THE TASMANIAN government is making strengthened quarantine measures for TT-Line services from Melbourne permanent.
Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff said a trial quarantine clearance process was introduced at the Spirit of Tasmania Port of Melbourne depot, to speed up and strengthen the process for passengers and vehicles.
"The trial aimed to identify and remove food, plant and other materials that may be harmful to our primary industries and environment before they arrived in Tasmania, and sent a strong message before visitors began their tour," Mr Rockliff said.
"Over the past six months the trial has proven a success, strengthening Tasmania’s biosecurity frontline protection and reducing offload times for passengers at Devonport."he said.
Almost double the quarantine risk material had been seized in the past six months to May, compared to the previous 12 months.
"More than 53,623 vehicles were inspected at Port Melbourne from between December and May, with 10,362 kg of Quarantined Risk Material seized and 2,645 items referred to Biosecurity Tasmania for further assessment," he said.
Biosecurity Tasmania inspectors remained at Devonport to process passenger referrals, as well as performing targeted and random inspections of passengers and vehicles.
"The continued partnership between TT-Line and Biosecurity Tasmania will ensure this great work will continue, and ensure our incredibly value primary industries are protected," Mr Rockliff said.
"TT-Line passengers will now receive information on legal obligations and Tasmanian biosecurity requirements when booking, during the loading process and while on board," he said.
New multi-lingual signage would be developed for Port Melbourne and Devonport as part of the additional $2 million investment in additional biosecurity infrastructure across the state.
