On 22 January 2019 the Inspector-General of Biosecurity, Dr Helen Scott-Orr, formally advised the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources of her intention to commence a review of biosecurity measures to manage the risk of brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) entering Australia.

“Through the review, I will consider how the biosecurity risks associated with the recent surge of BMSB interceptions at Australian borders have been assessed and managed, and identify areas for improvement in the risk management framework for future trade,” Dr Scott-Orr said.

“The department is actively working to optimise pre-border and border measures to minimise disruption to industry. However, BMSB is native to parts of Asia and its global range is steadily increasing. This means that intensified efforts on a wider front will be needed to keep it out of Australia and reduce the impact on affected industry stakeholders,” Dr Scott-Orr noted.

“As a result of the increasing BMSB risk, I have decided to add this review to my 2018–19 work plan,” she said.

This review will examine policy and activities that are the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. It will not focus on the responsibilities of state/territory governments, individuals and biosecurity industry participants.

To help her conduct this review, Dr Scott-Orr is inviting submissions from industry stakeholders through a public consultation process. For information about the consultation process visit the Inspector-General’s website.

“It is important that interested and affected parties have the opportunity to put their case to an independent person and that all relevant issues can be thoroughly assessed,” the Inspector-General said.