Pest protection plan best when all work together

There are rats, rabbits, foxes and cane toads - some introduced through well-intentioned but misguided measures, and some hitchhiking across.

For the most part, as an island, we've had had a pretty natural advantage to keeping out some of the nasties.

But, just like in days of old, when pests would sneak in via boats, the large number of planes and ships heading to and from Australia creates opportunities.

It seems to be more and more, we hear about the threats lurking and their potential cost to the bottom line.

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says there is no point allocating more money to biosecurity if industry does not have a plan.

But South Australian farmers - keen to protect their clean and green status - are working to develop a plan.

As Livestock SA president Joe Keynes says, the industry has invested a lot into blueprints to build on the economic footprint of sheep and cattle - but that can all get taken away if the wrong pest comes in.

Industry should be applauded for taking these steps. If these pests do come in, it is the industry that will bear the worst of it. And once that plan is in place, government needs to come to the party.

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