Government may have to pick up tab for PrimeSafe changes

In July last year, Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford asked for the review, after complaints of heavy handed enforcement of its regulations by inspectors and independent assessors.

Mr Vallance said PrimeSafe had drawn up an implementation plan, based on the recommendations from the independent review, and would be putting them to the government soon.

“Obviously there are serious financial implications attached to adopting those recommendations - we are going through the process of restructuring our financial arrangements to pay for them,” Mr Vallance said. 

“If you want a service, someone has to pay – PrimeSafe is purely a non-profit, cost recovery business.”

He said the board adopted all but two recommendations, which it did not have authority to implement.

Last year, Ms Pulford welcomed the findings of the review. “The review identified a number of ways to further improve the way PrimeSafe undertakes its regulatory activities, and in particular, delivers efficiencies for industry and improved information, support and education for small businesses,” Ms Pulford said.

She said the government wanted to reduce the unnecessary regulatory burden on small businesses undertaking low risk activities. 

“The Government has also requested PrimeSafe undertake additional actions to address concerns raised in the review about the way in which it interacts with businesses in discharging its regulatory functions,” Mr Pulford said.

Mr Vallance said it was too early to tell what implementing the review recommendations would cost, or how they would be paid for.

 “When the regulatory impact statement is done, the Minister will have to make a decision as to where the money comes from,” Mr Vallance said.

Mr Vallance, a Mallee cattle grazier from Tempy, took over from Bill Bray, in July 2013. 

He said he would be standing again, for another three year term, as chairman, when his time expired in July this year. 

“One of the things about my three years that’s important is that we haven’t had a market failure and no-one has lost their lives - that’s a good yardstick in my view,” he said. 

Mr Vallance was critical of complaints about PrimeSafe, which began over dry ageing of beef.

“Our technical people saw a need for a Prime Note to be produced; we did that to clear up ambiguity in the industry – people were seeking to make a quick profit.”

When asked about concerns raised about PrimeSafe’s activities, he replied: “it’s a claim made by some, but I would have to say the overwhelming majority are quite comfortable with where we operate.”

“Whose job is it to educate people who want to run a business - the education system, the government of the day, or the regulator?,” he said. 

“Do the police teach you how to drive a car, do the customs authorities teach you what not to bring into the country? No.” 

He said when developing a business, it was up to owners to “arm themselves with the knowledge and equipment” to start it up.

“They don’t understand they are part of the food industry, they have a responsibility to produce food in a safe manner,” Mr Vallance said.

 Mr Vallance said he had yet to see someone come up with a way of reducing the burden on small business.

 “They have to have an on-site, third party audit, that’s part of the system we have – but we now have a technical support services area, where people are able to contact the office by email, website, or call and ask direct questions,” he said.

Mr Vallance said he was also concerned about complacency, over food safety standards, as it had been many years since a major scare. 

“At the moment, the industry is restructuring, dramatically, with a huge emphasis on export, so the reputational risk to Victorian food manufacturing is growing,” Mr Vallance said.

“It will not be put at risk with standards being lowered or compromised in any way to placate a few who want to start off, but who don’t want to comply with the regulatory regime.”

A food contamination scare would affect the whole Victorian industry, from the paddock to the plate.

“The butchers and abattoir owners assure me they are quite concerned about reputational risk to our very valuable food industry. In this state, we don’t have anything else left to sell,” he said. He said any compromise of the supply chain - which resulted in a break down in food safety - whether animal welfare abuse, a failure in the transport industry, abattoirs or further processing put Victoria’s reputation at risk. “The reputational risk is huge,” Mr Vallance said. “PrimeSafe is funded by industry, not by government, therefore PrimeSafe should be able to determine its own operating standards, according to the wishes of the industry.”

Mr Vallance said he had served under two agriculture ministers and had a very good working relationship with both Ms Pulford and predecessor, Peter Walsh.