EI Levy

I myself will not be able to continue breeding registered horses between my membership with the AHSA, APHA, and PCA NSW it will not be worth while and it will just be too costly for us battlers. And as for the kids at pony club most families struggle to give their kids an equine interest.

Alicia Tomicic

President

Batemans Bay Pony Club

Growing up with horses

Sweet sixteen and growing up with a horse


My daughter turned sixteen years old today; which is a milestone for most people. Besides looking at baby photos and childhood trinkets with her, I took time to reflect on the young woman my daughter had become and the choices she would face in the future. As I looked at her I could see the athlete she was, and determined woman she would soon be.

I started thinking about some of the girls we knew in our town who were already pregnant, pierced in several places, hair every color under the sun, drop outs, drug addicts and on the fast track to no where, seeking surface identities because they had no inner self esteem. The parents of these same girls have asked me why I 'waste' the money on horses so my daughter can ride. I'm told she will grow out of it, lose interest, discover boys and all kinds of things that try to pin the current generation's 'slacker' label on my child. I don't think it will happen, I think she will love and have horses all her life.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has compassion. She knows that we must take special care of the very young and the very old. We must make sure those without voices to speak of their pain are still cared for.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned responsibility for others than herself. She learned that regardless of the weather you must still care for those you have the stewardship of. There are no 'days off' just because you don't feel like being a horse owner that day. She learned that for every hour of fun you have there are days of hard slogging work you must do first.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned not to be afraid of getting dirty and that appearances don't matter to most of the breathing things in the world we live in. Horses do not care about designer clothes, jewelry, pretty hairdos or anything else we put on our bodies to try to impress others. What a horse cares about are your abilities to work within his natural world, he doesn't care if you're wearing $80.00 jeans while you do it.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned about sex and how it can both enrich and complicate lives. She learned that it only takes one time to produce a baby, and the only way to ensure babies aren't produced is not to breed. She learned how babies are planned, made, born and, sadly, sometimes die before reaching their potential. She learned how sleepless nights and trying to outsmart a crafty old broodmare could result in getting to see, as non-horse owning people rarely do, the birth of a true miracle.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she understands the value of money. Every dollar can be translated into bales of hay, bags of feed or farrier visits. Purchasing non-necessities during lean times can mean the difference between feed and good care, or neglect and starvation.
She has learned to judge the level of her care against the care she sees provided by others and to make sure her standards never lower, and only increase as her knowledge grows.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to learn on her own. She has had teachers that cannot speak, nor write, nor communicate beyond body language and reactions. She has had to learn to 'read' her surroundings for both safe and unsafe objects, to look for hazards where
others might only see a pretty meadow. She has learned to judge people as she judges horses. She looks beyond appearances and trappings to see what is within.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned sportsmanship to a high degree. Everyone that competes fairly is a winner. Trophies and ribbons may prove someone a winner, but they do not prove someone is a horseman. She has also learned that some people will do anything to win, regardless of who it hurts. She knows that those who will cheat in the show ring will also cheat in every other aspect of their life and are not to be trusted.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has self-esteem and an engaging personality. She can talk to anyone she meets with confidence, because she has to express herself to her horse with more than words. She knows the satisfaction of controlling and teaching a 1000 pound animal that will yield willingly to her gentle touch and ignore the more forceful and inept handling of those stronger than she is. She holds herself with poise and professionalism in the company of those far older than herself.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to plan ahead. She knows that choices made today can effect what happens five years down the road. She knows that you cannot care for and protect your investments without savings to fall back on. She knows the value of land and buildings. And that caring for your vehicle can mean the difference between easy travel and being stranded on the side of the road with a four horse trailer on a hot day.

When I look at what she has learned and what it will help her become, I can honestly say that I haven't 'wasted' a penny on providing her with horses. I only wish that all children had the same opportunities to learn these lessons from horses before setting out on the road to adulthood.

Horse flu movement restrictions lifted

The New South Wales Government has lifted all movement restrictions on horses, six months after equine influenza hit the state.
Nearly 50,000 horses were infected with the virus during the outbreak.

Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says as a precautionary measure horse owners will still need to notify authorities if they plan to move their animals.
Mr Macdonald says a Travelling Horse Statement can be easily lodged over the internet.
"The reason being is that we want to monitor, for the future, movements for a period of time," he said.
"There are international classifications and international protocols about the eradication of the disease. We have to meet that and it will take us some time to do that."
The head of Racing NSW, Peter V'Landys, has praised the work done to eradicate the virus.
"We've waited for this day since the 26th of August last year," he said.
"It's been a great strain both emotionally and financially to hundreds of thousands of people, and we certainly don't want to go through it again and it's a wonderful day for us."

ALL HORSE OWNERS NEED TO TAKE URGENT ACTION!!

On Thursday the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Tony Burke introduced a bill into Parliament to force recognized Breed and Performance Associations to collect a fee ($100?) on all new registrations, to help pay for the costs of fighting the EI outbreak. By pushing this thru the parliament at this time he is pre-empting any findings by the Callinan Inquiry and also his own newly announced 'Independent Review of AQUIS', and will be forcing a very small percentage of Australian horse owners to bear the huge costs of fighting the outbreak.
EI has been categorized as category 4. This means industry pays 80%, government 20%. The horse industry is arguing that the disease should be category 3 or 50:50 share. Category 4 diseases have only limited socioeconomic impact and are production diseases that only affect the horse industry. We (the horse industry) say the disease has a dramatic socioeconomic impact and affects many more people and businesses than the horse industry. The proposed levy is only on owners of registered horses but the benefit of control extends to owners of all horses and to people outside the horse industry, including government who are major beneficiaries of wagering income.
It is iniquitous that we should be required to pay for the control of the recent outbreak, particularly if the Callinan Enquiry finds that AQIS was negligent and responsible! AQIS have regulations which protect them even if they are proven negligent. Therefore it will be a moral and political issue.
PLEASE DO NOT SIT ON YOUR HANDS!! CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MP's AND THE MINISTER AND SHADOW MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, AND PASS THIS EMAIL ON TO EVERYONE YOU CAN THINK OF WHO MIGHT HELP US TO PREVENT THIS BILL AND OTHER SIMILAR REGULATIONS BEING PASSED!
EMAILS TO, (polite please)......
THE MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, MR TONY BURKE...
Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au


WITH COPIES TO THE SHADOW MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE,


MR NIGEL SCULLION


senator.scullion@aph.gov.au

Horse flu eradicated in NSW

The New South Wales Government has officially announced the eradication of equinza influenza in the state.

The Department of Primary Industries has been unable to find any infection since December, despite testing on more than 10,000 properties in the worst affected areas.

The purple zone covering the area around Sydney and the Hunter Valley and the red zone in the Illawarra region have been abolished and replaced with a minimal risk green zone.

All permit and testing requirements for moving horses within the state have been lifted from today, but it is still neccessary for horse owners to fill out a travelling horse statement.

Horse events also much be registered.

More than 47,000 horses on 6,000 properties were infected with the horse flu.

NSW now free of horse flu - minister

NSW is now free of equine influenza (EI), NSW Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald says.

"The equine influenza has now been eradicated in this state," Mr Macdonald told reporters in Sydney.

"We are now officially EI-free."

Mr Macdonald said the arrangements that restricted the movement of horses in many areas of the state had been lifted.

Horses also will be able to travel interstate and horses from New Zealand will be able to travel to Australia, he said.

MORE TO COME...

EI Levy - my message to PM Kevin Rudd & Tony Burke MP

To: Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au

Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 2:11 PM

Subject: EI Levy

I am boiling mad at the idea that horse owners be required to pay a "levy" to subsidise the cost of the EI outbreak.

The outbreak of EI was declared a "National Disaster". For other National Disasters, such as bushfires, floods, cyclones etc, have there been subsequent moves to levy all Australian homeowners to cover the costs of a Government response?

Look in the For Sale and Stud Disperal ads - many breeders and owners are getting out of the industry already. After years of crippling drought, horse owners in NSW and Queensland have had to face added financial and personal burdens due to the EI outbreak, which the Callinan Enquiry has attributed to unsatisfactory practices at the GOVERNMENT-RUN Quarantine facility in Eastern Creek.

At the start of the outbreak, many people asked for access to vaccine. This was denied. What followed was a Laurel and Hardy farce where owners were slated with blame, given piecemeal or inaccurate information regarding the nature and means of spread of the virus, threatened with fines, then expected to accept the backflip from "Vaccination Bad" to "Vaccination is the Answer".

Many of us had paid all our Association memberships, insurances, renewal fees etc for horse competition (hundreds or even thousands of dollars) - there are no rebates for this outlay, but we missed out on virtually the whole competition year - some Associations are trying to organise National shows, to provide for members, but also to bring in revenue. Numbers will inevitably be down, we are still trying to bring our horses back into work and get back to "normal" (whatever that was).And we are not just horse owners - we are also fuel-buyers, mortgage-holders, and many of us are not financially well-off - we have been copping it from all sides. Many of us are selling up already - there is a "For Sale" sign out the front of my property, I am hoping to sell before the mortgage payments increase any further and our family is forced out of our home.

We have dealt with vet bills, morbidity and mortality (mortality figures are much higher than shown, as horses who died of colic, or laminitis or pneumonia, for example, as a result of EI, have not been included as EI fatalities). We have dealt with the costs, in materials and time, of maintaining biosecurity. We have spent hours on the phone and the computer meeting DPI requirements and filling in various forms. We have duly had our horses caught, swabbed, tested - sometimes tested again when the paperwork went missing - microchipped, documented, and ultimately have been socially isolated, then treated with hostility and suspicion from the general public anyway if we dared to drive past with a horsefloat.

There is a perception that horse owners are silvertail racing barons, or spoilt, priviliged girls with a choice of hacks and country properties; that owning a horse is a rich man's game - maybe it is getting to the stage where it is. But I know many people on ordinary - to very ordinary - incomes, who make sacrifices to own horses and participate in a hobby they love. Many of our so-called "Australian values" are built around the idea of independent, courageous horsemen and women, and the mystique of the bush.

In that tradition, many of us dutifully slogged through the EI crisis, doing all that was required of us, shouldering the financial burdens, and putting the welfare of our horses first - as always.

What about a "thankyou" for the horse owners of NSW and Queensland who have - evidently - complied with the government's eradication program, to result in success against daunting odds?

Recreational owners are suffering already, and this levy may be the final straw for many.

Shows will have less support, costs and entry fees will have to rise, and more will drop out. There will be less shows and events. Horse prices will drop as stock floods the market. Breeders will get less for their stock in a buyer's market, many will sell off registerable youngstock without registration due to the increased costs - less registered horses out there, less shows but more expensive entry fees to cover costs, less new Association memberships. More breeders will in turn give up and sell off their stock due to costs and loss of viability of their businesses. The feed merchants, the livestock transporters, the float manufacturers, the equestrian supplies businesses - many of these will feel the effects.

The "compensation packages" touted by the government to assist horse owners were a joke - very few ordinary owners qualified for any financial assistance, once again the racing industry with its money and power received the lion's share. Any sort of class action against the government for allowing EI to get through quarantine was a pipe dream - there is, and always has been, legislation that indemnifies our government against such action.

I think the Government levying a fee from horseowners to pay for its own mistakes is adding insult to injury. It will be the last nail in the coffin for many low-income horse owners, who just cannot financially cope with one more burden.

What horse owners needed at this time was help to get back to normal, to recover financially and emotionally from the devastation of loss of income, loss of stock, loss of recreational outlets, of social networks, friendships, and even family relationships, as many have broken down during the crises of drought, flood, financial hardship and EI. What we did NOT need was to be handed yet another demand for payment - it may seem a small thing in terms of the amounts being discussed (and we have had our faith in government in general sorely tried, we don't really believe what we are told by government representatives), but the perception of it and the betrayal it represents, should not be underestimated.

I think that the effect of this Bill will not be to recover monies spent on eradicating EI - it will be the final straw for many people, who will choose to give up their horses as an expense they can no longer afford. Like the Fringe Benefits tax, it will not be the "cash cow" the boffins project, because there is the option for people NOT to continue in their current course - it is making it very easy to give up, in a climate where continuing as a horse owner has already been for many a financial hardship for years.

Mrs Kerry Morgan

Horse Association Memberships 2006 - 2007:

Tall Timbers Pony Club

Australian Quarter Horse Association

Australian Appaloosa Association

Hunter Valley Regional Appaloosa Club

Central Coast Regional Appaloosa Club

HORSE INDUSTRY OBJECTS TO PAYING FOR EI

The Australian Horse Industry Council opposes the horse industry contributing to the cost of the recent EI emergency response.

At its meeting today the Board of the Australian Horse Industry Council unanimously agreed that it was opposed to horse owners paying the $100 million bill for the current EI outbreak. The AHIC has been involved in the Callinan Inquiry and is awaiting its outcomes. This should provide the basis of any decisions on EI.

A recent AHIC economic impact survey showed that the whole industry has been hit by this epidemic. It is feared that many small organisations, businesses and individuals will suffer if required to pay this levy and it would cause many breed societies to close their doors.

After years of industry consultation, the AHIC supports the concept of the imposition of an industry levy to help fund emergency disease responses. However, while it is appropriate in principle to have industry pay for a response to an exotic disease, this process must be equitable and fair in its implementation.

There are a number of draft levy Bills currently before the Federal Parliament. The AHIC is currently consulting with its members and the broader horse community to determine their responses to the details contained in these bills.

The AHIC is a national peak body representing the Australian horse industry. It is a not-for-profit organisation designed to represent the interests of horses and horse owners across all sectors.

Grin and bear the training

Athletes aren't the only ones in training for this year's Olympics. Beijing locals are getting smiling lessons to prepare them for their part in the Games pageant.

For 16-year-old Li Miaomiao, sore feet from wearing high heels for hours at a time and an achy jaw from constant smiling are worth the chance of hanging a medal around an athlete's neck come the Beijing Olympics.
The willow-thin high school student is one of 34 Chinese girls "training" to be an Olympic medal presenter at the Beijing Foreign Affairs School, one of several state-run colleges charged with producing camera-friendly girls for awards ceremonies.
When not balancing books on her head to improve posture during medal presentation rehearsal sessions, Li and her classmates study English, cultural training and look at pictures of past medal presenters and their uniforms. Most important for Li, though, is the smile.
"I practise at home, and smile to the mirror for an hour every day," Li said, beaming radiantly in a red waistcoat and high heels on the sidelines of a class.
"I want to present my smile to the world, and let them know that the Chinese smile is the warmest."
Beijing has earmarked about $40billion to put on its best face for the Games, with Olympic venues accounting for only a small percentage.
Along with big-ticket items such as subways and roads, Beijing has spent billions more on a beautification campaign that has seen whole neighbourhoods razed and thousands of residents displaced.
But even as the paint dries on Olympic venues completed months ahead of schedule, officials remain concerned that Beijingers' manners may spoil the party. The fears have triggered a massive public relations campaign to eradicate rougher Chinese habits such as spitting, and have mobilised hundreds of "civilisation" volunteers to teach people to queue when boarding buses and subway carriages.
"Building the software for the Olympics is much harder than building the hardware," said Beijing Foreign Affairs School director Li Zhiqi.
"Personal qualities and mentality are firmly ingrained and therefore hard to change."
Li says her school, which will also produce staff to wait on International Olympic Committee officials at their hotel, is doing its bit to mould well-mannered, natural communicators to deal with foreign guests. "This is a huge opportunity for them. The Olympics will put them in front of the world's audience and lead to a lifetime of fortune," Li said.
That is, if they make the grade. Not unlike the more than 800,000 Chinese who have applied for only 100,000 Olympic volunteer positions on offer, the competition to become one of the coveted 380-odd medal presenters is cutthroat.

Pack of dogs kill school animals

Dogs let loose by intruders into a college in Sydney's west have destroyed a number of the school's farm animals, police say.
Sheep and chicken carcasses were discovered by a staff member at the Bidwell campus of Chifley College yesterday afternoon.
An unknown number of people were believed to have entered the college's agricultural grounds on Saturday night after cutting a hole in a wire fence, police said.
The intruders then cut a lock to a paddock containing three sheep, including a ram and two pregnant ewes, allowing dogs to enter the paddock and attack the sheep.
The dogs then moved to a nearby paddock and killed a number of chickens, police said.
Police believe the intruders released the dogs into the property intentionally.
"Given all the evidence police have at this stage it certainly appears that is the case - there's no other reason for the fence to be cut," chief inspector Guy Haberley of Mount Druitt police said.
RSPCA inspectors investigating the incident said at least two dogs were involved in the attack, he said.
"Chifley College, Bidwell campus, is shocked and saddened at the break-in of the school and loss of its farm animals," a spokesman from the Department of Education and Training said.
The animals were being used in junior science and biology classes, and counselling had been offered to students, he said.
Anyone with information is urged to phone Mount Druitt police station on 9625 0000 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.