Farmers have welcomed a $47.1 million dollar boost to the nation’s biosecurity system thanks to the Australian Government’s new fees and charges system for importers.
NSW Farmers Biosecurity Committee Chair Ian McColl said the new cost recovery mechanism was a strong step towards better biosecurity funding for the future, with the proposed biosecurity tax on farmers now defeated in the Senate.
“Continued biosecurity funding is essential – and on that we can all agree – but a greater level of cost needs to be borne by the risk creators,” Mr McColl said.
“Many previous biosecurity breaches have come in either on or in container products, and yet often, farmers have been left to carry a significant burden of the cost associated with managing biosecurity outbreaks.”
Mr McColl said it was imperative further solutions for biosecurity funding were explored, with a container levy one of the measures the Australian Government could implement to equitably recover costs.
“A charge on import shipping containers is just one of these ways we could ensure that funding draws on our risk creators, rather than just our farmers, to bolster our borders and other measures to minimize biosecurity risk,” Mr McColl said.
“Looking at all the options available and developing better biosecurity solutions is essential if governments want to protect our borders and keep our communities safe from these biosecurity risks.”
