Horse flu restrictions relaxed

The country's chief vet is confident Australia is three months ahead of schedule in getting rid of horse flu.

To date there have not been any new outbreaks this year in NSW and Queensland, and authorities believe the disease could be eradicated by mid-March, instead of June.
The nation's chief veterinary officer, Dr Andy Carroll, says from today, horses can travel more freely into Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
And he says horse events that were cancelled can now resume.
"We're trying to get this message out very early that things have accelerated, so event organisers can reconsider their position if that's still available to them", he says.
"Most importantly, those who have events coming up in the next few months will know the fact that things have progressed more quickly and that the movement restrictions will be easing, because more and more of Australia will be classified free".
Meanwhile, the offical inquiry into the horse flu oubreak continued in Sydney today.
The hearing has heard evidence that problems with quarantine procedures were identified as early as 2001, with altered health certificates routinely accepted by quarantine.