Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
Biosecurity is critical to Tasmania as it underpins our reputation as a premium producer of agricultural and seafood products and as a leading tourism destination.
The landmark Biosecurity Act 2019 (the Act) emphasises the importance of shared responsibilities and the need for government, industry and the community to work together to help protect Tasmania from the impacts of pests, weeds and diseases.
The inclusion of the General Biosecurity Duty (or GBD) during the development of the Act received overwhelming support from a large number of Tasmania stakeholders.
The GBD will be officially coming into effect on 31 March 2021 as part of Biosecurity Tasmania's implementation of the Act.
Once the GBD officially commences, it will apply to everyone who undertakes activities which might present a biosecurity risk to Tasmania.
This means that industry, government and members of the public (individuals and businesses), will all have a duty to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent, eliminate, or minimise biosecurity risks when dealing with any biological matter or carrier, if they ought to know that there may be a biosecurity risk.
This doesn't mean that we are asking everyone to become a biosecurity experts, however it is important for them to know about the biosecurity risks that apply to their specific industry, business, work environment or pastimes - and how to manage and minimise those risks to the best of their ability.
The GBD will be enforced like any other legislative requirements that are administered by Biosecurity Tasmania.
That is through a compliance framework that focuses on effective community engagement supported by education and support, with escalating compliance and enforcement actions if the circumstances warrant it. A significant breach of the GBD that is intentional or reckless will be an aggravated offence that carries the highest maximum penalty under the Act.
Today I was pleased to launch a new awareness and education campaign with Biosecurity Tasmania, to help the community better understand the GBD and how to meet their obligations.
The launch of this campaign is the beginning of a long-term journey and the introduction of the GBD provides us with a valuable vehicle to help carry an important biosecurity message to all Tasmanians to help improve awareness and understanding of our biosecurity systems and processes and why the role of every individual or business is important.
We all have a General Biosecurity Duty to help protect Tasmania from pests, weeds and diseases.
