Independent review of Biosecurity Queensland's TR4 programme

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The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has released the review of Biosecurity Queensland's Tropical race 4 (TR4) programme conducted by ACIL Allen Consulting. It had commissioned the independent review to establish on what basis the programme should continue.

The programme started in 2015 as an emergency response to the identification of TR4 in Tully Valley. Once it was established that TR4 could not be eradicated, the programme shifted to control and containment.

• The efforts of the programme, government, industry and others have been successful in containing the impact of TR4 to three sites in one location in the Tully Valley;
• The programme has successfully established arrangements that allow infected properties to continue producing bananas and access/supply their markets;
• Through “buying time” for industry and regions to adapt to TR4 the estimated net benefit of the programme is $2,126.1 million in 2017-18 dollars which equates to a benefit-cost ratio of 39.2:1;
• Without the programme it is likely the impact of TR4 will be more widespread and happen sooner; 
• The programme should therefore continue on the basis the industry and regions benefit from banana production;
• The programme needs to be placed on a 3-5 year funding and planning horizon to operate effectively; 
• The current objectives are well constructed reflecting the need to implement activities and simultaneously developing an enduring system with industry to do so; 

• All the elements are required to deliver on the programme’s objectives and considerable effort has been put in place to develop the policies and procedures to implement them.