Quarantine's marathon event to clear Arafura Games competitors

AQIS staff at Darwin International Airport are pulling out all stops this week to clear international competitors and officials arriving in Darwin for the Arafura Games.

Games organisers expect around 2000 international competitors to arrive for the opening ceremony on Saturday — and every one of these must be screened by Quarantine officers to make sure their personal effects and equipment don’t contain anything that could compromise Australia’s strict quarantine regulations.

“Many of the competitors will be coming from high quarantine risk countries to our north, which have pests and diseases we don’t want here,” explains AQIS Airport Risk Manager Neal Adamson, “so we’ll be checking 100 per cent of passengers from these flights.

“Fruit, vegetables and other food items from overseas that might contain milk or meat products are what we most often find,” Neal says. 

“Traditional clothing and ceremonial items can also be a problem, since they may be made out of shells, feathers, seeds or untanned hides. Sporting equipment such as bicycle tires, football boots and protective gear can be contaminated with soil and seeds. 

“Dairy products — even dried products — can harbour foot and mouth disease virus, which could devastate our Top End cattle industry. Eggs and feathers could bring virulent exotic strains of avian influenza, and fruit, seeds and nuts could be hiding insects or plant diseases that could affect our horticulture industry and gardens.

“Any items that don’t meet AQIS conditions will be treated, re-exported or destroyed. We aim to facilitate the competitors but we can’t take risks with Australia’s animal, plant and human health. We’ve also reminded competitors to declare items of quarantine concern on their incoming passenger cards,” Neal says.

And what will those hard-working AQIS officers be doing after they’ve processed all the competitors? “Sitting back and enjoying the games like everyone else!” Neal says.

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Media contact Kay Carvan DAFF Media +61 2 6272 3232