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Speaker 1: Biosecurity.

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Speaker 2: It has become a leading issue in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: or for the Northern Territory and indeed Australia as we

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Speaker 2: tackle multiple plant, pest and disease incursions. Now we're here

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Speaker 2: in the territory, are about to undertake the biggest emergency

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Speaker 2: biosecurity exercise that the government's ever held. The exercise will

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Speaker 2: be for three days. As I understand it, it's going

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Speaker 2: to see roads blocked. It's going to appear as though

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Speaker 2: there is an emergency situation.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me in the studio to tell us.

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Speaker 2: More about this is Luke Bowen, who is the head

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Speaker 2: of Biosecurity in the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, lukeing. Good to have you in

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Speaker 2: the studio. Thanks so much for joining us. Now what's

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Speaker 2: the aim of this exercise.

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Speaker 3: Well, I think if we go back to some announcements

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Speaker 3: or some issues that arose last year where there's a

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Speaker 3: lot of focus on some major diseases that had entered Indonesia,

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Speaker 3: and these are diseases that should we get them in Australia,

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Speaker 3: they would shut down our export industry. So to give

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Speaker 3: an example, Australia exports about seventy percent of its agricultural commodities,

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Speaker 3: and in the case of livestock, the sheep and cattle

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Speaker 3: and all the rest of it. We're the second largest

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Speaker 3: exporter of beef in the world after Brazil. We're also

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Speaker 3: a very large live exporter where big dairy exporter, sheep

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Speaker 3: meat export and that sort of thing. If we were

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Speaker 3: to get foot and mouth disease in Australia, it would

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Speaker 3: shut an entire trade immediately. We have to be free

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Speaker 3: of these diseases and or just be able to trade.

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Speaker 3: So people were very focused last year on foot and

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Speaker 3: mouth in Indonesia foot and mouth disease, there's other diseases

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Speaker 3: as well, including a lumpy skin disease, which is a

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Speaker 3: vector borne in other words, it's transferred by insects, and

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Speaker 3: we're particularly concerned about that. So in that context we

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Speaker 3: have to be able to respond very quickly. If we

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Speaker 3: were to get an incursion in Australia, our ability to

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Speaker 3: get back to trade and get back on our feet

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Speaker 3: depends on how quickly we can get rid of that disease,

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Speaker 3: get on top of it and prove freedom, in other words,

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Speaker 3: prove that our country is free then to open our

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Speaker 3: export markets up again. So to do that means how

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Speaker 3: quickly can we respond, how well prepared are we. So

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Speaker 3: this training exercise or this exercise between the seventh and

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Speaker 3: the ninth is to test our systems.

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Speaker 1: And it's incredibly important.

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Speaker 2: Like you've just pointed out, you know, the second largest

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Speaker 2: exporter of beef in the world. But that's incredible that

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Speaker 2: we are right here in the Northern Territory. But then

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Speaker 2: when you think about that, and you think about some

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Speaker 2: of those diseases that we're dealing with around the world

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Speaker 2: and the threat to the Northern Territory, it sounds as

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Speaker 2: though the exercise is an incredibly important thing for us

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Speaker 2: to be able to do.

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Speaker 3: It is, Katie. And the point is that this is

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Speaker 3: not just government, for example, it's industry and government working together.

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Speaker 3: So what we have to test is how all that

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Speaker 3: works together. And so it's part of a series of

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Speaker 3: things that are happening over the next couple of weeks.

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Speaker 3: So we've got a webinar, it's called a Big Picture webinar.

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Speaker 3: It's about Emergency Animal Disease Awareness, which is on the

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Speaker 3: twenty fourth of February, which is the end of the week.

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Speaker 3: So that's a thing to just raise awareness about how

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Speaker 3: the national system works for tackling emergency animal diseases. So

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Speaker 3: it's building awareness. And then we're moving into two actual

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Speaker 3: training sessions on the twenty eighth and the second of March,

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Speaker 3: which are actually going to be training for people who

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Speaker 3: are going to be involved in emergency response. So it's

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Speaker 3: training people to be liaison offices in industry, in the

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Speaker 3: supply chain across government, and that will feed in then

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Speaker 3: ultimately to the exercise between the seventh and ninth. It's

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Speaker 3: important for us to get as many people as we

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Speaker 3: can involve in these awareness and training exercise sessions then

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Speaker 3: to build up to this major exercise, which will be

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Speaker 3: industry government standing up the emergency Operations Center at Berrimott,

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Speaker 3: Peter maccaulay Center and other emergency operations centers around the territory.

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Speaker 3: And as you said, to open people probably see things happening,

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Speaker 3: there might be roadblocks, there might be people walking around

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Speaker 3: and has matt suits. Don't be alarmed because I need

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Speaker 3: to make it very clear we do not have any

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Speaker 3: of these diseases on the three free right now, so

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Speaker 3: we need to be very clear about that, and we

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Speaker 3: certainly don't want them. Yeah, but this is all about practicing,

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Speaker 3: finding out where the weaknesses are, where we need to improve,

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Speaker 3: and quite frankly, until you're throwing in amongst it, it's

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Speaker 3: often you don't know where these problems.

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Speaker 1: Well, that's exactly right.

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Speaker 2: Training, look like, how important is it that we do

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Speaker 2: like that we do well with this exercise as well,

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Speaker 2: because I would imagine, you know, you speak to a

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Speaker 2: lot of people in the industry, in the cattle industry,

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Speaker 2: other export industry, who would be quite concerned about some

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Speaker 2: of these threats. So how important is it that we

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Speaker 2: get this right even throughout an exercise.

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Speaker 3: Because even down to the point a good example, so

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Speaker 3: part of the exercise will be people on stations, cattle

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Speaker 3: stations and farms around the territory, so this scenario will evolve.

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Speaker 3: So it'll be it'll be a scenario where a certain

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Speaker 3: an animal might be identified somewhere with a disease and

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Speaker 3: we go through the whole process of identifying what that

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Speaker 3: is and then potentially shutting down under a seventy two

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Speaker 3: hour stock standstill. But anybody who may be impacted these

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Speaker 3: animals have moved all around, may move on trucks and

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Speaker 3: various other ways. Quite quickly, it evolve into a multiple

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Speaker 3: outbreak sort of scenario. So for example, if I'm on

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Speaker 3: a station out in the Victoria District and I could

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Speaker 3: be potentially impact or there could be the thought that

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Speaker 3: a threat could have entered my property, one of the

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Speaker 3: things would be, Okay, you need to tell me how

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Speaker 3: many people have been onto your property in the last

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Speaker 3: thirty days. So it's going to test people's systems, and

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Speaker 3: a lot of people go no. So we have to

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Speaker 3: be able to trace not just animals and animal movements,

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Speaker 3: but also people on equipment and whole range of things.

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Speaker 3: So this is going to test the industry, it's going

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Speaker 3: to test government. It's going to test not just the

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Speaker 3: agricultural side of government, but our emergency response capability across

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Speaker 3: the board. It's going to test how we respond to

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Speaker 3: mental health issues. These an outbreak of the kind that

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Speaker 3: we've had other parts of the world, such as England

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Speaker 3: in two thousand, had an absolutely devastating effect on people,

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Speaker 3: communities and also industries that sit around, such as tourism

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Speaker 3: around in regional areas, and that something we do not

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Speaker 3: want this to happen. It could be absolutely devastating. We

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Speaker 3: have to do everything we can to ensure that we

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Speaker 3: stay practiced and aware and we're match fit.

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Speaker 2: Well, it sounds as though it is a very very

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Speaker 2: important thing for us to be doing here in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Tell us so when exactly does it kick off? And

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Speaker 1: what do you reckon people see?

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Speaker 2: To those out there listening, you mentioned before, has matt

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Speaker 2: suits what else could they see?

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Speaker 3: Look, It really depends how the scenario develops. So we

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Speaker 3: haven't mapped out and so this is going to happen

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Speaker 3: on day one and day two. This could evolve, so

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Speaker 3: it'll be a random evolution of how the scenario could unfold.

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Speaker 3: We'll have observers, national observers watching on. We need to

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Speaker 3: work out where our systems need improvement, so it really

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Speaker 3: could be quite random.

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Speaker 2: Oh well, it'll be interesting why for everybody around the

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Speaker 2: territory to sort of see what's unfolding, But be warned

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Speaker 2: it is an exercise, so don't distruy sound.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, and that's how we want to keep it. And

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Speaker 3: I think if people are wanting to register for one

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Speaker 3: the awareness course on the twenty fourth or the training

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Speaker 3: events on the twenty eighth and the second in Alice

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Speaker 3: Springs and also in Darwin. You can go on to

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Speaker 3: the Agriculture in t Facebook page and you'll see the

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Speaker 3: links there in order to get to those registration forms.

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Speaker 2: Now, Luke Bowen, a lot of people listening this morning

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Speaker 2: will know you dyull have known you from various different

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Speaker 2: roles that you've had around the Northern Territory. But it's

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Speaker 2: safe to say that you are one of the Northern

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Speaker 2: territories most respected public servants.

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Speaker 1: And we have just learned this morning.

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Speaker 2: That well, in exciting personal news, I think you'd have

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Speaker 2: to say for you, the Board of Directors of Cattle

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Speaker 2: Australia have announced your appointment as the inaugural Chief Executive Officer.

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Speaker 2: So what this is going to mean is that, well,

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Speaker 2: I believe you're going to be leaving your current job

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Speaker 2: to head to Canberra to take on this role.

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Speaker 3: I am yeah. Oh, look, it's an incredibly exciting opportunity

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Speaker 3: I think for the national cattle industry. It's the largest

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Speaker 3: agricultural sector in the country. It's thirty percent of Australia's

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Speaker 3: agricultural production, is about almost fifty percent of the Australia's

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Speaker 3: land mass. It's a wonderful sector and they have formed

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Speaker 3: a new national body and I'm very, very fortunate and

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Speaker 3: privileged to be asked to be the inaugural CEO. And

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Speaker 3: it's a big job because we need to have one

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Speaker 3: voice and we need to have the cattle industry represented

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Speaker 3: well at the national and international level. So I'm really

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Speaker 3: excited about getting in and I'll be very much involved

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Speaker 3: in the cattle industry here in the Northern Territory and

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Speaker 3: agriculture more generally and with people that I have worked

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Speaker 3: with in the past. And it's also with mixed feelings

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Speaker 3: because I have been incredibly honored to be able to

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Speaker 3: privilege to be able to work with people in what

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Speaker 3: is the Department of Industry but also agriculture, Fisheries and

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Speaker 3: bisecurity is incredibly talented people. They're real quiet achievers, and

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Speaker 3: agriculture doesn't have a very high profile to some extent.

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Speaker 3: But I've just been amazed at the depth of capability

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Speaker 3: that we have in these scientists and the researchers and

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Speaker 3: the people that push the boundaries for industry development and

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Speaker 3: fisheries and agriculture and livestock and by security and animal welfare.

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Speaker 3: These are these are true, These are true Territorians who

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Speaker 3: are recognized in the national stage and in some case

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Speaker 3: in the international stage as best in their field. And

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Speaker 3: it's been a real privilege to work for these people

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Speaker 3: and are we still spending plenty of more time with

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Speaker 3: them over the coming years. But it's been a real

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Speaker 3: honor and it's been a wonderful experience.

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Speaker 2: And Mate, I know, I believe born and raised in

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Speaker 2: w A, you were. You spent the early part of

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Speaker 2: your career in South Australia, but you've been in the.

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Speaker 1: Territory for a long time.

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Speaker 2: You are certainly a Northern territory you know, a Northern

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Speaker 2: territory fixture. Like, how long have you been here and

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Speaker 2: what's it going to be like for you sort of

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Speaker 2: stepping away to some degree.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, it's going to be tough. I mean, the

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Speaker 3: territory is in my blood, you know, And I think

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Speaker 3: that's that's good because sometimes on these national roles, you know,

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Speaker 3: the North isn't always very evident. So I'll be representing,

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Speaker 3: understanding and representing the people in the North because I've

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Speaker 3: come from here and Western Australia and other parts of

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Speaker 3: the country where I spend a lot of time. So

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Speaker 3: I think think I can bring a bit of value

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Speaker 3: to it and a bit of context. But stepping away,

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Speaker 3: I won't be stepping away from the church. We still

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Speaker 3: have quite a strong base here in the territory and

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Speaker 3: so I'll be in and out of the tertiary a lot.

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Speaker 2: Well, big congratulations to you, very well deserved and as

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Speaker 2: I say, I know that you are incredibly well respected

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Speaker 2: within the public service and right around the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: in Northern Australia. So congratulations to you on that appointment.

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Speaker 2: Thank you very much for coming in and telling us

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Speaker 2: a little bit more about the exercise that's taking place

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Speaker 2: as well. No doubt we'll probably get a few phone

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Speaker 2: calls over coming days, people.

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Speaker 1: Wondering what's going on, and we'll be able to let

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Speaker 1: them know.

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Speaker 3: Thank you.

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Speaker 1: Good on you, Luke. Thanks so much.

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Speaker 3: I appreciate