A GROWING number of MPs have joined Wannon MP Dan Tehan who called on the Federal Government to consider closing its international border with Indonesia, if that is the expert advice they have been given to halt the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD).

Mr Tehan was speaking to Sky News on Wednesday afternoon as reports came to light that viral fragments of FMD had been detected in meat products in Melbourne’s CBD; fragments were also discovered at Adelaide Airport on Thursday.

“It’s the worst nightmare for our agricultural sector,” he said.

“Farmers in my electorate, the livestock transport industry, abattoirs, are all deeply, deeply concerned.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry minister, Murray Watt, confirmed sanitation foot mats would be introduced at international airports to halt the spread of FMD.

Following increasing pressure from agricultural industry stakeholders, minister Watt announced the government would roll out the mats in response to the Indonesian outbreak, on top of a $14 million biosecurity package announced last Friday.

Pressure had been mounting on the government to do more in recent days and weeks as the highly contagious animal disease spread to Bali, a popular holiday destination for Australians.

However, Mr Tehan said there needed to be more action from the government.

“A lot is at stake,” he said.

“This is too serious.

“Can you imagine what it would do to our economy?

“That’s why the Albanese Government has to act, and act quickly.

“They said they were going to put $9 million towards this - we now find out that only $3 million will go into frontline services - 18 additional staff and sniffer dogs.

“There’s very good evidence that the sniffer dogs can’t even detect FMD.

“We need more resources - we need them applied now.”

Two of Mr Tehan’s colleagues in the Coalition, Barnaby Joyce and Karen Andrews, said on Thursday afternoon that the government should consider closing the border with Indonesia, one of Australia’s biggest trade partners, amidst fears a single case of foot and mouth disease could halt the export industry overnight.

However, minister Watt said Australia’s biosecurity system was one of the strictest in the world, and mats would add another layer of defence.

“I directed my department to look at what could be done around footwear to complement the other measures in place, and after careful consideration, we have decided to deploy sanitation foot mats in Australia’s international airports,” he said.

“These sanitation mats will be a physical reminder to passengers to do the right thing to limit any spread of FMD and will be used in conjunction with our current measures, such as passenger declaration, 100 per cent profiling of all passengers entering from Indonesia, real time risk assessments, questioning and shoe cleaning.

“We still encourage Australians to clean their shoes and clothing, and even leave their footwear overseas if they can.”

Earlier this week, Lowan MP, Emma Kealy, and South West Coast MP, Roma Britnell, had called for tougher measures to be implemented.

Ms Kealy said with thousands of Australians travelling to Indonesia presently, more safeguards must be put in place.

“Farmers and the agriculture industry deserve confidence that all levels of government are prepared to take all appropriate action required to protect producers, livestock, and our economic future,” she said.

Ms Britnell implored new Victorian Agriculture minister, Gayle Tierney, to ensure Victoria’s FMD plan was robust and that the gaps exposed by Exercise Odysseus, a 2015 report that identified actions required to further enhance Australia’s emergency animal disease preparedness, were rectified.

“This is not fear-mongering,” she said.

“I urge minister Tierney to ensure Victoria is well prepared for any possible outbreak and work with her Federal colleagues as part of its national approach.”

The Federal Government’s $14 million biosecurity package contains $9m for frontline preparedness, with a further $5m to provide technical expertise and support to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea.

This includes 18 new biosecurity officers in airports and mail centres, and targeted diagnostic and surveillance activities.

Minister Watt said the mats would begin to be seen in international terminals this week, starting in Darwin and Cairns.

Agriculture Victoria (AV) confirmed the detection of FMD fragments found in meat products in Melbourne and in an undeclared beef product imported by a passenger travelling from Indonesia, however stated, “this find does not change Australia’s disease-free status for FMD and ASF (African Swine Fever)”.

AV advised that staff are undertaking FMD-specific training, scenario planning, and participating in emergency exercises to ensure they’re ready to respond quickly in case of detection in livestock.

The most significant risk of entry of FMD into Australia is through illegal meat and dairy products infected with the FMD virus being fed to pigs.

AV said Victoria is also the only jurisdiction to have a mandatory electronic National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats, supporting rapid traceability, which is critical to a livestock biosecurity response.