Biosecurity Amendment (Traveller Declarations and Other Measures) Bill 2020

Jason Falinski is the Federal Member for Mackellar.

Now more than ever before is the importance of biosecurity at the forefront of our minds with COVID-19 impacting the lives of all Australians. Biosecurity related to food and agricultural produce is equally critical in protecting consumers, exporters and farmers as we create a bio-resilient economy. A unified vision for our national security is critical for our future prosperity and in supporting those in the agricultural sector which have endured so much hardship in recent times.

Our biosecurity system underpins $60 billion in agricultural production, $49 billion in agricultural exports and $42 billion for inbound tourism. The flow-on effects of this are incalculable and the importance of these industries both to our national economy and many regional communities cannot be underestimated. At the core of this bill is creating a more proportionate response to infringements by travellers when they bring undeclared goods to Australia. The infringements will reference both the kind of goods, its classification and the nature of the biosecurity risk it represents. This bill permits the Director of Biosecurity to determine what goods should attract a higher infringement associated with the item. We cannot overemphasise the importance of protecting our natural environment or our farmers.

After the difficulties posed by both drought and fire this government will do anything we can to help our farmers.

An additional component of this bill is indexing the current infringement notice to $444 which equates to two penalty units. Depending on the nature of the infringement more penalty units will apply up to 12 penalty units which will incur a fine of $2,664 after indexation or 60 penalty units subject to civil penalty proceedings in court. Failure to declare goods by foreign travellers, airline crew or Australians is a national threat and one that we are combating with these additional measures given its severity.

We will not wait for disaster to strike before implementing stringent biosecurity legislation but are taking a proactive approach as prevention is the most efficient way to manage this kind of threat. Of particular concern is African Swine Fever which is both highly contagious and were it to come to Australia is estimated to cost over of $2 billion over a five year period.

We cannot allow the careless actions of individuals to put at risk the livelihoods of so many Australians. From 2018 to 2019 biosecurity officers issued an average of 410 infringement notices a month at Australian airports. The forecast for 2019-2020 before COVID restrictions took place was more than 820 per month.

Unfortunately, even this was underestimating the reality with 1139 infringement notices issued in January 2020 alone representing an increase of around 30% above the forecast. The impact of biosecurity growing and until COVID restrictions the number of people trying to get past airport security without declaring high-risk goods was also increasing. This Bill is urgent and should be the first step in constructing a strong and unified system which screens both agricultural goods and people for pathogens and biosecurity threats. Failure to do so will not only decimate Australian agriculture but will put lives at risk.

The responsibility for passengers and crew remains the same in declaring goods. This bill only changes the infringements and matches the risk of the goods with the infringement. It does not impose additional requirements on passengers, airlines, exporters or businesses. Changes will be publicised in conjunction with additional training for biosecurity officers and Australian Border Force officers which is estimated to take 2 to 3 months. Redeployment of officers following COVID when borders reopen has been taken into account when creating a timeline for implementation along with ICT system updates.

Having an infringement system without adequate enforcement measures will be ineffective which is why we are investing heavily in upgrading our airport infrastructure to support this amendment.

Deploying advanced detection 3D x-rays which also use algorithm technology is an encouraging example of the measures we are taking to safeguard our borders. Increasing our use of screening technology will remain central particularly as we seek to detect meat, fruit and high-risk biomatter.

We are continuing to utilise big data in allocating our biosecurity resources and identifying ways we can improve our processes by establishing a national biosecurity data and analytics platform. In sharing biosecurity data we will be able to enhance our capacity to identify security risks and take corrective action. We are allocating $36.5 million in funding to develop this platform. COVID has shown us that we cannot rely on other countries or global institutions to safeguard our interests but that responsibility for our national biosecurity is on us alone. That is why we cannot cut corners when it comes to funding our boarder security.

Small agri-businesses rely on a stable and safe environment and as a source of jobs, growth and future innovation getting our biosecurity right is a must. This Bill is about providing a proportionate compliance response for people regardless of citizenship who fail to declare goods with a biosecurity risk. All first points of entry including seaports will be included in these changes however particular attention will be given to biosecurity processes in airports due to the high volume of travellers.

In the last financial year we invested $850 million in this area and will continue to support frontline personnel in keeping our country safe.

Creating a regulatory environment that maximises the competitiveness of Australian businesses  whilst giving adequate protection to our farmers and the environment remains central to this legislation. As part of the extensive consultation with industry and across multiple departments this is a solution designed to be flexible to change. As it stands the penalties do not accurately reflect the risk of the offence and given this disconnect often under-penalizes some offenders. To have a penalty which disregards the nature of the offence and does not correspond to the level of infringement is quite simply bad policy. Given it costs nothing to declare goods there is no reason why any visitor or returning resident should be trying to avoid declaring what they are carrying. This bill improves the penalty scheme by linking them with the degree of danger the infringement poses the community. The different classifications which they are based off will be determined using a technical risk assessment.

As part of the smarter regulation agenda this Bill does not create any additional red tape or impose any more requirements on travellers coming to Australia. We do need a tight border policy but the responsibility to implement that policy, its cost and burden should not be shifted to businesses or individuals.

Compliance for all parties involved should be seamless and in making the process both accurate and efficient we should make the most of automation in processing high volumes of travellers. Being able to do this will be especially important for our tourism industry where a positive experience makes a large impact. Doing this without cutting corners when it comes to our biosecurity is critical which is why in this field we are seeking to be world-leaders when it comes to border protection. The measures outlined in this bill have been taken in place of alternatives which came at a significant regulatory impact on industry and those seeking to remain compliant. As a government we seek to ensure that all departments implementing regulatory changes must co-design processes with industry working groups. Smarter regulation is low touch, highly automated and reduced the burden on small businesses so they can focus on what they do best.

As a country with one of the most pristine and untouched environments we are fortunate not to have many of the biohazards that countries in the rest of the world have to contend with. This is a natural competitive advantage for our businesses in agriculture but can easily be lost if we are careless and fail to create the protective measures required to safeguard our farmers and consumers. Bills like this pave the way for a post-COVID era where a premium is placed on biosecurity and ease of compliance for businesses.

We are leading the way by relying on technological solutions for these issues and when government invests in the tech sphere particularly in reg-tech or regulation technology and innovative security solutions we are supporting an industry that will be in-demand for the future. Australian technology firms are important creators of jobs, innovation and growth.

Establishing a Biosecurity Innovation Program with an initial $25.2 million in government funding will be a strong first step in this program. Whilst a lot of attention is rightly given to the cyber security space there is abundant opportunity in biosecurity where demand will only be growing. I would encourage the newly established Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis to engage with the innovation and tech hubs throughout Australian as they develop risk analysis tools.

As part of this government’s ongoing commitment to our biosecurity we are establishing a dedicated office to support the work of the Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer. In creating a unified and efficient system for our biosecurity we are enacting our long-term strategic vision. This legislation is a critical step in adopting a systematic process for identifying and planning for national priority bio hazards. Taking measures to manage these risks is essential in facilitating the trade that we rely on for our economic prosperity.

For these reasons I highly commend this bill to the house.