Agribusiness joins APVMA relocation critics

Last week Mr Joyce announced an agricultural centre of excellence would be established at the University of New England, co-locating its specialised agricultural research centres with the APVMA, if the Coalition was re-elected.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture and Water Resources Minister promised the Coalition would proceed with the controversial relocation plan, within the first year of its re-election.

“We’re not asking people to move to Kathmandu or Timbuktu – Armidale is a beautiful city,” he said of the 175 APVMA jobs, caught-up in the controversial plan.

But the National Farmers Federation (NFF), Animal Medicines Australia (AMA), CropLife Australia and the Veterinary Manufacturers and Distributors Association have all opposed the Authority being moved out to Armidale.

They share concerns the shift 800kms from the ACT to northern NSW would not improve the APVMA’s lacklustre performance regulating ag-vet chemicals, to meet the farm sector’s commercial demands, due to the sudden loss of core staff with scientific regulatory expertise.

Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has heavily criticised the proposed relocation and questioned My Joyce’s announcement last week coming ahead of an independent cost benefit analysis report being finalised and released, commissioned by Mr Joyce’s Department and conducted by EY.

Mr Fitzgibbon has also accused Mr Joyce of pork barrelling with the relocation going to a regional centre in the New England electorate, where the Nationals’ MP is facing a significant threat at the July 2 election from former Independent member Tony Windsor.

Upping the pressure, Agribusiness Australia CEO Tim Burrow said today it made “no sense” for the APVMA decision to be announced without knowing the outcomes of the independent cost-benefit analysis, which commenced in February this year.

Mr Burrow said the APVMA currently had 85 regulatory scientists who processed about 50 per cent of applications, in the allowed time-frame - but only 7pc of those workers had indicated they were willing to move, if the government authority was relocated.

“This potential loss of expert staff is very concerning,” he said.

“Any relocation is likely cause significant operational disruption and will have an enormous impact on industry which relies on APVMA to process applications in a timely manner.”

Agribusiness Australia’s media statement demanded the government delay any decision on relocating the APVMA pending the public release of the independent cost-benefit analysis.

Mr Burrow said the federal government had been clear with its policy intention to decentralise government services to date - but the only options under consideration seemed to be in the agriculture portfolio.

ACT Liberal Senator Zed Seselja has also expressed disappointment at Mr Joyce's decision to relocate the APVMA to Armidale while the Community and Public Sector Union has also slammed the move saying many employees may choose to quit rather than shift to a regional town.

Last week, AMA CEO Duncan Bremner said the proposed relocation risked significant industry disruptions due to the potential loss of expert staff and difficulties with replenishing the APVMA’s highly specialised technical capacity.

“No one can deny that new regional jobs are a good thing (but) the issue is whether there will be the appropriate people available to ensure the APVMA can continue its vital function,” he said.

Mr Bremner said his group was “somewhat perplexed” about the timing of the APVMA relocation announcement given the cost benefit analysis was due to be completed in a matter of days.

“As such it calls into question whether the $24.1 million committed towards the relocation and continuation of services is adequate, given this figure has been arrived at independently of the cost benefit analysis,” he said.

“Ultimately, the simple request we have of the government is that they provide us with the assurance that the relocation will not be detrimental to the industries which rely on the APVMA to be an efficient and effective regulator, and as such, being the ‘gateway to market’ for our important products.”

Mr Fitzgibbon accused Treasurer Scott Morrison of failing to support My Joyce’s relocation push on ABC television’s Insiders program on Sunday when asked why the move was being touted, ahead of the cost benefit analysis being released.

In response, Mr Morrison said “we will work through the details to make sure this can be done effectively”.

“That's how a team works together,” he said.

“Barnaby has a strong plan and advocacy for rural and regional Australia and we will work with him as part of that Coalition and that team to make sure we do it in the most efficient way possible.”

Mr Fitzgibbon said the APVMA was a regulatory authority that dealt with chemical companies that produced crop protection and veterinarian medicine products for farmers and “interfaced” with multinational companies, not farmers.

“I think the Prime Minister (Malcolm Turnbull) knows what a dumb idea this is,” he said.

“We are going to lose all these scientists and other professional people and the capacity to approve and process these chemicals and that is going to be very, very bad news for the farming community.

“The APVMA has done their own internal survey and we know…the overwhelming majority…of the professional scientists and regulatory lawyers etc. have no intention of packing up their families from Canberra to move to Armidale.

“In fact the boss of the APVMA’s suggested estimate would be three and a half years before she could build the capacity she needs in the organisation, to do the work the farmers need them to do.”

Mr Fitzgibbon said he’d been critical of Mr Joyce on the move “which is just a pork barrelling exercise in his electorate”.

“I think Malcom Turnbull realises how reckless this move is and many months ago he decided to intervene and insisted that a cost to benefit analysis be done before the move takes place,” he said.

Mr Joyce has said the independent cost-benefit analysis would inform the next steps in relocating the APVMA to the UNE in Armidale.

The APVMA has declined to comment on the relocation.

On May 16, the NFF met with the EY team that’s doing the cost-benefit analysis on the APVMA relocation, reiterating their views and concerns verbally, rather than a written submission.

In January, NFF President Brent Finlay welcomed the independent assessment ordered by Mr Turnbull, saying an open mind was needed, to assess any new evidence that may be presented.

At the time, he said the APVMA had not functioned effectively in the past but his group was “reasonably happy” with its performance, at that time.

“The APVMA is starting to work and work well,” he said.

“Our concern is the massive disruption the relocation would cause to the agency for a couple of years and we don’t see that as necessary.”

In calling for the cost benefit analysis, Mr Turnbull indicated he could be swayed by any evidence presented via independent scrutiny, of the relocation.

The independent report is expected include a risk management strategy detailing how the relocation would transpire, without interrupting existing chemical assessment processes and day to day operations.

It would also consider how decentralisation could improve the agency’s commercial response capacity, while adhering to prescribed regulatory outcomes.

The Coalition’s decentralisation policy has already seen the Grains Research and Development Corporation adopt a hub and spoke model; retaining a central office in Canberra and ultimately regional offices at Northam in WA, Roseworthy in SA, Dubbo in NSW and Toowoomba in Queensland.

The Fisheries RDC was also moved to Adelaide and the Rural Industries RDC to Wagga.