THE Federal Government and Cattle Council of Australia severely underestimated the backlash over relaxing beef import rules, writes LESLIE WHITE
When BSE - or mad cow disease - broke out in the US and UK in 2003 and 2004, Australia immediately enforced a "blanket ban" on all beef and beef products from the two countries.
Other trading partners - notably Japan - enacted similar policies while Australia cashed on its BSE-free status in the absence of US and UK competition.
However, the "blanket ban" policy came with a hitch - if a single case of BSE was ever discovered in Australia, Food Standards Australia New Zealand would remove all local beef from shelves and the industry would be decimated overnight.
The Australian Beef Association disputes that FSANZ ever had the authority to remove all beef from the shelves, and asserts the threat was therefore unrealistic.
But last year the Cattle Council of Australia and the Federal Government agreed Australia's opposition to importing beef from BSE-affected countries would end.
The controversial changes came into effect on Monday, but the issue has exploded in the past fortnight.
Rural politicians and beef industry leaders have found themselves at each other's throats.
Serious insults have been hurled from both sides with CCA president Greg Brown labelling shadow agriculture minister Richard Colbeck "a germ".
A Senate inquiry into the issue a fortnight ago saw Coalition and Greens senators grill CCA and Meat and Livestock Australia.
The CCA labelled the senators "mischievous", an insult Nationals Senator Fiona Nash said was "appalling".
Liberal senator and southern NSW beef producer Bill Heffernan accused CCA of "betrayal" and called for the council to be sacked.
The issue received extra media attention because Australia's lax labelling laws mean consumers would not know if the beef they're consuming is from a BSE-affected country.
CCA president Greg Brown admitted the council desperately wanted the "beef off the shelves" threat removed; but that he also "understood" there was a trade issue - the US and Canada combined have made 37 requests for their beef to be allowed into Australia in the past two years.
Mr Brown told The Weekly Times the issue had been "beaten up by certain members of the senate determined to destroy this industry".
He named senators Nash, Heffernan, Colbeck and Nationals senator John Williams.
"They were like a pack of dogs trying to eat one of their own," Mr Brown said.
"Pre-BSE the US had exported 35 tonnes a year here for the previous five years and we were exporting 300,000 tonnes there - it's not such a bad deal. The US market is so critical to Australia."
But Senator Heffernan said the move effectively put Australia's beef in the same BSE category as the US. "This gives away our marketing edge in Korea and Japan," he said.
Some critics maintain the US and Canada sought to gain access to the Australian market only as a bargaining chip - their access would put Australia in the "low risk" rather than "BSE-free" category, on par with the US and Canada.
These countries can now lobby markets like Japan for their beef to be given access alongside Australian beef, which now has the same classification.
Senator Heffernan also argued a lack of traceability in the US meant its beef could actually have come from across the Mexican border. And he said BSE tests were unreliable in the case of younger animals.
Last week members of the Nationals, Liberals and Greens - along with independent senator Nick Xenophon - announced a bill insisting on a higher standard of testing of imported meat and a full import risk analysis.
The bill will pass the Senate but Labor's superior numbers will defeat it in the House of Representatives.
In parliament, Trade Minister Simon Crean said Australia's labelling laws needed to be looked at and blamed the Coalition for introducing them when it was in Government.
However Greens senator Christine Milne called on consumers not to be satisfied "with weak promises".
Mr Crean said people had "been alarmist about a flood of beef in from (the US and Canada) - it's wrong".
"They can seek to be able to send it," Mr Crean said.
"FSANZ said it 100 per cent guarantees food imported is BSE free."
Senator Xenophon described this as a "stupid comment".
