More funding to boost biosecurity in the north

Applications are now open for Round 2 of the Australian Government’s Biosecurity Business Grants Program, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and other organisations working with First Nations people in Northern Australia.

Minster for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt said $1.3 million was available to support Indigenous business, economic and employment opportunities delivering biosecurity outcomes in Northern Australia.

“I held a First Nations Agribusinesses Roundtable in Darwin this month and it’s clear that Northern Australia poses a high-risk pathway for exotic pests and diseases that threaten our agriculture, our export markets and our environment,” Minister Watt said.

“Keeping pests and diseases out is a big job in a decentralised region like the north.

“Biosecurity in Northern Australia underpins development and protects the whole country from the threat of pests and diseases that could devastate our agricultural industries.

“Given the level of First Nations land ownership in Northern Australia, it makes sense to target additional biosecurity resources towards these activities.

“The goal is to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and other organisations working with First Nations people in northern Australia to view the emerging biosecurity market as an economic prospect to cultivate innovative business ideas.”

The first round of the Biosecurity Business Grants supported a number of initiatives, including increased animal health reporting in remote Indigenous communities, new equipment for rangers in eastern Cape York and support to establish a First Nations owned and run decontamination facility on Badu Island.

The Biosecurity Business Grants are delivered through the Indigenous Rangers Biosecurity Program, through a $3.7 million investment from the Australian Government.

For more information about the Biosecurity Business Grants visit: www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/policy/australia/northern-biosecurity/biosecurity-business-grants

Applications close on November 14, 2022.