8INDUSTRY will have to pay for increased roadblocks in South Australia in response to a heightened risk of fruit fly infestation, according to Agriculture Minister Gail Gago.
The Minister told Parliament that calls for a round-the-clock quarantine station at Bordertown and running existing stations 24 hours a day would require co-investment from industry.
“If they want the expanded programs, they are going to have to help meet some of those costs,” Mrs Gago said.
Industry and stakeholders are pushing for more protection from fruit fly incursion following an “unprecedented” increase in the risk of an outbreak.
This included the fourth fruit fly outbreak discovery in metropolitan Adelaide for 2013, at Peterhead in May.
Apricot Grove co-owner and secretary Hilke Ppiros, Renmark, said Victoria and New South Wales had experienced their worst two years on record for Queensland Fruit Fly with 300 declared outbreaks, and Mediterranean Fruit Fly endemic to Western Australia.
In the past year there had been outbreaks in all the major towns on SA’s eastern borders.
Random PIRSA roadblocks on the Dukes Highway at Bordertown resulted in an average non-compliance rate of 27 per cent.
“This means that one car in four is ignoring quarantine requirements and attempting to import restricted fruit and vegetables into our State,” Mrs Ppiros said.
“The threat to SA has also worsened considerably after QFF larvae was detected in yellow-flesh peaches from Woolworths at Victor Habour and Northgate on March 27, and a series of four MFF outbreaks occuring in Adelaide between April 18 and May 14.
“The government and PIRSA are to be commended for their investments in biosecurity and the role they have played to date, but due to developments interstate, we are fast-approaching a crisis point and need to take action now.”
South Australian Fruit Growers Association chairman Dino Ceracchi said it should not be up to industry to pay for increased roadblocks because they protected biosecurity for a range of areas and not just fruit.
“This is a problem for all people and anything that comes via interstate that needs to be protected,” he said.
“And a lot of people get work from industries like this, so why should industry alone put up the costs?”
Mrs Gago said the government had additional measures in place to keep fruit fly out of SA. This included opening the seasonal quarantine station at Pinnaroo a month earlier last year, and conducting more random roadblocks in 2012-13.
“Biosecurity SA is already planning an expanded roadblock program for the coming 2013-14 season,” she said.
“The government does not consider establishing a 24-hour quarantine station at Bordertown would be effective.”
She said that the Woolworths outbreak proved that the education system was working, because a member of the public recognised the fruit fly maggots and notified authorities of the infection.
