Australian government plans to remove a 40 per cent rebate on quarantine inspection costs has fallen through after a senate vote, with the result heralded as a victory by the country’s horticulture industry.
A Senate vote of 33 to 32 knocked the government proposal out late on Tuesday.
The plan would have cost Australian exporters around A$40m a year (US$34.6m) in extra fees from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).
In the final Senate submission, the Australian federal government offered A$60m (US$52m) to reform AQIS and fix inefficient practices, as well as rebates to exporters for the first 12 months.
“The industry welcomes the vote, and we look forward to some more sensible approaches to be put forward by the government,” Fruitnet heard from David Minnis, who recently stepped down as deputy chairman of the Australian Horticultural Exporters’ Association (AHEA).
“We all want a review of AQIS and reforms introduced, but we wanted this to be done before any increase in fees, not after.
“They have admitted there are inefficiencies in AQIS, so now they will have to fix them up at their expense, not at the expense of growers and exporters.”
Mr Minnis said AQIS was a monopolised government service, and thus the responsibility lay with the government to improve it.
“If they need extra money for that review, I supposed we might acquiesce to an across-the-board volume charge, covering both phytosanitary and non-phytosanitary markets,” Mr Minnis said, adding half of Australia’s fresh produce is exported to non-phyto markets such as Hong Kong.
He added that decreasing Australia’s export competitiveness with greater fees would in the long-term impact the country’s food security and ability to supply the domestic market.
