Thursday, 4 August 2022

Foot-and-mouth disease

Mr RIORDAN (Polwarth) (17:14): (6468) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Agriculture in the other place. The action I seek from the minister is to actively engage with the private veterinary industry to help give confidence to our rural and regional communities about the potential outbreak of FMD, foot-and-mouth disease, here in our wonderful Victoria.

Agriculture to Victoria is worth billions of dollars. Throughout the COVID pandemic time rural and regional Victoria still managed to fire along on most of its cylinders. It is going through an enormous boom at the moment in land and in commodity prices. Regional Victoria is in a good place at the moment. It does not need to have an FMD outbreak, which would absolutely rip the guts, the absolute guts, out of agriculture. We would see the transport industry, the livestock industry, meat processing, food processing and exports grind to a halt, costing Victorians billions.

It is very distressing to know that given opportunities this state government has not acted in the best interests of rural and regional Victoria. For example, this week in Parliament the government was given an opportunity to halt unauthorised riverside camping on farms in Victoria. Even the Greens and even the independents—everybody in this chamber—sided with the Liberal Party to put a temporary stop to that until such time as we know that the risk of FMD has passed. This government did not do it.

More distressingly, the government have admitted in briefings to the Parliament this week that they are 300 to 500 workers short in the ag department in dealing with a rapid FMD outbreak. What is the solution to such a shortage? Well, the government has undertaken to bring in people from across the public service. Quite frankly, regional Victorians will not have confidence in people from the transport industry or from the health department or from other sections of the department and the government bureaucracy that have no experience or expertise in rural or regional Victoria and particularly in FMD outbreaks. There is a solution, and it is the private veterinary industry. The Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria works with the private vets that are already out in the workforce and already out in rural and regional Victoria. They are the ones that will recognise this disease. These are the people that will be at the coalface. This government needs to have an action plan that works with this industry—this vital industry—to help Victorians keep on top of FMD and be aware of the outbreaks.

It is incumbent upon the agriculture minister to stop dillydallying, stop wasting time and start putting confidence into our communities. People in regional Victoria need to know that this government is going to have their back and it is going to take easy, simple steps that will help keep all Victorian agriculture safe.