BEEF industry leaders say they haven't been sidelined by the Federal Government and will now be allowed input into new rules governing imports from countries which have had bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease.
Peak councils representing the beef industry say following an urgent meeting in Canberra last week, they now have a commitment from Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke, that farmers will be part of the process to design the food safety protocols for applications to bring beef to Australia.
But it seems the Government still won't commit to an Import Risk Analysis process to scrutinise new imports for any threat to animal health, with the only assessment process relating to human safety alone.
The Government does argue, however, that the import of beef "has been and always will be covered by robust import quarantine conditions specific to the country of export".
The urgent industry meeting with Government Ministers came after a series of bombshell admissions from both Government bureaucrats and the minister himself that there would be no IRA process nor would there be a requirement for the same level of livestock identification as in Australia for the new imports, and the beef industry would have no say in the protocols determining whether the imports are safe.
This is despite the fact the peak councils pushed the Government to make these changes.
Industry leaders say they now have a commitment from the Federal Government that traceability will form part of the protocols and farmers will get a say on what those protocols look like before they are made publicly available.
The Government has reiterated its commitment to a rigorous import assessment process, but it still seems the bulk of the risk assessment work will be handled by food safety officals.
The Government's own biosecurity website stipulates an IRA is required where there is no quarantine policy for a particular decision "or a significant change in existing quarantine policy is to be considered".
Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, said no fresh beef trade will commence under the new policy arrangements until a country has the required BSE risk assessment and it meets import conditions developed for that specific country for other relevant diseases of quarantine concern such as Foot and Mouth Disease and Rinderpest.
"There is no viable pathway for Australian animals to contract BSE from safe imported fresh beef," Mr Crean said.
"And there is no credible risk that BSE could flow to Australian animals under our import conditions. We do not allow live animal imports. We do not allow beef consumption by animals.
"Accordingly, whilst food safety protocols are certainly needed to address the BSE policy change, there are no changes warranting an IRA for animal health issues."
The Government has come out strongly rejecting claims the beef industry would not be part of the protocol process, following revelations in Senate hearings that the industry was to be sidelined despite the initial support of peak beef lobby groups for the new rules.
This public commitment from the Government could help garner farmer support for the move, which has been largely questioned by many grass-roots farmers who wonder what benefits the change will bring to them when today's beef market prices are so bad.
The Red Meat Advisory Council - which represents bodies like Cattle Council of Australia, Meat and Livestock Australia, Australian Meat Industry Council and Live Exporters Council – heavily lobbied both this Government and the previous one to have the ban lifted to square up trade barriers on the basis of new science proving BSE is not the threat to human or animal health that it once was.
RMAC chairman Ian McIvor, said it's been agreed now that the industry will be consulted, traceability will be included and in-country inspections will be undertaken, where necessary, to validate exporting country claims as part of the approval process.
Mr McIvor said it must be a condition that export nations be required to comply with international rules regarding removal of specified risk materials and age of cattle, provide guaranteed ‘equivalency of outcomes’ in respect of cattle traceability, and accept Australia’s right for in-country inspection as part of a rigorous science-based risk assessment.
Mr McIvor said given the assurances provided by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), he was "confident those conditions would be embodied in the new guidelines against which countries making application for access to the Australian beef market will be assessed".
Mr Burke's office has so far not responded to calls or emails for comment.
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