3 February 2026. Shane McCarthy, AgForce General President.
A brazen incursion on our state’s northern border recently has shone a spotlight on the critical importance of our border security - and how we cannot afford to drop the ball.
Three illegal fishermen walked up to the Roko Island resort bar in the Torres Strait on January 14 asking for a drink.
Needless to say this has extremely worrying ramifications for Queensland’s Ag Industry.
This is just the latest lapse in a series of concerning border control blunders. At least ten illegal fishing boats have appeared across the Torres Strait since mid-January, and there are numerous resident reports of increasing numbers of illegal foreign fishing boats coming into Australian waters over the past two years.
These unauthorised arrivals walking into North Queensland communities highlight how easily diseases, pests or contaminated materials can bypass formal border controls.
We are making urgent representations to both state and federal authorities about this. We need to know what’s being done to prevent scourges like Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) coming in from Bali. LSD is a real and present threat. Illegal and unauthorised landings such as these expose critical weak points in the system that must be addressed.
Bali is not “far away” in biosecurity terms. With regular air and sea movement, northern Australia is on the frontline. One breach could cost billions, shut down exports, and devastate cattle producers overnight.
Australia’s agricultural advantage is built on biosecurity. Our global reputation for safe, high-quality food exists largely because we are free of many devastating animal diseases and pests that exist just kilometres away from our borders.
Queensland carries a disproportionate risk to other parts of this nation - and we should receive more support for that increased responsibility as a result.
As Australia’s largest cattle-producing state, a biosecurity incursion here wouldn’t just be a local issue; it would be a national economic shock with long-term consequences.
It’s a timely lesson we cannot ignore - that biosecurity threats don’t always arrive through airports.
Footwear, clothing, food scraps, fishing gear and vessels all potentially carry diseases or pests — especially when people enter without checks, declarations or decontamination.
Eradication is costly, slow and uncertain. Movement restrictions, animal destruction, mental health impacts on producers, and long-term market loss follow almost immediately.
As we know - producers already do the heavy lifting — but we can’t do it alone.
Farmers invest time, money and vigilance into on-farm biosecurity every day. But those efforts are undermined if borders, coastlines and enforcement are porous. Our national security is at stake.
Protecting agriculture protects jobs, regional communities, export income and food security — it deserves the same gravity as defence or border protection.
Investment in surveillance, enforcement, awareness and rapid response saves taxpayers and producers exponentially more than managing a full-scale outbreak.
Strong biosecurity requires shared responsibility. Governments, travellers, maritime authorities, communities and producers all play a role — complacency at any point puts the whole system meant to protect us, at risk.
Because Every Family Needs a Farmer.