Senate mulls next move on quarantine cost recovery

Independent and opposition senators have said they may block the moves if they appeared too onerous.
The Federal Government said it would seek to place further quarantine inspections costs onto exporters in moves that would see $30m lost in quarantine services and a rebate for beef exports worth $40m ended.
It has also promised to implement the findings of the Beale report into biosecurity but those details are yet to be revealed.
“We are greatly concerned about that and want to see the details as soon as we possibly can,” a spokesman for shadow trade and transport minister Warren Truss said.
“We are not sure if it will be in legislation or regulation.
“If it is in regulation, it is something that can be disallowed.
“We will have to wait to see what format it is in.
“There has been significant cuts there in the customs and the quarantine areas and we are greatly concerned that our national security – whether that is to do with quarantine or potential threat of terrorism or illegal products coming into the country – our capacity to be able to deal with those issues will be greatly reduced.”
The opposition would negotiate with independent senators Nick Xenophon and Steven Fielding when the details emerged. Given that the cuts were part on revenue-raising, this was expected “fairly soon – but it may be weeks, it may be months”.
Mr Xenophon’s spokesman said his office was awaiting details but understood from Budget papers that the government was “going to slug rural producers”.
“They are really going to have to pay for what AQIS did for free,” the spokesman said.
“That sounds like a really big impost on regional producers and regional economies, so we are really concerned about that.
“It is a fairly big issue for people who are struggling anyway.”
He was confident that the Nationals would get the Liberals to agree to join an effort to thwart the move but was unsure of Mr Fielding’s stance.
Mr Fielding has been quoted as saying he would help block the move if the government refused to negotiate on the cuts.
He wanted costs to be lowered by efficiency gains rather than cuts.
In the Budget, the government said that before finalising its response to the Beale Review recommendations, it would provide renewed support of $156m “to ensure that the resources needed to deliver effective quarantine measures will continue to be deployed at our airports, seaports and mail centres and enhancing post-border biosecurity”.
It would provide $15m to AQIS to maintain enhanced border controls, aimed at preventing the entry of avian influenza into Australia.