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Biosecurity Strategy for Victoria part 4

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Theme 4

Developing partnerships
Strengthening the coverage - addressing the challenge
Making sound decisions and investments
Building the biosecurity skill base and systems
Smarter surveillance
Delivering effective incursion responses

Building the biosecurity skill base and systems

Having the right capability, including skills, tools and knowledge, strengthens our ability to address biosecurity threats.

Research is fundamental to Victoria’s biosecurity system. It helps us prepare for an uncertain future by providing new technologies and methodologies. Legislation to support programs; specialised information technology systems; better communication strategies; and capability building in government, industry and the community all contribute to a more biosecure Victoria.

What the Victorian Government will do

Understanding the effects of climate change on biosecurity risks to Victoria

Climate change is likely to alter the risks associated with the biosecurity of Victoria’s cultivated and natural flora and fauna, and the market access of agricultural products. Biosecurity policy will also be influenced by climate change, with quarantine zones and postentry quarantine procedures based on new and emerging threats. Understanding these threats and opportunities will enable our plant and animal industries and biosecurity agencies to better prepare and adapt. Therefore, there is a critical need to generate knowledge that will inform adaptation strategies for biosecurity and pest, disease and weed management in future climates.

Improved access to rapid diagnostic tests and improved surveillance capabilities for high-risk organisms

Victoria is a major player in national plant and animal health diagnostic laboratory networks, and has a reputation for rapid and reliable diagnosis during emergency responses. This reputation is underpinned by an active research program, which has led to the development of new diagnostic technologies and their use in surveillance and emergency response situations. Excellence in research has been achieved by keeping abreast of and implementing new technologies, and by maintaining international linkages with world-leading research groups. Importantly, Victoria’s active research program enables us to rapidly deploy expert scientific capability for unexpected biosecurity threats, providing essential capacity at times of high demand such as in an emergency response.

Continued adoption of rapid diagnostic technologies is essential for maintaining capability in the face of Victoria’s changing biosecurity profile.

ACTION 4.1 Victoria will identify options for and plan research to address significant gaps in our knowledge regarding the impact of climate change on future pest, weed and disease prevention and management.

 

ACTION 4.2 Victoria will work closely and collaboratively with the Australian Government in its implementation of the recommendations of the Beale Review to improve the quality and use of state laboratories and research facilities to support national biosecurity priorities, including research and development.

 

Victoria’s active research program enables us to rapidly deploy expert scientific capability for unexpected biosecurity threats, providing essential capacity at times of high demand such as in an emergency response.

Social sciences – understanding and influencing behaviour to improve biosecurity outcomes

Successful implementation of biosecurity activities depends upon influencing stakeholder behaviour. Interactions between people need to be understood in terms of patterns of behaviour or attitudes that may promote or block biosecurity efforts. To achieve biosecurity success, an understanding of individual and community behaviour needs to be matched with program design.

Relevant, consistent and contemporary biosecurity legislation

There are currently more than twenty Victorian Acts of Parliament that relate to managing biosecurity and its outcomes. Most legislation relating to animal and plant diseases is managed within the agriculture portfolio. The environment portfolio has responsibility for legislation which covers land management, and environment and biodiversity protection. Others, such as the health portfolio, are also responsible for legislation which covers aspects of biosecurity.

All biosecurity-related legislation should be complementary, and support consistent policy approaches to managing risks against the full range of primary industry, environment, social amenity, and human health assets and values. The recent Victorian Auditor-General’s report, Biosecurity Incidents: Planning and Risk Management for Livestock Diseases, recommended development of legislation to clarify industry roles and responsibilities with respect to biosecurity practice and performance. [6]

Contemporary and better integrated biosecurity legislation will support the description of biosecurity standards for farm, fishing and timber businesses, industries and communities, and recognise the shared responsibility and duty of care held by stakeholders.

Information management systems and capability to support the biosecurity system

Information management systems are an essential tool in the biosecurity system. They support surveillance, program management, communications and incursion responses.

While sectors such as the animal industries and fisheries licensing already have well-developed information management systems, less well-developed systems are in use in other areas of primary industries. Different systems are in place to serve specific purposes and technical needs within government; these systems have been developed independently, so they are not uniform, consistent or compatible, and they do not deliver all that is required for managing the current range of biosecurity activities or sectors.

We need to carefully consider the business processes and technology platforms required to support surveillance and response initiatives in the future. All platforms will need to provide a standardised approach to collecting, processing, managing and reporting of biosecurity data from within public, industry and government spheres.

Information and data sharing between all Australian jurisdictions

We have already noted the new biosecurity system in Victoria will be underpinned by a risk-management framework. However, the risk analysis process can only be as good as the available information and there are many competing demands in the assessment of Victoria’s biosecurity risks.

Robust assessments mean Victorian efforts should focus on threats that have the greatest potential to jeopardise our economic, environmental and social wellbeing. As biosecurity threats respect no political boundaries, all Australian jurisdictions will be consulted during the process. Information and data provided by the Australian Government and other jurisdictions is vital for the accurate assessment and management of Victoria’s risks. It can also be used to assist other jurisdictions in biosecurity management.

Communication and education

It is important to ensure the wider community can best participate in Victoria’s biosecurity system. After consultation with relevant stakeholders, education, awareness raising and community engagement programs will be developed to promote:

• early detection and reporting
• greater responsiveness during emergency responses
• support for recovery efforts, inspection and enforcement
• adoption of sector and enterprise-specific biosecurity plans
• improvements in overall capacity and capability to reduce the impact of pests and diseases.
  

Most biosecurity communication during emergencies is reactive, and the unexpected nature of such emergencies can disrupt or delay the development and implementation of communication plans. The Victorian Auditor-General has highlighted the need to refine and target communications strategies for emergency response and management of high-risk biosecurity threats. [7] Systems outlining key steps, processes and timing must be in place to ensure effective communication between all relevant stakeholders.

Communication must anticipate and respond strategically and quickly to threats to Victoria’s biosecurity. Targeted and well-managed communications campaigns, and the capacity for crisis and issues management, are a priority in biosecurity.

Specialised new capability

Capabilities traditionally applied to manage biosecurity in the agricultural production sector may not match those required to deal with new and emerging biosecurity threats, and the broader focus of environmental and social responsibilities. A wider range of technical expertise in policy and strategy development, risk assessment and project planning may be needed within government, particularly to act as a resource for other groups and to guide and manage biosecurity planning into the future.

ACTION 4.3 Victoria will describe options for and plan new social research to deliver strategic insights into individual and community behaviour and engagement for the improvement of biosecurity outcomes.

 

ACTION 4.4 Relevant Victorian legislation will be reviewed to ensure it is consistent, complementary and supports biosecurity policy objectives.

 

ACTION 4.5 Victoria will assess the need for new information technology platforms to effectively support biosecurity activities, including risk assessment, surveillance, product traceability and incursion responses.

 

ACTION 4.6 Victoria will strengthen its biosecurity communication capacity by developing a detailed biosecurity communications and awareness plan.

 

ACTION 4.7 We will review the necessary capability in policy, strategy development, risk analysis and project planning to manage Victoria’s future risk profile and support implementation of the strategy.

 

To ensure the wider community can best participate in Victoria’s biosecurity system, education, awareness raising and community engagement programs will be developed.

Theme 5

Developing partnerships
Strengthening the coverage - addressing the challenge
Making sound decisions and investments
Building the biosecurity skill base and systems
Smarter surveillance
Delivering effective incursion responses

Smarter surveillance

Early detection and a rapid, planned response are key to effective biosecurity emergency management.

No matter how well Victoria analyses current risk and prepares for its responses to biosecurity threats, two underlying truths will remain:

• a disease or organism which at present is not considered to be high risk, or a new disease or pest, may emerge as a serious threat at any time
• the earlier we can detect high-risk pests and diseases, the more likely we will be able to eradicate and control them, and at lower cost.
  

Victoria needs comprehensive, flexible and sensitive systems in place to accurately and efficiently monitor disease and pest situations across the state. Such systems will alert us to new, unusual or serious biosecurity threats, and to the spread of pests and disease. They must operate continuously; provide information to support routine interstate and international trading and certification requirements; and enable rapid identification of threats for investigation.

Future surveillance and intelligence strategies will target known, high-priority biosecurity threats identified in the risk assessment process. The focus of activity will be on entry pathways, vectors and other means of spread, the use of available data and on increasing the level of cooperation and collaboration between stakeholders.

We will use creative and innovative techniques and programs to maximise the value of surveillance activity. Where high-priority threats to Victoria occur interstate, we will work together to ensure appropriate surveillance and mitigation strategies are implemented in tandem with interstate jurisdictions. Where specific highpriority biosecurity threats are known to occur outside Australia, Victoria will work within national frameworks to ensure these threats are appropriately managed at a national level, and that suitable information is provided to state jurisdictions to support local preventive actions, including surveillance. This policy is aligned with a priority recommendation of the Beale Review. We will seek collaboration with the Australian Government to ensure successful implementation of this approach.

Case Study

Mexican feather grass – Understanding pathways to better manage risks

Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) is a prohibited weed in Victoria that poses an even greater threat than its close relation, serrated tussock (N. trichotoma).

In May 2008, a Victorian DPI weed alert contact officer reported suspected Mexican feather grass being sold by a large retail chain as part of a Mother’s Day promotion. Tracing back along the supply chain to the seed importer and forward through distribution channels discovered over 10,000 plants for sale at several retail stores throughout Victoria. It is likely the imported seed was inadvertently mislabelled as a related (but permissible) plant.

Statewide product recalls were initiated, instructing retail chains to recover as many plants as possible. Sales distribution information was used to help assess where plants had been planted. New building-permit information from local governments provided locations for targeted public awareness campaigns. Community weed spotters were alerted to support the surveillance effort.

The incident highlights the need to focus awareness and surveillance on (in this case) importing wholesale nurseries as a key pathway for the inadvertent entry of invasive plant species.

Victoria needs comprehensive, flexible and sensitive systems in place to accurately and efficiently monitor disease and pest situations across the state.

What the Victorian Government will do

A focus on pathways, not just pests and pathogens

It is important to think beyond individual pests and diseases when identifying potential surveillance needs. Rather, we should focus on how these may enter Victoria, propagate and spread.

Although the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) is primarily responsible for preventing incursions across Australia’s international border, responsibility for managing the long-term impact of a new pest organism establishing in Victoria will primarily fall to Victoria. To avoid the establishment of new pests, we will assess ‘pre-border risks’ (i.e. before they reach the border) and pathways for entry, then target surveillance activities to improve our ability to detect new incursions. This will complement the role of AQIS, but recognise specific Victorian risk profiles and entry pathways. Assessment will be informed through the collection and analysis of international intelligence on pest and disease mobility, especially in Asia. We will make better use of interception data from AQIS to identify and evaluate risky and emerging pathways close to home.

It may be possible to pinpoint certain events, human activities, seasonal conditions or climatic circumstances associated with potential pathways for introduction and spread, or with increased threat or changes in the pattern of movement. Systematic monitoring of these triggers will help focus surveillance efforts.

An improved understanding of pathways will provide better options for risk mitigation, the focus of surveillance and early detection and response mechanisms. This knowledge will be shared with all stakeholders involved in the system, such as industry, land and water managers and the wider community, so everyone can take action to reduce the risk to themselves or their businesses.

Victoria will assist the development of record-keeping and quality assurance systems in key industries. This will facilitate recognition and reporting of disease or pest occurrences, with particular emphasis on achieving early warnings of exotic diseases or pests. Valuable baseline information about plant, animal and ecosystem health will also be collected.

Active and passive surveillance

Future surveillance systems will use data collected deliberately (active surveillance) and data gathered for other purposes (passive surveillance). Victoria’s current active surveillance systems will be reviewed and enhanced to ensure maximum value. Greater emphasis will also be placed on getting the best from passive surveillance systems.

Surveillance systems will be developed for produce markets, saleyards, abattoirs, knackeries, collection points, processing centres and other wholesalers and aggregation points for livestock, produce, amenity plants and pets. This will assist with the rapid recognition of serious diseases and pests.

In accordance with the recent Victorian Auditor-General’s report, Biosecurity Incidents: Planning And Risk Management For Livestock Disease, Victoria’s surveillance strategy will have clear objectives, defined roles and responsibilities, timelines and transparency in resource investment. [8]

Working towards a national surveillance system

Importantly, Victoria will work closely and collaboratively in partnership with the Australian Government to support the implementation of recommendations of the Beale Review. This will include the development and maintenance of a comprehensive, national, post-border monitoring and surveillance program for priority pests and diseases.

Encouraging and facilitating reporting

Programs and systems will be developed to facilitate the reporting of pest and disease incidence and incursion. These will target land and water managers, processors, industry professionals and the general community to highlight the roles they play and the value of the information they hold.

Industry, special-interest and community groups, including those focused on the environment, native flora and fauna and social amenity, will be recruited to take part in the statewide biosecurity surveillance network. Their skills, knowledge and passion will be invaluable in increasing our understanding and improving the quality of data collected in areas traditionally not well covered by surveillance activity.

ACTION 5.1 Victoria will analyse identified high-risk pathways and develop methods for monitoring the associated risk of pest and disease introduction and spread.

 

ACTION 5.2 Active and passive systems for surveillance, as well as data management systems for the capture, collation and analysis of surveillance information, will be developed for high-risk pathways.

 

ACTION 5.3 Victoria will work with the Australian government to ensure Victoria’s pest and disease surveillance needs are addressed.

 

ACTION 5.4 Victoria will work with industry, land and water custodians and the community to develop and support networks to enhance disease and pest recognition and reporting.

 

Case Study

Equine influenza – Industry surveillance in action

During the recent equine influenza (EI) outbreak in Australia, the Victorian DPI set up a network of 15 ‘sentinel’ veterinary practices linked up to create a new and unique surveillance system. This system was designed to maximise data input on horse health from all over Victoria. As a result, veterinarians on their normal rounds gathered information on more than 155,000 horses around Victoria to provide assurance of the absence of EI. Victoria will continue to use innovative approaches to gathering necessary data on animal and plant health.

Industry, special interest and community groups will be recruited to take part in the statewide biosecurity surveillance network. Their skills, knowledge and passion will be invaluable.

Case Study

Weed Alert Program – Community surveillance in action

The Weed Alert Program identifies serious new weeds establishing and spreading in Victoria. The program includes the informal, community-based Weed Spotter Network. Weed spotters include gardeners, farmers, teachers, students, horticulturalists, local government and agency staff (from Parks Victoria, catchment management authorities, the Department of Sustainability and Environment and DPI). The information gathered by the Weed Spotter Network helps to locate new weeds and assist in their management. The network is supported by various training activities and publications.

Theme 6

Developing partnerships
Strengthening the coverage - addressing the challenge
Making sound decisions and investments
Building the biosecurity skill base and systems
Smarter surveillance
Delivering effective incursion responses

Delivering effective incursion responses

Despite our best efforts, we must recognise that occasionally we will have to manage a disease or pest incursion in Victoria, or in neighbouring states.

The need to manage a disease or pest incursion in Victoria should not be taken as a failure of the biosecurity system; it is simply a reflection of the complex and changing environment around us and of the impossibility of achieving a ‘no risk’ quarantine barrier. Although we hope for the best, we must plan for the worst. We must be prepared to manage an emergency quickly, effectively and professionally.

Case Study

Equine influenza – Celebrating a successful response to a serious incursion

Equine influenza (EI) entered Australia via a quarantine facility in New South Wales in August 2007, and rapidly spread across that state and into Queensland.

Immediate actions taken by DPI included a six-day halt on all horse movements into and within the state; intensive surveillance inside Victoria to show the disease had not entered the state and would be detected immediately should it do so; investigation of reports of horses and products that entered Victoria from other states before the movement ban was imposed; border controls to prevent entry of horses from New South Wales; a comprehensive public awareness campaign; and payment of compensation to horse clubs disadvantaged by the response.

Links between DPI and the equine industries were well established before the response, and department staff were able to move quickly into emergency response mode.

During the response, DPI Victoria senior staff were in regular contact with the major industry peak bodies, communicating outbreak information and coordinating management.

Surveillance work in Victoria was the third-largest effort in Australia, behind only the efforts of the two infected states. Its success relied on the cooperation of private veterinary practitioners - approximately 155,000 horses were examined during the surveillance effort. As a result of the intense emergency response, Australia was declared provisionally free of EI in March 2008, and officially recognised as free by the World Animal Health Organisation in December 2008.

The success of the Victorian Government’s response to EI was in large part due to:

• ongoing and thorough training of DPI staff in emergency management
• prior development of a Victorian equine emergency response plan in consultation with Victorian equine peak bodies
• prior conduct of a simulation exercise on EI emergency management, involving DPI staff and industry peak bodies.

Rigorous evaluation of exercises and real responses will continue to be a key method for assessing and improving preparedness.

What the Victorian Government will do

Leadership in biosecurity emergency response management

Victoria has well-established emergency management arrangements overseen by the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner and underpinned by the Emergency Management Act 1986. Victoria’s arrangements are described in the Emergency Management Manual Victoria, which includes an allhazards approach and an integrated and comprehensive system covering prevention, response and recovery. [9]

Victoria has a solid reputation as a leader in biosecurity emergency response management. This has been achieved through dedicated training, planning and preparedness activities that have occurred in ‘peace time’, but only with respect to higher profile animal and plant disease threats to mainstream primary industries. Although some emergency response planning and training has occurred in many areas of government, there is a need to coordinate, consolidate and increase participation in these activities across the biosecurity emergency response management spectrum, including industry and the community.

The Victorian Government will strengthen its leadership in biosecurity emergency response management by examining governance options and potential roles for a dedicated biosecurity emergency response management group. A response management group led by DPI could oversee long-term planning to inform decisions around operational priorities, capacity and capability building and investment. It could create a planning and consultation framework to ensure that potential risks are thoroughly scanned and covered, and that policies, plans, capability and capacity to respond effectively to incursions, are audited regularly and are consistent with an all-hazards approach.

The Victorian Government will continue to work collaboratively with industry and other stakeholders at the national, state and territory levels, to identify risks and determine optimal treatment options in biosecurity. We will proactively address issues such as the need for rapid approval to allow use of specific agricultural and veterinary chemicals or vaccines in responding to pests and disease, and the need to address animal welfare issues in an animal disease emergency response. Rigorous evaluation of exercises and real responses will continue to be a key method for assessing and improving preparedness.

Victoria will investigate the need for formal agreements such as memoranda of understanding (MOU) and costsharing agreements with other government or industry organisations to provide financial and resource support for an emergency response.

We will continue to influence the development and maintenance of nationally agreed policies, plans and guidelines to manage incursions. Such guidelines will ensure coherence of emergency response plans and provide operational and procedural compatibility between Australian, state and territory authorities and emergency management organisations.

ACTION 6.1 Victoria will investigate models for the establishment of a new biosecurity emergency response management group to lead the emergency response management process for biosecurity risks.

 

ACTION 6.2 Victoria will develop specific plans for industry and community education and capability building around biosecurity emergency response and recovery.

 

Case Study

Northern Pacific sea star – Learning from a successful eradication program

In late 2003, an outbreak of the Northern Pacific sea star, a notorious marine pest, was found in Andersons Inlet at Inverloch, a coastal town 143 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. This was the first time a population of this pest had been found on the Australian mainland outside of Port Phillip Bay.

The sea star, a voracious and opportunistic predator of a wide range of native animals, including native shellfish - an important part of the marine food chain, probably first arrived in Australia in the ballast water of ships venting in Tasmanian waters. In 1995, it spread from Tasmania to Port Phillip Bay, where it is now well established.

The outbreak in Andersons Inlet triggered an unprecedented two-year marine pest eradication program, led by a partnership between the local community and the Victorian Government. The response formed one of Australia’s largest and longest running marine pest campaigns. It involved approximately 450 volunteers and over 900 dives, or approximately 560 hours underwater. Two hundred and fifty individual sea stars were removed from the inlet.

Subsequent surveys have failed to find any newly established sea stars in Andersons Inlet. A final survey of the inlet on 18 October 2008 concluded the monitoring for the two-year eradication effort.

This emergency response is one of only three successful marine pest eradication attempts in the world. The incursion has been prevented from spreading further along the Victorian coastline and into New South Wales.

The success of the program demonstrates the need forstrong community engagement and active partnerships to ensure marine pest management goals are met in Victoria. The local Inverloch community has since been an advocate for the prevention of new marine pest invasions into Victoria, encouraging all boat owners to ‘do their bit’ for prevention by keeping their boats clean.

Promoting effective emergency management relationships

Our mission and services in this area will be more widely and energetically promoted to the community and other stakeholders to facilitate preparedness planning and enable effective cooperation and coordination during actual responses. Regional staff will be given stronger roles in improving biosecurity incident awareness. Engagement with communities and industries will strategically harness their capacity in prevention, surveillance, early detection and response activities.

Strengthening response capacity and capability

The Victorian Government will work to strengthen its capability and capacity to manage incursion response activity by identifying immediate, medium and long-term requirements for all areas of capability and capacity including:

• policies, plans and guidelines
• systems and processes
• human resources for emergency response roles
• diagnostic and analytical services
• infrastructure and equipment.

Victoria will address the capability needed to support emergency response preparedness, with a view to greater clarity and better alignment with Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System (AIIMS) structures and functions.

A rigorous, needs-based approach to training will ensure sound investment of time and resources. Training needs analyses will be applied at both the organisational and individual level, and we will implement training and emergency response exercises. Training activities will involve personnel from government agencies, industry and the community, to create and maintain a base of skilled people for key response roles during biosecurity incidents. Emergency exercises will provide important opportunities to develop and practice skills and teamwork, to review and improve systems and to design and develop tools and resources needed for effective response.

In addition, the information systems and diagnostic support capability and capacity maintained by government will be assessed to determine what is required to provide critical support of early detection and tracing, and to enable efficient and effective responses.

ACTION 6.3 Victoria will review the level of diagnostic capability and capacity currently available to support emergency responses to biosecurity incidents.

 

ACTION 6.4 Victoria will review its current information technology, mapping and information systems and detail areas for improvement to ensure ready availability, analysis and reporting of data required to support biosecurity emergency responses.

 

Engagement with communities and industries will harness their capacity in prevention, surveillance, early detection and response activities.

A plan for the future

No single group can deliver the ambitious actions and meet the goals we have set for managing Victoria’s biosecurity into the future. Government needs to work with business andcommunity representatives to develop working arrangements, formal structures and projects to make this strategy’s vision a reality; and to ensure the gaps and exposures that have been identified are addressed.

The Victorian Government is committed to protecting our community, industry and natural environment from the threats posed by animal or plant pests and disease. Our current biosecurity system has served us well. Our existing programs provide a strong basis for the biosecurity system of the future, but to face the challenges ahead we need to:

• clarify roles and responsibilities of government, industry and community in delivering biosecurity outcomes for Victoria
• document institutional arrangements and engagement processes for whole-of-government and external stakeholder engagement in biosecurity decision making and participation in implementation
• report on high-risk biosecurity threats and gaps not covered by current arrangements
• plan to progress the actions outlined in this document.

These activities will culminate in a detailed implementation plan for the biosecurity strategy, which will fully scope the activities required to implement the actions herein.

Development of the implementation plan will be led by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, in consultation with key government departments and stakeholders. Once developed, the plan will be activated and resourced in accordance with whole-ofgovernment priorities.

This strategy sets a firm foundation to guide the biosecurity planning, preparedness, service delivery and partnerships required to meet Victoria’s future needs and protect the extraordinary economic, environmental and social assets on which our prosperity depends and our way of life is built.

ACTION 7.1 Victoria – Implementation Plan will be developed by July 2010.