Agriculture Emergency Communications
A large part in responding to a major exotic disease outbreak in Australia, such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), is mounting a significant communications effort.
The FMD outbreak in the United Kingdom in 2001 was a warning to Australia. It was recognised that a successful communications outcome to a major disease outbreak in Australia would require dedicated and coordinated resources at national, state and local levels.
In testing Australia's preparedness to tackle an exotic disease outbreak, a FMD simulation called Exercise Minotaur took place in 2002. Minotaur was the first of its kind and its outcomes led to the establishment of:
- an emergency website outbreak.gov.au
- a call centre arrangement with Centrelink
- pre-approved Australian Government TV, radio and newspaper advertisements for a major animal disease
- a national agriculture communications network (NCN) involving all jurisdictions (see below)
- a national pool of accredited government public relations staff to undertake a communication role in a major pest or disease emergency
- interpreter services to support foreign media inquiries and the reporting of disease by farmers from non-English speaking backgrounds
- a fully operational media centre
- a rapid response capability that includes a public communication component
- on-going biosecurity education and awareness initiatives
Following on from Exercise Minotaur, in November 2005 a national simulation called Exercise Eleusis '05 was held and simulated an outbreak of avian influenza. The Exercise evaluated the industry and government's national capability to manage a zoonotic disease outbreak.
The Primary Industries National Communication Network
The NCN offers a means by which information and issues are rapidly moved backwards and forwards between local, state and national agencies during an agricultural emergency.
It recognises that as many 200 separate agencies at an Australian Government and State and Territory Government level could be involved in an emergency response (such as a FMD outbreak) and that the media could approach any of them for public comment. In a communications sense, this is vulnerability for our national response arrangements. Poor public communication could undermine both domestic and international confidence in a response and exacerbate disease control efforts.
The NCN is also designed to make more efficient use of communication resources through coordination of web information, call centre arrangements and advertising. While recognising the need for all jurisdictions to meet their own government’s priorities, an important function of the network is to advance talking points that facilitate consistent public comment in all jurisdictions and by industry stakeholders. These outline the agreed status of the pest or disease outbreak, what is being done to address it through containment and eradication measures, clinical signs to engage stakeholders such as producers to know what to look for, and other relevant information.
The National Agriculture Emergency Communications Model 
PDF [781kb]
Equine Influenza Outbreak
More recently, Australia experienced a real major exotic disease outbreak - equine influenza. This disease presented a number of communication challenges, some of which included:
- a lack of understanding amongst horse owners about biosecurity, and having no biosecurity measures in place
- the remote location of horse owners who didn't have access to the internet or daily communication
- lack of knowledge about the disease - at the outset some people thought their horses would be put down and others did not realise it was a highly contagious disease
- a lot of people who owned horses were not registered or connected to a horse club or association - how could we locate and contact them?
To overcome these communication challenges at a national level, the Australian Government undertook several campaigns and made use of the systems already in place (and described above).
The key communication components during the equine inlfuenza outbreak were:
- daily/regular meetings of the NCN to ensure accurate and consistent messages Australia-wide
- the Outbreak website was constantly updated and provided situation reports, links to state and territory DPIs, downloadable audio, press releases, fact sheets, FAQs, and information on movement restrictions and vaccinations
- newspaper advertisements highlighting the importance of good biosecurity - first run in October and second in December prior to the holiday period
- a radio ad over the Christmas holiday period featuring Australia's Chief Veterinary Officer, and
- two national mail-outs of postcards to 2.3 milllion peri-urban households - October and December - once again highlighting the importance of biosecurity and where to get further information
- a national mail-out of fact sheets and postcards to saddleries and feed suppliers, and
- a national '1800' call centre was established with Centrelink.
Our evaluation to date indicates that the Outbreak website was a very useful tool and provided the information people wanted. The postcards were very popular with vets, feed suppliers and others, who requested additional copies for distribution to their clients.
Provincial freedom from equine influenza was declared on 14 March 2008, with eradication achieved three months earlier than anticipated. Australia is the only country to have been successful in eradicating this disease.