WHILE the Senate gears up to look at the impacts of last week's decision to lift the restrictions on beef imports from countries which have been infected with BSE, the red meat sector is calling for calm.
The Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) this week issued a statement which it said was designed to respond to "misinformation" in the public arena about the moves lobbied for by the major cattle and red meat lobby groups.
RMAC chairman, Ian McIvor, argued that in recent years BSE had become a "diminished issue" around the world.
Below are some of their responses to the criticism of the decision, and why they supported the rule change.
Claim: We are letting in diseased foreign beef.
Response: No diseased beef is being ‘let in’. Applications will be assessed individually and on merit, taking into account all of Australia’s requirements under existing protocols.
Claim: We will be flooded with imported beef.
Response: All countries wishing to trade beef into Australia must first make an application, with this being assessed and approved before beef is shipped (see under point 1).
Claim: We are jeopardising our clean image.
Response: Major beef-trading countries around the world now recognise modern science relating to BSE and have adjusted their trade rules accordingly. New Zealand for example, which holds a similar clean image to Australia’s, modernised its rules nearly three years ago.
Claim: We are risking our access to overseas beef markets.
Response: NZ access has been unaffected by the modernisation of its policy three years ago. Under strict guidelines, the US, Japan and Korea, our three major beef markets, allow beef imports from countries that have had cases of BSE.
Claim: Consultation was inadequate.
Response: While it was a Government decision, it did involve RMAC prior to the announcement.
Claim: Industry requested the change.
Response: For some years, Government has been requested by overseas countries to review this policy. The Australian beef industry’s position in support of this policy, reviewed against sound scientific principles, has remained unchanged for four years.
Claim: We are reacting to overseas pressures.
Response: Recent indications of possible WTO action have brought the matter to a head.
Claim: We are going to be worse off.
Response: The opposite is the case. The old (existing) policy clearly states: “…all beef and beef products in Australia are to be derived from cattle that are BSE free”.
Under this rule, if Australia were to be affected by an unlikely single case of BSE, the results would be devastating for the sector and the economy.
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