Foot-and-mouth disease: ‘biosecurity response zones’ set up at airports in Australian first

Australian agriculture minister Murray Watt has asked his department to establish ‘biosecurity response zones’ to combat foot-and-mouth disease. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images

The Albanese government has established “biosecurity response zones” at airports to combat foot-and-mouth disease, in what the agriculture minister claimed is the strongest biosecurity response in Australian history.

The agriculture department secretary, Andrew Metcalfe, made the determination under 365 of the Biosecurity Act on Friday afternoon. It’s the first time the powers have been used since introduced in the legislation seven years ago.