Gina Rinehart says more money needs to be spent on a ramped-up biosecurity response to the Indonesian foot-and-mouth disease outbreak to protect Australian livestock from getting infected.“All practical options need to be urgently considered as we do not want to regret too little action as it will be too late once the disease is in Australia.” The opposition has increased its calls for Australia to close its borders to Indonesia until the spread of the virus is under control. Installation of sanitation foot mats at airports with Indonesian flights would be completed on Tuesday, the Albanese government said, but border Force officials are only individually screening the most high-risk passengers despite calls from farm lobby groups for 100 per cent screening.

Mr Albanese will be held to account on economy and foot-and-mouth. If foot-and-mouth makes its way to Australia it will devastate our grazing industry, immediately cut exports and send prices soaring for all consumers. The cost of an outbreak has been estimated at $80bn across 10 years. Gina Rinehart, as towering a figure in agriculture as she is in iron ore, says an outbreak would put more than 65 per cent of the nation’s export markets at risk. Like the rest of the industry, Ms Rinehart is calling on the government to overreact rather than be faced with the regret of having been too slow should the worst happen.

Discussion referencing Gina Rinehart’s demand that the Albanese Government ramp up Australia’s biosecurity against FMD.

Gina Rinehart says more money needs to be spent on a ramped-up biosecurity response to the Indonesian foot-and-mouth disease outbreak to protect Australian livestock from getting infected. “Money needs to be spent now, where it will actually reduce the problem, not in telling farmers not to worry,” she said. “All practical options need to be urgently considered as we do not want to regret too little action as it will be too late once the disease is in Australia.”

26 July 2022.

26 July, 2022.

With Indonesian authorities appearing to have lost control of the virus as it spreads across 22 provinces, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has given sweeping biosecurity powers to Australia’s Border Force at airports to keep the disease out of the country. The Prime Minister said the actions were the “strongest ever measures introduced by an Australian government” to deal with an outbreak of the deadly virus, which could lead to an $80 billion wipe-out of the Australian livestock industry. Despite calls from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, and the Nationals, to close the border to the popular holiday destination of Bali, Mr Albanese said such a move was not yet necessary.