Wannon MP calls for discussion on FMD compensation scheme

Mr Tehan said the government wasn't taking the issue seriously enough and was too slow to act.

Many farmers had told him that it was "too little, too late", he said.

The former minister for trade and tourism said he was hearing from farmers who were calling for borders to be temporarily closed while the country put measures in place.

He said that what happened in the UK was horrific and there was no sugarcoating the fact that it would be horrific in Australia too if it did get in.

He said if foot and mouth got into the feral animal population, eradication would become very difficult.

"It's very scary," he said.

Cudgee farmer Kevin Feakins last week questioned how Australia's compensation scheme would work after living through the trauma of an outbreak in the UK in 2001 in which he lost all his livestock.

Mr Tehan said the compensation scheme in Australia was "basic" and there was no detail on how it would be rolled out.

He said the model it was based on was fundamentally flawed and there needs to be more discussions around whether the scheme was adequate.

He said if you were the first farm to be affected, the price of compensation might be OK but by the time more farms were infected the price may drop and farmers could end up getting less than what their stock was worth.

Farmers fear an outbreak in Australia could cause an oversupply and lead to the price crashing. "It's the most important thing to be taking measures to prevent it getting in," Mr Tehan said.

The federal government's agriculture minister Murray Watt was contacted for comment.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.