Page 1894 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 5 May 2009
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authorised or a person consents to its release. This law now authorises such an exchange. The Chief Minister in his introductory remarks and Ms Porter in her remarks have discussed various aspects of the emergency animal disease response agreement that the ACT is signatory to. This response agreement contemplates the use of personal information held or controlled by any party to be used to fulfil its obligations under the response agreement.
The response agreement also requires all signatory parties to take all reasonable measures to ensure that such information in its possession or control in connection with this deed is protected against loss and unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure. The use of such information exchanges between signatory jurisdictions will enable appropriate officers to continue to process the detection of the disease and assist in informing the effective response to the emergency animal disease outbreak.
Including the ability to exchange information relating to residents to other authorities is not a decision that is ever taken lightly—not at all. However, while confronting the seriousness of an exotic animal disease and taking steps to detect, contain and eradicate it, it is vital that jurisdictions are able to assess all the appropriate information that would assist in locating potentially infected animals. Imagine a situation where we knew where an affected animal had moved from but we could not tell our interstate counterparts who the owner was. That is not acceptable in an emergency situation.
Mr Speaker, I would now like to discuss the amendments proposed for the regulation-making power of the principal act. The principal act currently allows for regulations to be made on a number of matters. These matters range from prohibiting entry into the ACT of infected animals, moving animals within, into and out of a quarantine area, treating or decontaminating any premise or thing that may spread an exotic or endemic disease, and seizing and destroying infected animals. The regulation-making power also provides for allowing declarations to be given by sellers of animals about the health of the animals or the chemicals or biological products used for them.
The bill proposes to broaden the range of vendor declarations that can be made under regulations to include declarations by sellers of animals about the health and welfare of the animals or farming practices, chemicals or biological products used for the animals. This broadening of the scope of regulations that can be made recognises that animal diseases and their prevention may be caused not only by the use or non-use of chemicals or biological products but also by the adoption or non-adoption of farming practices. These practices might include disease management, genetic modification or breeding practices.
It was identified in the UK following their inquiry into the mad cow disease outbreak at the end of the last century that no cases of mad cow were found associated with any of the organic producers there. This is due to preventative management practices rather than the use of chemical substances which are followed by such enterprises. Proactive, preventative management undertaken by organic farmers might include the use of strategies such as grazing management, stock management, breeding management and monitoring of the results.
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