ATSE appreciates the opportunity to respond to the Senate’s Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee’s inquiry into the adequacy of Australia’s biosecurity measures and response preparedness, particularly in the context of the international foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease and varroa mite outbreaks.
ATSE has previously made a submission to the consultation on the National Biosecurity Strategy in March 2022. This submission proposes four key recommendations for responding to the FMD outbreak and improving Australia’s preparedness for future agricultural disease outbreaks:
Recommendation 1: Apply a One Health approach to understanding and preventing FMD in Australia.
Recommendation 2: Focus on providing on-ground assistance to Indonesia to manage their FMD outbreak.
Recommendation 3: Invest in biosecurity and agricultural research funding to improve preparation for future outbreaks.
Recommendation 4: Undertake biosecurity workforce planning to improve capacity to respond to future outbreaks.
