Farmers underwhelmed by intergovernmental biosecurity review

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) is disappointed in yesterday’s release of the 2024 Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity (IGAB) Review Report and the accompanying joint government response, describing the outcome as underwhelming and a missed opportunity to secure Australia’s biosecurity future.

The IGAB defines the roles and responsibilities of governments and sets priority areas for collaboration to minimise the impact of pests and diseases on Australia’s economy, environment and communities.

It remains a vital framework for ensuring cooperative effort across jurisdictions to protect our national biosecurity system.

NFF President David Jochinke said the report and response had fallen short of expectations.

“The scope of this review was substantially narrower than previous IGAB reviews, and that’s reflected in the recommendations. At a time when biosecurity risks are increasing, farmers were looking for ambitious reform and certainty, instead, we’ve been left with a missed opportunity,” Mr Jochinke said.

The review found serious challenges in Australia’s biosecurity arrangements, including:

• A lack of transparency and public reporting from the National Biosecurity Committee.
• Unlike the Commonwealth, no State or Territory jurisdiction has long-term, predictable funding for all biosecurity functions.
• An acknowledgement that the IGAB cannot be effective without consistent implementation across governments.

“While we note governments’ agreement to the majority of recommendations, there is already a mounting pile of biosecurity reviews and reports gathering dust from past IGAB reviews to findings of the Inspector-General of Biosecurity,” Mr Jochinke said.

“What farmers need now is for governments and industry to work together and get on with the job, starting with urgent action to address outstanding biosecurity review recommendations, and expedited implementation of the National Biosecurity Strategy.

“The cost of failure to safeguard our biosecurity system is simply too high.”

The NFF and its members remain ready to work with the Commonwealth, States and Territories to ensure Australia’s biosecurity system is transparent, sustainably funded, and implemented consistently across jurisdictions.