By JONATHON HOWARD
WARWICK veterinarian Ross Newman has slammed a State Government decision to close the Toowoomba Biosecurity Queensland Animal Disease Surveillance Laboratory, which he warns could leave regional livestock exposed to disease outbreaks.
The regional laboratory was servicing the beef, dairy, equine, goat, pig, poultry, sheep and other livestock industries across the Downs, but the service will now be centralised at Coopers Plains in Brisbane.
Toowoomba South MP and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, John McVeigh, announced the lab’s closure this week.
Mr McVeigh had been holding an axe over the lab since late 2012, prompting a community petition which attracted more than 600 signatures.
Dr Newman described the LNP decision as “bloody stupid” and a “serious blow to the health and monitoring of regional livestock”.
“This decision will mean less reliable testing services in regional areas and slower turnaround for testing,” he said.
“No service gets better by centralising it, especially moving the lab service to as far away from regional livestock as possible.”
Of the exotic disease outbreaks that have occurred in Queensland in the last six years (Equine Influenza, Johnes Disease, Avian Influenza and Swine Flu) all were diagnosed at the DPI Toowoomba Veterinary Laboratory.
“Disease monitoring is essential to all livestock industries and is best achieved by a regional laboratory located where the animals are,” Mr Newman said.
In a previous media statement, Mr McVeigh refused to revisit his decision to close the Toowoomba vets lab.
“The maintenance of laboratory facilities and operations is costly and it is no longer feasible to maintain ageing laboratories, like that in Toowoomba,” he said.
“Consequently, we are consolidating services from the Toowoomba and Townsville labs to the new Coopers Plains laboratory in Brisbane.
“I acknowledge that it has been convenient to have a local laboratory for the Toowoomba community, but I have to ensure a robust and cost-effective biosecurity system that provides a similar service across the entire state.”
Dr Newman said the costs of transporting animal samples for testing would skyrocket with submitters now forced to pay for couriers, or hand-deliver the samples.
Mr McVeigh said Biosecurity Queensland was holding discussions with transport providers including TOLL, other courier providers, bus companies and Australia Post, to implement arrangements that minimised the transport costs for sample submitters.
“Depending on the category of sample, the urgency, and type of tests being undertaken, the most cost-effective and appropriate transport options will be available to submitters,” he said.”Currently, samples can be sent by courier to the Cooper’s Plains laboratory from anywhere in the State.
“As has always been the case, those within driving distance can make arrangements to deliver samples to the lab in person by contacting the duty pathologist.”
