© Commonwealth of Australia 2003. This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth, available from IP Branch Copyright, Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, GPO Box 2154, Canberra ACT 2601 or through the website www.dcita.gov.au/cca.
Summary and Recommendations 8
1. Introduction 11
Terms of Reference 11
Review Team 12
2. Australian Quarantine - Nairn Review 12
3. Plant Biosecurity Arrangements in Australia 13
AFFA Plant Biosecurity Responsibilities 13
Office of the Chief Plant Protection Officer 13
Biosecurity Australia: Plant Biosecurity 13
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service 13
Plant Health Australia 14
Importation Requirements with Particular Reference to Winter Cereals. 14
Protocols 14
The Permit 14
Closed Post-Entry Quarantine 15
Open Post-Entry Quarantine 15
Release 15
Bulk Seed Imports 15
Post-Entry Quarantine Facilities 15
Findings on Quarantine of Imported Cereal Seed 16
Effectiveness of Current Biosecurity Arrangements 16
Records of Plant Material Imported into Quarantine Facilities 16
International Mail and Courier Processing 17
Post-Entry Quarantine 17
Closed Post-Entry Quarantine 17
Quarantine Waste Disposal 18
Open Post-Entry Quarantine 18
Other Routes of Entry of Viable Seed 18
AQIS Inspectors 19
AQIS Compliance 19
4. Winter Cereal Breeding in Australia 19
5. Preparedness for Plant Pest Incursions into Australia 21
Surveillance and Monitoring 21
Incursion Preparedness 21
Incursion Management 21
6. Observations from the Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus Incident 22
Participants and Responsibilities 22
Background Knowledge 22
Diagnostics 22
The Issue of Containment Versus Eradication 23
Communication 23
Targeted Survey 23
7. Biological Control Agent Importations 23
8. Conclusion 24
Acknowledgements 24
List of Acronyms 24
References 25
Appendix A: Import conditions for Wheat (Triticum spp. other and Triticum tauschii) 26
Appendix B: Conditions for the importation through open quarantine of selected breeding lines of cereal seeds from New Zealand 32
Appendix C: List of dates, locations and people whom the Review Team met during the conduct of the Review. 35