10/05/2018 Update: Citrus Canker response, Northern Territory and Western Australia

Dear Grower

RE: Citrus Canker, Northern Territory

A progress report on the response to a canker detection in Darwin. I am in the control centre at present and have been three out of the last four weeks. The Chief Plant Health Officer Sarah Corcoran has provided me unfettered access to the response team and I have been part of the management of the response as the industry liaison officer.

Citrus canker has officially been declared present in the Northern Territory. At time of writing the infected properties involved are confined to two retail nurseries, a commercial nursery and a private residence. Of most concern is the commercial nursery as it is a common point of distribution to other suspect properties and infected properties. There is no evidence of natural spread in orchards or native host plants.

For clarification the term suspect property refers to a property that has been identified as having traceable links to an infected property or has self-reported with symptoms typical of canker but have not yet been confirmed. An infected property has had samples confirmed as being positive to citrus canker.

The response activity is divided between investigation/tracing, surveillance, diagnosis, confinement/quarantine and destruction. Overlayed are planning, logistics etc.

To date the engagement with the community has been positive, however there are elements of the community that are against biosecurity responses from the beginning. Darwin residents have been through a number of biosecurity responses recently, the latest to be eradicated was banana freckle which saw the entire removal of backyard bananas in Darwin. We are working to provide some ways to mitigate community backlash. Industry’s position is we will inspect every backyard in Darwin if trace-forward and surveillance dictate it regardless of community backlash; if we can avoid the backlash all the better.

Information provided by the commercial nursery has helped to locate a number of suspect properties. Pathologists and others have been able to examine the host plants at length. From these examinations a timeline has been developed which indicates the infection was quite recent. There has been progress in the last few days in prioritising the trace forward material which will refocus the detection efforts.

As this is a different scenario to past outbreaks the response in-turn has had to be different. There are improvements that will be made to future responses that we have learnt from this current one. New procedures about confining portable material and quarantining these sorts of sites have been developed. With all material confined and quarantined at the commercial nursery, destruction will be completed by Friday afternoon.

This timeframe has been contentious; no host material has been sold or moved since early April but there was a risk that it could have been. The positive outcome of the delay in destroying the material is we have a solid timeline to work with; we know how far to trace-back and trace-forward. Also for review will be the length of time taken to determine an official diagnosis – this has implications for what laws and regulations can be enacted by a jurisdiction. All of these issues are being recorded and will be ironed out in a review of the response at a later date.

We know more about the nature of the infection too and can provide more detail to the commonwealth and state investigators to form a brief. The investigators have jurisdiction here in Australia and overseas and they have access to a range of resources outside the current response which will help find the cause of the infection.

We have been able to inject skilled and experienced citrus researchers and industry people in to the response. They have assisted with finding the most likely point of infection, assessed risk of natural spread, assessed and cleared local host plants, advised on quarantine zones and movement restrictions and improved procedures such as confinement and quarantine as well as diagnostic processes in the laboratories.

More than 100 suspect samples have been tested with just 4 infected properties identified to date. These are positive signs yet it is still very early in the response. The Northern Territory is a small population; just 300,000 of which half live in the greater Darwin area. It is a small primary industry sector and a small primary industry and biosecurity team – they are under resourced. They have called in staff from other departments here in the Northern Territory and across Australia. There are opportunities for interested industry people to be involved in the response or to send staff to assist with surveillance for example – they would be paid and accommodated.

Today I meet with the Northern Territory Minister for Primary Industry and Resources Ken Vowles. I stressed to the Minister the importance of eradicating this outbreak. Whilst their local citrus industry is small there has been an impact on those producers that trade interstate and even local supply is being disrupted. The bigger picture is that trade partners have begun to enquire as to the type and severity of the outbreak – unofficial and low key, yet still a concern to Citrus Australia. If canker becomes endemic costs to manage it on farm will increase and export quality fruit will decrease. The chances of eradicating this outbreak remain very good, but we need his support to see it through.

This work is not funded by your citrus R&D levy, Citrus Australia members who pay a voluntary levy are funding my presence here. If you aren’t a member this is why you should be – a single voice representing industry’s needs at the table in the control centre of a biosecurity response.

Tomorrow a plan will be put forward for the Commonwealth, States and Territories and industry to consider. This will include a budget for the response. Once approved industry will need to enact a biosecurity levy to repay the commonwealth – you will have an opportunity at that time to comment on the repayment period and the rate.

Please feel free to call or email me with any questions or concerns about the citrus canker response.

 

Best regards,

 

Nathan Hancock

Chief Executive Officer

Citrus Australia Ltd