V'Landys wants fair go on EI costs

RACING NSW chief executive Peter V'Landys has called for an urgent meeting with the new Federal Government's Primary Industries Minister to ensure horse owners are not forced to pay the $100 million-plus equine influenza bill.

On Thursday, V'Landys welcomed the NSW Government's announcement that EI restriction zones in NSW had been lifted but raised concerns about the coming showdown. "It is back to the trenches," he said.
V'Landys was referring to Federal Government legislation which would seek to bill owners of all horses for EI, even though former High Court justice Ian Callinan's wide-ranging inquiry into the disease is ongoing.
"We did have a commitment from the previous minister, Peter McGauran, that if it was found in the Callinan inquiry that the disease entered the country due to the negligence of the Federal Government-managed quarantine centre they would pick up the bill for the containment and eradication of EI," V'Landys said.
"The best analogy I can make in regard to this legislation is a third person drives your car, smashes it, and expects you to pay to get it repaired.
"We hope they don't use that legislation to do that. We will be talking to Mr Tony Bourke, the new Federal Minister for Agriculture, as soon as possible. We will be making him aware of the previous government's commitment."
Another major worry for V'Landys and the racing industry surrounds Federal Government plans to stop sanctioning the use of EI vaccinations. He said the government was set to stop granting permission for the issue of vaccinations on March 19.
The majority of racehorses in NSW are receiving, or had been given, the third vaccination shot.
"There is no doubt the process of vaccinations expedited the eradication of the disease," V'Landys said. "Without vaccination we would still not be racing and industry participants along with the government would be losing millions of dollars in income.
"We are going to continue with the vaccination program. If we stop now, we end up back where we started. The third shots are vital. It will mean horses have completed the course and will need only one shot every 12 months.
"Racing cannot be shut down again and we will be letting government officials know what the consequences are."
The lifting of restriction zones in NSW means horses are free to move across the state, but V'Landys stressed a "certificate for movement is still required".