australia,” she said.

The Federal Government has already implemented a number of biosecurity measures including operating all flights from Indonesia with increased vigilance.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the threat posed by FMD was a “top priority” and said high level discussions between the Indonesian and Australian governments have been occurring on an ongoing basis.

New measures being taken or introduced include the use of detector dogs in Darwin and Cairns Airports, signage at airports, expanded social media campaigns, training of airport security staff and enhanced profiling and inspections.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), Australia’s peak farming body, welcomed the new biosecurity measures against the “potentially devastating disease”.

“Ever since FMD was detected in Bali our industry has been on edge given the growing volumes of traffic between our countries,” NFF President Fiona Simson said in a statement.

“We are relieved to see the government respond to calls by industry to ramp up biosecurity through detector dogs, greater communications material for travellers, and further biosecurity staff training.

“We are pleased Minister Watt is listening and taking this matter seriously, and acting appropriately to protect Australian shores from this potentially devastating disease.”

Mr Watt travelled to Indonesia on Wednesday to review how the country is responding to the outbreak – and to determine if Australia can lend a hand.

“One of the other things we need to do is ensure we are assisting Indonesia in their battle to contain FMD,” he told The Australian on Monday.

“This is about making sure that we’re taking every possible action both at home and abroad to control the outbreak.”

Since being discovered in May, Indonesia has confirmed more than 300,000 cases.