AUSTRALIAN quarantine inspectors have been testing every consignment of cut flowers arriving in the country in recent weeks, amid fears that biosecurity has been compromised by Third World exporters ignoring mandatory Australian quarantine laws.
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The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry confirmed yesterday it was testing all cut flower consignments and investigating horticulturalists' claims that they had been able to propagate a high proportion of imported flowers in the past few months.
Under laws administered by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, imported cut flowers must be "devitalised" - treated with a herbicide that disables propagation - to prevent exotic diseases and pests. But the peak flower growing bodies in Victoria and Queensland claim they have had between 80 and 100 per cent success in propagating from imported roses and chrysanthemums recently.
A department spokeswoman said the industry had failed to supply verifiable details of the origin of the propagated flowers or the propagation techniques used, but it was conducting its own tests, which were expected to yield results within a month.
"Past testing by AQIS showed that in more than 99 per cent of cases devitalisation treatment was effective."
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, said quarantine and biosecurity services were a priority for the Federal Government and he was pleased to see the quarantine service responding to industry concerns.
The president of the Flower Association of Queensland, Brian Shannon, said the decision by the Howard government six years ago to outsource quarantine procedures to accredited agencies in developing countries was flawed, and the quarantine service needed to resume responsibility for ensuring the safety of Australia's plant industries with a collective farm gate value of more than $18 billion a year.
A breakdown in quarantine procedures could put Australia at risk of an outbreak of Sudden Oak Death syndrome, which wiped out dozens of species of trees in California in 2002 when the disease was first identified. Local fruit growers could also be at risk from Apple Brown Rot.
Darral Ashton, chairman of Apple and Pear Australia, said he was very concerned the quarantine protocols were not being adhered to. "The onus has been placed on the exporters [to comply with quarantine laws]. Australia has a relatively pest-free status and if the quarantine protocols are not being implemented and AQIS is not picking them up, then that's of great concern."
