Draft Biosecurity Bill 2019 open for final comment

Before this bill, Tasmania’s biosecurity was managed under seven separate acts, Primary Industries Minister Guy Barnett said.

“While these acts have served us well, the draft bill proposes to consolidate Tasmania’s biosecurity laws into a single modern statute to ensure the legislation remains fit for purpose and avoids duplication,” Mr Barnett said.

“The draft bill will build on our current systems and provide a streamlined and more effective legal framework to better protect our primary industries and environment from potential diseases, pests and weeds,” he said.

Tasmania relies on a “rigorous and effective biosecurity system” to protect its reputation as a premium producer of agricultural and seafood products and as a tourism destination.

“The new draft bill also reinforces how we are all responsible for helping to protect our state from potential diseases, pests and weeds, that is, government, industry and the community working together,” Mr Barnett said.

Tasmania’s government has spent more than four years consulting agricultural and tourism stakeholders about their needs to produce the final Biosecurity Bill 2019 draft.

Amendments were made to the initial drafts based on government department and stakeholder feedback, with a small number of technical improvements made to the bill in 2018 to address issues identified during the Queensland fruit fly response.

The state government expects to table the finalised Biosecurity Bill 2019 in parliament in early 2019.

For more information about Tasmania’s biosecurity visit dpipwe.tas.gov.au/hot-topics

Feedback on the final Biosecurity Bill 2019 draft can be emailed to biosecuritybill@dpipwe.tas.gov.au by February 22.

The Examiner