Federal Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud has vowed to establish an industry steering committee to help design an import levy with the aim of protecting farmers from foreign disease.
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"It makes sense that those who create risk should contribute proportionately to our biosecurity screening," he announced earlier this week.
"If the taxpayer is burdened with all the costs of biosecurity, then importers will never take their part of the responsibility of keeping Australia free from pests seriously."
However leaders in the grains industry are now calling for a re-think on any importation of raw foods, like wheat, corn or barley, despite price pressure due to the drought.
"We don't need a levy if we don't import," advocates Bellata grain grower and semolina producer Doug Cush. "To bring in something like raw wheat, even if it does come along supposedly secure corridors, is a dangerous move and will lead to the importation of disease. It's dangerous.
"Meanwhile we live in a big country where, despite the drought on the eastern seaboard, Western Australia has recorded their fourth biggest harvest on record.
"We're an island nation with plenty of grain. Why import?" he said, citing examples of head blight in wheat as arriving in Australia during the 1980s' drought.
"This is a most important battle that we cannot lose. Farmers need to be aware of the door that is being opened at present."
Mr Cush said this drought year he had lost 30 per cent of his customer base due to high prices.
"But I am not asking biosecurity bureaucrats to let me buy wheat from overseas," he said. "There is too much at stake for our $63 billion grains industry. Biosecurity might mitigate the risk but it cannot guarantee zero risk."
Mr Cush called for a certificate of analysis that zero disease was present, through heat treatment but such measures would not suit production of gluten or flour.
Meanwhile Liverpool Plains grains producer Xavier Martin said history had shown how "best endeavour" biosecurity measures and tracking procedures had "failed dismally" as he discovered during more than 20 years as a leader and an adviser in biosecurity risk identification and response through the National Farmers' Federation and Plant Health Australia.
"There is nothing new about commercial interests wanting to find the cheapest source," he said. "We shouldn't be surprised. But it is absolutely essential that the risk creator pays, and that means unlimited liability. If something goes wrong they pay and if they are put out of business so be it."
Senior account manager for igrain.com.au at Griffiths, Machallie McCormack, said biosecurity was as much an issue domestically, with current barley importation from Western Australia bringing with it the threat of wheat seeds from mixed cropping enterprises and with that the potential to introduce chemical resistance varieties onto the eastern seaboard.
"Western Australia is about 20 years ahead of us in chemical resistance," she said, noting that big traders caught long with tonnage of barley from that state were now dumping it at Port Kembla and Newcastle for $385 to $390 a tonne.
"I can understand somebody wanting to source cheap grain, as everybody has somebody to answer to whether that be a shareholder or a banker but we don't need further threat to biosecurity.
"Bringing in grain from overseas would just add another level of complexity. If we haven't learned something from our past mistakes we will never learn," she said. "Meanwhile we have weeks left in our planting window for eastern seaboard grain. It's not time for panic yet."
Minister Littleproud, in clarifying government position, said the Coalition Government had announced a levy on importers in the last budget to allow us to invest in more efficient biosecurity measures.
"Invading pests and diseases can come in on the hulls of ships as well as the decks and storage compartments, as well as in the cargo itself," he explained.
"We’ve rightly heard concerns of importers around various levy designs the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has presented during consultation on this levy. Consequently I am establishing an industry steering committee so industry itself can help design the levy.
"The levy will help keep our clean green advantage and will be done in a calm and methodical manner. There is too much at risk to our nation if we don’t continue to protect our borders.
Industry concerns about imported wheat skirting biosecurity measures were reinforced earlier this week at a meeting in Canberra where Department of Agriculture bureaucrats met with industry stakeholders to debate the level of risk associated with the move.
