This Biosecurity Advice notifies stakeholders of the release of the Draft report for the non-regulated analysis of existing policy for fresh strawberry fruit from the Republic of Korea.

The draft report identifies pests that require phytosanitary measures to manage the risk to a very low level in order to achieve Australia’s appropriate level of protection.

This draft report is being issued for a 60 calendar day stakeholder consultation period. Written comments and submissions are invited by 25 October 2016.

Biosecurity Advice 2016/09, of 1 April 2016, announced the formal commencement of a non-regulated analysis of existing policy to consider a proposal to import fresh strawberry fruit from the Republic of Korea.

This Biosecurity Advice notifies stakeholders of the release of the Draft report for the non-regulated analysis of existing policy for fresh strawberry fruit from the Republic of Korea. Stakeholders have until 25 October 2016 to provide written comments on the draft report.

The draft report identifies five quarantine pests associated with fresh strawberry fruit from the Republic of Korea that require phytosanitary measures. Out of these five pests, four are arthropods (a spider mite, two thrips and spotted wing drosophila) and one is a bacterial pathogen (angular leaf spot).

Regional differences between Australian states and territories were identified for one quarantine pest for Western Australia and one quarantine pest for the Northern Territory. The proposed biosecurity measures take account of these regional differences.

The draft report proposes a range of risk management measures, combined with a system of operational procedures to ensure biosecurity standards are met. These measures are considered to reduce the risk posed by the five quarantine pests and achieve Australia’s appropriate level of protection (ALOP). Additional information on ALOP can be found in the department’s website.

These proposed measures are consistent with Australia’s existing policy and include:
•visual inspection and, if detected, remedial action for the spider mite and thrips
•area freedom or fruit treatment (such as methyl bromide fumigation or irradiation) for spotted wing drosophila
•area freedom or a systems approach approved by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources for angular leaf spot
•a supporting operational system to maintain and verify the phytosanitary status of export consignments.

The draft report and information about the risk analysis process are available from the department's website. Printed copies of the draft report are available, if required.

Comments on the draft report must be submitted by 25 October 2016.

Lodging a submission: There is no specific format for submissions, but they must be in writing, and identify the relevant technical biosecurity issues being raised with supporting evidence. Preferably, submissions should be in Microsoft Word or other text-based formats and lodged electronically via email, but postal submissions are acceptable. Submissions should be received by the department within the stated consultation period.

Submissions may be lodged via the following:
•the department’s website: using the online template
•email to Biosecurity Consultation
•mail to:

Biosecurity Liaison Officer
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601
AUSTRALIA

Privacy: The department requests that, at a minimum, you provide your name and contact details with your submission. Please indicate if you do not wish to have personal information published with your submission or disclosed to third parties.

Any personal information collected by the department as part of your submission will be used and disclosed by the department for the purposes stated in the Biosecurity Advice. Your personal information will be used to enable the department to contact you about your submission and may be disclosed to specialists, other Commonwealth government agencies, state or territory government agencies or foreign government departments. Unless you request otherwise, the department may publish your personal information on the department’s website.

The department will handle your personal information in a manner consistent with relevant laws, in particular the Privacy Act 1988. Your personal information will be used and stored consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles and as outlined in the department’s Privacy Policy (available on the department’s website).

Confidentiality: Subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 1988, content of submissions may be made public, unless you state you want all or part of your submission to be treated as confidential. A claim for confidentiality must be justified and provided as an attachment, marked ‘Confidential’. ‘Confidential’ material will not be made public. The department reserves the right not to publish submissions.

No breach of confidence will occur if the department shares your submission with a third party referred to under ‘Privacy’ in seeking advice in response to your submission.

Intellectual property: Responsibility for compliance with Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in submissions rests with the author(s). In lodging a submission, you warrant you have not knowingly infringed any third party IPR. By lodging a submission, you grant the Commonwealth a permanent, irrevocable, royalty-free, world-wide, non-exclusive licence to use, copy, reproduce, adapt, communicate and exploit all or any of the material contained in the submission.

http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/risk-analysis/memos/ba2016-30