Vinehealth Australia’s industry consultation on proposed changes to phylloxera conditions within South Australia’s Plant Quarantine Standard, is coming to a close. While industry consultation has been underway since late November 2018, we urge you to have your say by 30 June to ensure your feedback can be considered in the development of the final consolidated phylloxera condition being proposed.
We ask you to either use our purpose-built industry consultation webpage, which houses all relevant background documents and feedback forms, or to contact CEO Inca Pearce on 0418 818 543 or inca@vinehealth.com.au or Technical Manager Suzanne McLoughlin on 0412859882 or suzanne@vinehealth.com.au to discuss and record your feedback.
South Australia’s enviable phylloxera-free status is in part due to these phylloxera conditions that outline entry requirements for grapes, grape products, machinery, equipment, grapevine material and vineyard soil that could carry phylloxera into the state. A rigorous process has been used to propose 85 changes, categorised into three key themes:
- Completeness – ensuring entry conditions have been outlined for all risk pathways that can be regulated
- Science – integrating new science on phylloxera disinfestation treatments into practice
- Readability – improving industry’s ability to understand the entry conditions and how to comply with them
Our final steps with this work are to consider and incorporate feedback received to date into a revised consolidated phylloxera condition and feed this back to industry around end of May. Then we will undertake any further discussion sessions as requested by individuals, companies or regions by June 30.
Thereafter, we plan to provide the final recommended changes to Biosecurity SA, and then jointly with Biosecurity SA, send these recommendations to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development to endorse for immediate implementation.