Page 2162 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2018
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We use the term “permanent identifier” rather than the term “tag”, which many people will be familiar with. Livestock can be tagged for a number of reasons. We use the term “permanent identifier” to make the legislation perfectly clear that we are talking about the endless identifier and to keep our terminology consistent with New South Wales.
The bill makes it an offence to move identifiable stock that is not properly identified unless the movement is an exempt movement. For example, they can be moved in an emergency, such as a flood or a bushfire, as long as their owner gives the chief vet certain information within seven days.
The bill requires certain delivery information to be provided when identifiable stock is involved. Records of the delivery information must be kept for seven years by the stock owner. Buyers must be given the delivery information and keep it for seven years, or two years in the case of a stock and station agent.
Crucially, the bill requires the various people involved in moving cattle, sheep and goats to provide information, including certain transaction information, about the movement to the NLIS administrator by uploading it to the database. This is the final link in the chain of the database for recording the movements of identifiable stock.
As I said earlier, pigs are not yet included in the last step of the process as it is yet to be finalised and made consistent with New South Wales. Finally, the bill provides for the director-general to establish a register that contains information the director-general considers necessary, having regard to the purpose for which the register is maintained.
Maximum penalties in the Animal Diseases Act 2005 have increased. I would like to explain why. In recent times governments have been placing greater emphasis on managing biosecurity risks. Greater global trade is creating new opportunities for pests and diseases to enter the country. A warming climate is allowing the spread of pests and diseases into new areas and declining resources could limit our ability to prevent and respond to pest or disease outbreak.
Pests and diseases do not recognise judicial boundaries or fences and it is important that we have legislation that is compatible with our neighbours. The commonwealth and New South Wales have introduced biosecurity bills that include much tougher penalties for breaching the biosecurity duty. While this bill is not about biosecurity duty per se, the NLIS is the fundamental tool for managing an outbreak of an animal disease. Ensuring ACT farmers comply with the NLIS is fundamental to minimising biosecurity risks in the ACT.
At first glance, the offences seem minor. Tampering with identification devices, not properly identifying stock and not recording movements of stock may seem to be minor infringements but they can have far-reaching consequences, including the loss of export markets for an entire industry.
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