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Queensland Biosecurity Capability Review

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Queensland Biosecurity Capability Review QUEENSLAND BIOSECURITY CAPABILITY REVIEW FINAL REPORT SEPTEMBER 2015 RENATA BROOKS RON GLANVILLE TOM KOMPAS 1 DISCLAIMER The Panel has prepared this report exclusively for the use of the Queensland Government. The report is supplied in good faith and reflects the knowledge, expertise and experience of the Panel. The information, data, opinions, evaluations, assessment and analysis referred to in, or relied upon in the preparation of this report have been obtained from and are based on sources believed by us to be reliable and current at the time of writing. However, the Panel accepts no responsibility for any error of fact or opinion which may have informed the report. The Panel does not accept liability for any loss or damage including without limitation, compensatory, direct, indirect or consequential damages and claims of third parties that may be caused directly or indirectly through use of, reliance upon or interpretation of, the contents of this report. This report was prepared by Renata Brooks, Ron Glanville and Tom Kompas. 2 INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR Effective biosecurity has played a major role in supporting Queensland’s agricultural industry sector and protecting the environment and human health. However, Queensland is experiencing challenges to its ability to respond to the increasing number, scale and scope of exotic pests and disease threats. Recent examples include Panama disease tropical race 4 in bananas, red imported fire ants, cucumber green mottle mosaic virus and red witch weed. Risk is increasing Biosecurity risks are increasing for a range of reasons, including the expansion in movement of humans, livestock populations, animal and plant products, increased geographic distribution of plant species production and changing patterns of human activity impacting on ecosystems. The suitability of Queensland's climate for many pests and diseases, its proximity to northern neighbours and extensive coastline means it will continue to be the front line state for dealing with biosecurity threats. Resources are under pressure At the same time, there is increasing competition for resources within government and increasing pressure on businesses and the community. This is highlighting imperative to make wise investments with the resources available to tackle biosecurity challenges. We will need to mine a complex world to find solutions On the positive side, there are emerging opportunities to devise new solutions to tackle biosecurity threats more effectively and at lower cost. These solutions lie in two directions - there are better ways of tapping into the practical knowledge and creativity of all those who share responsibility for biosecurity and there are a multitude of new technologies which can be applied, and information sources which can be analysed, to improve the way we detect, manage and eradicate new biosecurity threats. Navigating an increasingly complex world to access these opportunities will be an increasing challenge. Biosecurity Queensland needs to be rebuilt Biosecurity Queensland, the agency charged with leading biosecurity, has a record of success and passionate, committed and expert staff. However, change in recent years has tended to be responsive rather strategic - driven by reduced resources and opportunities to consolidate functions - rather than designed to meet the needs of an evolving environment. We found that the organisation currently lacks capacity and will need increased capability to transform to meet the needs of the future. Current needs The most urgent and pressing need is to build Biosecurity Queensland's capacity to respond to incursions - the frequency of responses and the current approach to resourcing them is likely to see the organisation’s capacity exceeded, with potentially serious results. Investment is needed in people, frameworks and systems as well as better defined arrangement for funding responses. Introduction from the Chair 3 Future directions Developments over recent years and the new Biosecurity Act are heading in the same direction. Good biosecurity needs to be "everyone's responsibility" - like workplace safety, this involves a change in culture and a change in the "way we do things". Shared responsibility cannot be driven solely by legislation. A partnership approach is required - with those partners sharing ownership of the Queensland Biosecurity System. Biosecurity partners need to think nationally and internationally about accessing resources and sourcing solutions; and need to be smart about coordination, leveraging and focusing their collective resources on the highest priorities. Business models and "who pays" regimes need to operate in a mutually reinforcing way to create incentives which support achievement of system outcomes. Capability gaps in the system The Panel's view is that the current biosecurity system in Queensland has critical gaps. There is no mechanism to gain agreement to priorities, across Government or with partners outside of Government. There is no mutually reinforcing system of incentives, little coordination and few opportunities to promote collective industry/landholder/community action. Capability gaps in Biosecurity Queensland The gaps in the system cannot be filled without first filling the gaps in Biosecurity Queensland. In short, investment is needed now to build the capacity of the organisation to deal with today's needs and build the capability to transform to meet tomorrow's needs. Investment is also needed to build the capability of the biosecurity system, recognising that not all capability needs to, or should, reside within Biosecurity Queensland. Building the capability of the system We propose the development of a strategy and action plan under governance arrangements that support a partnership approach. While the essence of this is that the partners will set the priorities and decide the actions that will be the focus of attention over the next five years, we are recommending an initial suite of initiatives that would sit under the action plan. Work will be required to establish the governance framework for the new approach - we propose using the existing Biosecurity Queensland Ministerial Advisory Council (BQMAC) as an interim advisory body so that work can commence. Serious consideration needs to be given to the concept of an industry biosecurity fund or alternative mechanism to facilitate collective industry action. These mechanisms will achieve coordination and focus and will ensure that those with an interest are engaged in the reprioritisation and implementation of sustainable funding models, which need to occur. We expect that many of these activities will be self-funding through redirection of resources, efficiencies from new operating models, and capitalising on new sources of revenue. However, additional up-front investment will also be required. Introduction from the Chair 4 Initiatives under the action plan will address gaps in capability and better manage risk with the ultimate result of reducing the likelihood of incursions. The strategy and action plan will take forward the job of identifying the "low risk/low return" and "leveraging" opportunities in two ways. Firstly, we propose a project to progress the reforms required to transition from the current regulatory and prescriptive approaches to more flexible and outcome driven approaches enabled by the new legislation. This might include, for example, more reliance on industry certification systems rather than prescriptive inspection regimes. There are also opportunities to change the way some of the underpinning infrastructure of the Queensland Biosecurity System operates. A new, more commercial, approach to diagnostic laboratory management is proposed, as well as new systems for managing the property identification code register. Secondly, action plan partners need to be engaged in a project to systematically review and reprioritise investment in biosecurity programs - this will assist recalibration of resources and funding sources. Better biosecurity systems on farm will reduce the risk of future incursions and assist early detection and more cost effective response. A coordinated campaign is proposed, with clear targets, which leverages off current national investment. There are opportunities to achieve far greater impact from regional investment through Local Government Authorities, regional Natural Resource Management organisations and other regional bodies. A pilot project is proposed to explore opportunities to leverage off the successful regional co-investment approach. Adequate surveillance is critical to early detection, as is an environment that supports prompt diagnosis, investigation and reporting. The Panel proposes development of a coherent surveillance strategy that targets the most effective use of resources and leverages other information sources, as well as a serious examination of the current incentives and disincentives to reporting. Building the capability of Biosecurity Queensland Biosecurity Queensland’s capability needs to be bolstered to deal with today's emergency and tomorrow's transformation. Capacity issues need to be addressed by creating a dedicated response unit that can be activated when required and can build the competencies, tools, relationships and networks required to resource future responses. This initiative will also address capacity gaps outside the response area by taking some of the response load off operational staff and managers, allowing them to better attend to important activities to analyse risks
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