Bill Byrne
June 15, 2016
by Anne Miller
Agriculture Minister Leanne Donaldson has torn strips off Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington over a radio interview she took part in on Wednesday.
“Today, the Member for Nanango told listeners to the ABC Country Hour that the LNP Government instigated the review into the State’s biosecurity system,” Ms Donaldson said.
“As she was, until recently, the Shadow Agriculture Minister, she should know full-well that is not true.
“Indeed the review was a Labor election commitment in response to brutal cuts to biosecurity by the Newman-Nicholls administration when Mrs Frecklington was a member of the government.
“The review was, in fact, called by my colleague Bill Byrne last year when he was the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.”
So who is correct?
The new Biosecurity Act, which will come into force on July 1 this year, was passed in 2014 by the LNP Government.
A regulatory impact statement was then prepared and opened for consultations, which closed on November 21, 2014 (still under the LNP).
The Labor Party promised a review of Queensland’s capability in biosecurity in the lead up to the January 2015 State poll.
A committee was appointed soon after Labor won this election. The results of this review were released by the Labor Government in April this year, seven months after the results were delivered to government.
So, in effect, the LNP instigated the initial changes to the Biosecurity Act and reviewed their impact, while the Labor Party reviewed the Department’s abilities to enforce this legislation.
The bottom line? The Biosecurity Capability Review recommended a $20 million shake-up of Queensland Biosecurity, including an immediate funding injection of at least $3 million.
On Budget night, the State Government said $10.8 million would be spent over four years to implement the findings, almost half the amount recommended.
- External link: ABC Country Hour (interview begins at 17:35)
