Documents extracted from the government using Right to Information laws validate the questions and concerns the Greens and environmentalists have been raising for months about the use of florfenicol. They reinforce why Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce must tell the APVMA that the Rockliff Government no longer supports the use of this antibiotic in Tasmanian waters.
These documents show that the widespread use of florfenicol in Tasmanian waterways was supported by the Rockliff Government and approved by the federal regulator despite there being no relevant evidence for the industry’s claims about its benefits, nor about its impacts in Tasmania.
What we can now see in black and white is that even in the early days of florfenicol use in Tasmania, multiple government agencies were concerned about the idea of the antibiotic being allowed in new areas. Yet those concerns were kept from the public, who were instead told there’s nothing to worry about. They’ve only come to light following an RTI by the Greens.
While the industry was spruiking the early environmental testing results for florfenicol, government departments were questioning whether the monitoring program was adequate. Of course, we know now that expanded testing found the antibiotic in abalone more than 10 kilometres from the nearest salmon farm.
It’s astounding that while the Environment Department, the EPA, and the Health Department were raising concerns with the APVMA about the use of florfenicol on the East Coast, at the same time hundreds of kilograms of florfenicol were being dumped in southeastern waters. All with the full support of the Rockliff Government.
With multiple agencies raising concerns about the lack of evidence on environmental and human health impacts, along with concerns over the consequences for wild caught fisheries, the Rockliff Government should have rethought their position on the widespread use of this antibiotic. But the Liberals were happy to put the profits of multinational companies first instead. It’s disgraceful.
The Primary Industries Minister needs to come out of hiding and address this issue. And crucially he needs to make it clear to the federal regulator that the Tasmanian Government has seen the error of its ways and no longer wants florfenicol used in our state’s waterways.
