[Weekly Times: 12 May, 2010. p4, by Paul Sellars] AUSTRALIA’s quarantine watchdog has been accused of jeopardising biosecurity by scaling back shipping container inspections. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service is adopting a "risk-based" inspection regime whereby it will no longer check all foreign containers that arrive at the nation’s ports.
But a truck driver who transported containers from the Port of Melbourne this week claimed AQIS told him containers leaving the port between 10pm and 6am would not be inspected. The driver said as he was leaving West Swanston Dock at 510am on Monday with a container that had "mud and dirt all over it" when he was told by an AQIS officer that the container would not be inspected. The driver said he was astounded some containers weren’t being inspected for dirt, weeds and seeds.
"What protection is there for farmers when they start doing things hke this?" he said.
Risk: a container covered in dirt leaves the port this week
A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokeswoman did not respond when asked if AQIS had ceased inspecting containers leaving at night. The spokeswoman said it was "most likely the container in question is going to a metropolitan area and has come from an area that posed negligible biosecurity risk’’. She said AQIS was inspecting all containers going to or through rural areas and all those from high risk countries.
"The risk-based approach is a significant improvement . and provides the ability to move existing inspection resources to where the risk is greatest." But Victorian Farmers Federation market security committee chair Ailsa Fox said it was incredible’’ that dirty containers were leaving the port without being inspected.
"Just because they end up in a suburban lot somewhere doesn’t mean they are not posing a biosecurity risk to our farmers." Risk: a container covered in dirt leaves the port this week
