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National Quarantine Award 2008
Qantas wins National Quarantine Award
A Qantas team responsible for the clearance of returning Olympic and Paralympic athletes from the Beijing games has won the Quarantine and Exports Advisory Council (QEAC) National Quarantine Award 2008.
The award was presented by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, at a ceremony held on 2 December 2008 at Parliament House.
QEAC hosts the annual awards ceremony to acknowledge individuals and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to Australian quarantine and biosecurity management.
There were 37 nominees from across Australia and eight regional winners.
Qantas was chosen for its substantial cooperation with AQIS, embodying a shared responsibility for quarantine and biosecurity. Qantas was nominated for the national award after winning the NSW regional award.
Among the regional winners were the Anindilyakwa Rangers from the Northern Territory who use their unique training and knowledge of the region to monitor pests and diseases; Vikki Miteff who promotes quarantine messages through her community radio station in Tasmania; and Joshua Roberts, a seven year-old Victorian boy who alerted AQIS to seeds contained in a gift sent by his English grandparents.
Public Sector Award
The Minister also presented the 2008 Quarantine Public Sector Award, which recognises an outstanding quarantine or biosecurity achievement by a government organisation. It went to the Australian Defence Force Joint Movements Control Office in Darwin for holding pre-deployment quarantine briefings for troops.
With the awards now in its tenth year, the 2008 ceremony also recognised the Centenary of Quarantine, 100 years since the signing of the Quarantine Act 1908.
Photo above right The Hon. Tony Burke, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (centre) presenting Major Emmet O'Mahoney from the Australian Defence Force and Dianna Andrade from Qantas with their awards.
Regional winners nominated for the National Award
Northern Territory—The Anindilyakwa Rangers
Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers, an Indigenous ranger group based on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, use their unique training and knowledge of the region to submit suspect samples for scientific identification. On this occasion, they discovered a beetle previously undescribed in Australia and potentially exotic.
The Anindilyakwa Rangers' specialist knowledge is invaluable to Australia's biosecurity.
Southern Queensland—John McNally, President, Custom Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia (CBFCA)
The CBFCA is a peak industry body and an influential voice for customs brokers, international freight forwarders, importers, exporters, manufacturers and other groups concerned with international trade.
CBFCA Queensland worked closely with AQIS to promote significant changes in the business practices of cargo operations to improve quarantine systems.
Far North Queensland—Matthew Connor, Peddells Thursday Island Tours
Matthew is the captain of the passenger ferry Strait Magic, which links Thursday Island to the Northern Peninsula Area. Matthew informs visitors, corporate clients and residents of AQIS requirements when they use this service. Matthew has also created a respectful and friendly atmosphere for AQIS officers to conduct passenger checks on the ferry.
Western Australia—Kenny Simpson, materials superintendent, Foster Wheeler Worley
Kenny of Woodside in Karratha called AQIS to report an airfreight consignment from India which appeared to include foreign insects.
An AQIS examination identified one of the insects as a 'Bark Beetle', an exotic pest not present in Australia. Thanks to Kenny's effort, the potentially serious threat of an exotic insect was addressed.
Victoria—Seven year old Joshua Roberts
When Joshua Roberts (right) received a package from his grandparents in England that included a magazine containing seeds, he alerted AQIS officers to the potential risk.
Joshua's commendable actions showed a wonderful commitment to protecting our country from potential pests and disease, even if it meant forfeiting his grandparents' gift.
South Australia—Clipsal Australia, National Distribution Centre (NDC)
Clipsal is Australia's largest manufacturer of electrical accessories and is also a market leader in data communications, industrial and home automation markets.
Clipsal NDC staff found a live insect in a timber pallet from Asia and notified AQIS. Before the insect was formally identified, and suspecting the pallet was non-compliant, Clipsal consolidated all consignments from the same provider. This involved the enormous task of checking seventeen shipping containers.
Clipsal acted above and beyond their basic obligations, proving the company's commitment to helping maintain Australia's pest and disease free status. The insect was revealed as the potentially devastating Conifer Auger Beetle.
Tasmania—Vikki Miteff, Hobart FM 96.1 FM Community Radio
Vikki has hosted the very successful Community Access program since April 1995. Vikki has greatly supported AQIS and has gone to great lengths to regularly promote AQIS messages and values, particularly to important stakeholders such as multicultural groups and new arrivals to Australia.
Quarantine Public Sector Award 2008
Winner—Australian Defence Force wins Public Sector Award 2008
The Joint Movements Control Office Darwin, within the Department of Defence, has won the Public Sector Award for 2008 which recognises an outstanding quarantine or biosecurity achievement by a government organisation. The office facilitates troop deployments and movements both within and outside Australia. It arranges pre-deployment quarantine briefings for troops posted overseas. In the past 12 months alone it held 15 briefings, enabling AQIS to get the message out to 1500 personnel who are departing for high-risk destinations.
Nominee—Brisbane Water Police
The Brisbane Water Police team has consistently demonstrated a ready willingness to assist AQIS maintain quarantine integrity on a number of fronts—including informing AQIS of potential risks. Its continuing support demonstrates its commitment to building and strengthening relationships with other government agencies in the maritime environment.
Nominee—National Museum of Australia (Canberra)
The Australian National Museum, in conjunction with AQIS, created a special exhibition as part of the Centenary of Quarantine celebrations.
'Something to declare: the Centenary of Quarantine' attracted thousands of visitors while on display in the museum's Great Hall during December 2007 and January 2008.