Tony Perrett, Minister for Primary Industries – Ongoing challenges and issues for rural and regional Queensland (2) (19 March)

0:00Thursday morning, rural Queensland today, we will get to our 40 tips, all thanks to our area very shortly as well, but we have the primary industry's Minister, Tony Parrott joining us this morning. We've obviously ticked off just the devastation in Theodore and Bundy and Chinchilla and through the Northwest Province as well with flooding and the fuel prices, but Tony, the biggest issue and the concerning so many people at the present moment, you know, if I get e-mails or getting contact, it's either renewables or it's cattle ticks and the tick line is the biggest issue with people concerned and Taroum is the epicenter at the present moment, that whole tick line and no longer burn it. We understand that you've inherited this problem. I say this with a deepest respect that this has come about because of decisions back in 2014 from a government that was hell-bent on trying to destroy, you know, and that and Palische government was not mucking around. They closed

1:01down the DPI, they let people sort of self-assess and it's got out of control. Where are we always of today and just the enormity of this tick line and the breaches that have come about, where are we from a government spec? You're on trying to because I feel it's got very much the same sort of feeling like fire ants had two years ago. Yeah, look, Dabo, someone and I come from a managing cattle ticks on our property and have done the entirety of my life. So, Dabo, the integrity of the tick line is important in Queensland and it's been established for a long period of time. So, you know, cattle ticks have been in Australia for 150 years and one of those parasites that we continue to have to deal with and it's important that we do hold that tick line and it doesn't sit well with me that we get incursions across that tick line and particularly heightened recently just with ticks that have

2:06made it into the Peru area, remembering that there's a lot of good work many years ago and, you know, to rid that area of ticks and to become tick-free. Look, there's challenges at Dabo and there are and I don't underestimate the task at hand and I've directed my department to immediately conduct a couple of reviews that need to happen. Issues that have been raised with me around the accredited certifies and some potential or perceived conflict of interest that may be there and they've been raised directly with me and I've actually, you know, tasked with the department with, you know, making certain that they're risen and particularly that we address that. The other part Dabo is and, you know, and look, Dolby Sadiage is the one that's been raised mostly with me, you know, where ticks, you know, have turned up there and, you know, what we shouldn't be doing with respect to that. My, and I'm sorry, I've got to get

3:08categorically say that I don't want ticks arriving in Dolby Sadiage and the fact that they do is unacceptable to me, buyers should be able to go to Sadiage in the clean area and by cattling with confidence. And the fact that they get there is wrong. Now, Dolby just, just to, you know, to put not so much perspective about it, but, you know, I just look back at historical data and facts around, you know, ticks that get across the tick line and look, I've done that for as long as anyone can remember. Now, is that acceptable? No, absolutely not. But the majority of the what we call restricted properties is 229 of those currently in Queensland that, they're in the clean area that have ticks on them. 90% of those are in that Southburner belt through to Tuwomba, adjacent to the current tick line. And, and I know it very well because back in the 90s, if I live at King of Royal, I went through the eradication program to, you know, cattle pigs of our properties at the Southburner at that particular time, but you look back

4:11historically at that area for the last three or four decades and that, and the, a lot of those properties have never been clean at ticks. So that's a problem in its first, the first instance. But, Dolby, what I'm absolutely, and I'll task again, the department, the concern that I've got is, and most cattle producers, particularly in the tick area, which share this concern, is that, you know, the level of resistance that's in cattle ticks of known chemical products that we use to be able to control cattle ticks is a concern to many leanholders. And I, I'm, again, directed my department to ramp up the research on chemical resistance in cattle ticks in Queensland because the concern that I have, and we don't know how those cattle ticks got to those properties. Yeah, but Tony, Tony, Tony, Tony, when we had the DPI and we had more stock inspectors on the ground and we had clearing dips and we didn't have self-assessment, these outbreaks never occurred like they are now. Now, we're hearing stories of agents, stock agents who are, who are registered

5:18to clear cattle. I mean, it is a complete and out of conflict of interest. And, and I understand, you just can't fabricate and get DPI stock inspectors back in these regions, but it was a lot better. I know it was costing the department more money. I understand that, but, yeah, I'm sure there's resistance, but I tell you what there is. There's a lot of cattle who are clean that haven't got resistant to, to tick fever and they're going to, and it's going to absolutely compromise the clean herd. That's the, that's the fear. I, I understand the people in the ticks have been living with it. I worked in the ticks. I understand it. They've just, they make do and, you know, what they don't complain. And it's a huge cost that they incur. No question, but the people outside the ticks, they've also got to have some, some rights on this as well. And that's the problem is that they don't have any, they don't have any at the moment. And it's starting to encroach more and more. Yeah, look, look, look, look, look, I don't just miss that. I absolutely don't. So, and I don't, but the, the challenge with this is, and you're right,

6:19the seed conflict. So it was, this was, you know, raised with me just recently. It hadn't been raised before this term issue. Or, you know, there's obviously issues around by-mat, by-mat, you know, 12 months ago. But about the certification, about agents, about, you know, potential, you know, property owners that can have employees. And I, and I share those concerns. I share it. And I said directly to, you know, Chief I Security Officer in my department that I want answers in and around how this can happen. And, and, you know, what's in place to, to, to, to stop that. And if need be, I'll address those issues when that, when that comes back. Look, double, it's, it's a challenge. It's, it's, it's absolutely is. I don't want to take the integrity of that tick line is important to me. And it absolutely is. And, and, you know, to work through those, you know, those, those issues that have been raised, you know, with me, particularly around, and Dolby's, the, the, the Saadiya that's, that's been raised, you know, mostly with me. Particularly the presence of, you know, by-security officers there, looking at high risk movements, detecting, looking at paperwork to make certain that everything's done. That gives that, you know,

7:21that the ticks don't turn up there. So, look, Dolby, I'll leave no stone unturned to make certain that we deal with these issues, but historically, even with the old practices that were put in, that we in place, ticks still got across the tick line. Now, whether they got across in the same number is, is debated, but if you look at the historical information that's been provided, provided to me, it's, it's, it's happened for many, many, many decades. And, look, we'll, absolutely address the issue. And, and that's what I've, I've committed to doing, you know, directly within my department, you know, working with industry and remembering, remembering Dolby, going back, you know, 10 years ago when there was significant change. And what of this was driven by industry at that particular time? Yes, we weren't in government, but industry was involved in this process that now has this in place. So, if it was driven by, you know, industry by producers, at that particular time, with, don't worry. And, you know, from the historical information that's been presented to me, a lot of varying opinion around that. But we've currently, and just just,

8:22you know, for your listeners, Dolby, we've currently got about 57,500 property identification codes or picks as most, you know, the, the, the, the, the register for cattle in Queensland, about 75% of those are in the, in the tick zone. So, you know, 75% of those properties are in in there in ticks. So, we get, there's multiple properties that are linked to those. As I said, we have turned in 29 properties that are currently restricted in that have ticked the 90% of those, as I said, adjacent to the tick line in that Southburner to warmer region. So, look, that the numbers, and I don't dismiss the fact that there's a problem at taroom. But, but when you look at the amount of properties that are infected, you know, well inside the tick, the tick line, they're not many. Now, that's it. Like it was me, Dolby, absolutely not. And, and we don't want that to happen. So, look, we'll be looking at everything to make certain, and, and, and to, and to, and you're dead right to rebuild the capacity of the DPI is going to take time. I'm good. And, and that's what we committed to doing. And,

9:27we've, you know, we've committed a niche additional 100 by security officers in this term, a government. And then, you know, we're on track to do that. But, you know, we need more in the north. I was up at Thursday Island just recently, you know, where we've got illegal fishing vessels that are reaching our mainland, that the potential of bringing in all sorts of pests and diseases is significant. So, the issue around biosecurity just generally is growing. The impact the producers is growing in the cost. And, you know, we'll, we'll work, you know, quickly and, and, and, and, you know, directly to make certain that we get the response and cattle ticks. There's absolutely no different. And, you know, when I'm determined to, to make certain, I can get confidence back into those, those regions that, you know, currently, you know, are raising, you know, issue around this domain. Yeah, it's an area that just doesn't seem to go away. Tony, I won't hold you. I appreciate your time. You're giving me plenty of time this morning. We will watch it. And, obviously, you come on the show a lot. So, I appreciate your time. Thanks for being with us. No, good to be with you, Dolan. We'll talk again. Yeah, this is rural Queensland today. We'll take a

10:30break. Plenty more to get through on this Thursday morning, the 19th of March.