- The Crisafulli Government is delivering stronger biosecurity measures to protect Queensland's agriculture, environment and way of life.
- 40 new, additional officers are on the job from across the State from Cape York to Sunshine Coast and inland.
- The recruitment sees the Crisafulli Government deliver on a key election commitment to boost the biosecurity frontline by 100.
- The Crisafulli Government is delivering a better lifestyle through a stronger economy after a decade of decline under Labor, that saw biosecurity protections eroded.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering stronger biosecurity across the State, with 40 new frontline officers recruited to reinstate biosecurity capability that eroded under Labor's decade of decline.
It sees the Crisafulli Government deliver on a key election commitment and is part of the plan to deliver a plan for Queensland's future while growing the value of primary industries production to $30 billion by 2030.
The officers are stationed in 21 locations across the State from Bamaga and Cairns in the north, to Nambour in the south and as far west as Charleville.
The 40 new frontline officers will play a critical role in identifying and tackling plant and animal pests and diseases to better protect Queensland's way of life, human health, economy and environment from biosecurity risks, and will be critical to the management of all biosecurity threats.
During Labor's decade of decline, the biosecurity workforce between 2015 and 2022 was reduced by more than 20%, and the State's northern most biosecurity line of defence was closed.
The Crisafulli Government has committed to beefing up biosecurity with $50 million to help hire 100 officers in the first term in office.
Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett said the new recruits were based in biosecurity hot spots with roles spanning animal biosecurity, plant biosecurity, and invasive species.
"Strong biosecurity measures underpin profitable primary production - when we improve our biosecurity, we also protect productivity which moves us closer to our goal of primary production output of $30 billion by 2030," Minister Perrett said.
"Primary producers deserve to have confidence Queensland has the biosecurity capacity to protect and retain current national and international market access.
"We committed to boosting prevention and preparedness resources to combat increasing biosecurity risks and the Crisafulli Government is delivering on its promise with boots on the ground."
Member for Nicklin Marty Hunt, said the addition of five new staff to the Sunshine Coast region was a welcome boost to local ranks.
"These biosecurity officers play an important role in our community, undertaking surveillance, compliance, enforcement, education and stakeholder engagement activities to ensure the Sunshine Coast is protected from animal and plant diseases and invasive pests and weeds," Marty Hunt MP said.
"We're already seeing the benefits of having these officers embedded in our region, helping to protect our agricultural production, environment and our way of life," he said."
