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Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Equine Influenza |
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| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Sep 06 2007 |
| Other Speeches >> |
Mr LAWLOR (Southport-ALP) (11.50 am):
I am an unsuccessful punter and have been one for
most of my life. I do not punt as much these days as I once did, but I am still interested in horseracing. I
have owned some moderate performers and I have been on the board of the Gold Coast Turf Club for
14 years. I go to the races most Saturdays, and I did so last Saturday at the Gold Coast where a
phantom meeting was held-that is, no racing but betting on Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. There was
no racing in Queensland and New South Wales. It was sad to see the impact of equine flu on a huge
industry. But in addition to the direct and visible impact on trainers, jockeys, stable hands and feed
merchants, there is an indirect impact on racecourse, TOTE and TAB employees, racebook printers and
so on. When one considers that the Spring Carnival in Sydney has been cancelled-and I believe
Melbourne will be next to be cancelled-hundreds of millions of dollars will be lost. What about the
recreational riders, pony clubs, the Olympic equestrian team and the breeding industry? What about the
poor people confined with horses to Warwick? What will it cost them?
All of this is as a result of the equine flu and all of it is as a result of the negligence of the Howard
government at the Eastern Creek quarantine facility. Notwithstanding that horseracing in Japan was
suspended due to equine influenza on 19 August, Mr McGauran, the federal minister for primary
industries, said-
Australia will not take any risk with horses being imported from countries where equine influenza is present.
At about the same time a thoroughbred stallion was being tested for equine flu, which was about
to be spread throughout the horse population of New South Wales and Queensland and possibly and
probably the rest of Australia. Although this is a disaster of major proportions, it could have been worse.
What if it had been foot-and-mouth disease that had been released from a quarantine station? What do
the graziers of Australia think about the federal government's quarantine protocols? In 2003 and 2004
the Australian Racing Board wrote to then federal primary industries minister Warren Truss warning that
exactly the equine flu scenario which has now occurred would eventuate as a result of the downgrading
of the quarantine protocols at Eastern Creek. As Andrew Harding, the CEO of the Australian Racing
Board, has said, they were virtually patted on the head and told, 'Don't worry. It'll be okay.' South African
racing was shut down for three months, as was Japan, due to the equine flu. So there have been
numerous warnings, but the federal government was asleep at the wheel. I have every confidence in the
ability-
Time expired. Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 11:55 AM
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