Transcript
MARTIN CROSS - All the products that I import, that are not for human consumption, I have to apply for a permit from Australian biosecurity and with that I have to supply all the ingredients of it, where the ingredients come from, how the product is processed, what temperature it's cooked at and everything else so that they can then assess a risk to Norfolk Island which is very unnecessary as far as we're concerned because I've been bringing the product in for over 20 years.
DOMINIC GODFREY - So nothing's changed in terms of what product you bring in and the way you bring it in...
MC - No, nothing. Nothing's changed in that regard. I still bring most of the stock feed in by boat and occasional fertilisers and seeds and a few things by plane.
DG - So what's prompted the compliance changes? What's their rationale given you're doing the same practice that you've been for the last 20 years?
MC - Yeah that's the thing that I'm worried about because all of these other things that I've always brought in, we've never had a problem with them because it's all processed. One of these products that I've been bringing in is blood and bone. With that I have to go through with a permit on the blood and bone. I have to check what goes in to that blood and marrow. If I brought a certain brand from my supplier and they ran out and sent me a different brand, I would then have to turn around and apply for another permit for that other brand of blood and bone which is totally ridiculous as far as I'm concerned.
DG - So how has this affected your business in terms of compliance? The red-tape there must be taking a bit of extra time but how is the supply line flowing in terms of timing now?
MC - Oh it's been very very difficult. As I mentioned before, I've had to apply for over 60 permits of which some of them weren't quite as necessary but I've still had to go through and get on to the suppliers and manufacturers of all these products and get specifications and things from them. I had one supplier that refused to because I just didn't buy enough bulk from him.
DG - What would you like to see done to remedy this?
MC - Well the first thing I'd like them to do is talk to the people who dealing with it before they came in. There's a lot of wealth and knowledge on Norfolk, the people who were looking after the quarantine and things, but there's never been any talk with them as to what was going on and how things were done. A perfect example, I import day-old chickens as well. I used to send off an email in the morning for a permit, I'd get a permit in the afternoon stating that as long as it was Newcastle free-zone and certain vaccinations had been done, there was no problems getting those chickens in. Those chickens would hatch, they'd go to AQIS [Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service] at the airport, they'd put a tape seal over the top and next thing we would have it on the plane. But now I've got to apply for a permit, it might take three or four weeks to get by the time the chickens are just about hatched. They have to be sealed in a certain way and no vets in Australia would have a numbered seal or anything like that to seal them. It's just so much more difficult with all the red-tape and stuff, and then they threaten me with if it's not done correctly they'll put the chickens back on the plane and send them back or destroy them.
DG - What is this doing to the bottom line for your business?
MC - I am struggling.
