A CAVALIER approach to biosecurity at the Eastern Creek Quarantine Facility in Penrith resulted in the 2007 Equine Influenza (EI) outbreak as a horses imported from a farm in Japan where EI was present.
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A report from an inquiry headed by former High Court judge Ian Callinan, released a year later, was highly critical of the quarantine system as "inefficient, underfunded and lacking diligence" and stated fundamental biosecurity measures.
The outbreak was first detected when a vet at Centennial Park stables in Sydney reported sick horses.
On 8 August 2007, four horses arrived from Japan and at least one of those horses was infected with equine influenza. Sometime between 10 and 17 August 2007, equine influenza escaped from the Eastern Creek Quarantine Station, the inquiry found.
The report said vets, handlers, farriers, and transporters had wandered in and out of Eastern Creek for years without showering or disinfecting equipment.
The Federal Government, in its 2015 budget, acknowledged under “Unquantifiable Contingent Liabilities” that “the Australian Government may become liable for compensation should it be found negligent in relation to the outbreak of equine influenza in 2007” and “no final quantum of damages sought can be calculated”.
The Department of Finance assumed responsibility for potential claims via the government’s general insurance fund, Comcover, and insurance arrangements with the Department of Agriculture.
Mediation has begun but there is a dispute over whether the Federal or State government was responsible for the purple zone travel restrictions – meaning, potentially, the Federal government could pass the buck to the State government, leaving those seeking compensation high and dry.
Damian Scattini, Principal of Class Action at Maurice Blackburn, said it was “time for the Commonwealth to make good for the damage it did”.
“Many hundreds of people lost their livelihoods and we contend this should never have happened.
“The Commonwealth government has responsibility for protecting our borders and it allowed people to come and go from Eastern Creek with no biosecurity – to allow that to happen is relying on good luck rather than good management.”
