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This is the geographic reality which keeps biosecurity officials awake at night.
Australia is only four kilometres away from its nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea.
Exotic fruit flies are regularly blown by the winds across this narrow waterway between PNG at the top of the picture, and Saibai Island at the bottom.
Saibai is not the northernmost island in the chain of Torres Strait islands, but it is the closest to PNG.
Included in the island's population of 465, are a couple of Australian biosecurity officers with a lot to do.
Foot and mouth disease, rabies - Australia spends many millions of dollars to keep them and the many other horrors out and protect its citizens and agricultural industries.
The Lucky Country has been extraordinarily fortunate for generations but now that luck has run out.
The seawater moat which has helped protect island Australia is not keeping the world's nasties out as it once did.
Jet travel, parcel post - our modern society doesn't have the regard for borders as others once did.
Think Japanese encephalitis which supposedly flew in with migrating waterbirds this year - it has killed Australians and will do so again.
Ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne dog disease which has devastated populations in the north.
These are just a couple.
The experts don't know how they got in, they only know we can't get them out again.
Varroa mite has gained a foothold around Newcastle in NSW's Hunter region.
Lumpy skin disease and African swine fever are knocking on the door - which is suddenly ajar.
Foot and mouth disease is top of the pile, but it is a big pile.
Our response to that danger has been hysterical at best, and dangerous at worst.
Hysterical ...
Melbourne Zoo is wanting to lock up some of the animals because of the FMD risk and keep them safe.
Umm, we don't actually have FMD yet.
The zoo has also asked people living with livestock to avoid going there.
Farmers can't take their kids to the zoo? Seriously?
I think all farmers should wear distinctive clothing so we can avoid them when they dare to leave their properties.
It is terrific that biosecurity is now part of the national debate, but keep it real folks.
It could take years for FMD to rise up, as it surely will.
The danger at the moment is from chasing shadows.
Most expect FMD will arrive in the mail, or in the pig bucket under the kitchen sink.
Our island home has kept us safe from many nasties while bigger vermin like rabbits, foxes and cane toads, we stupidly brought in ourselves.
Our recent record is not so good.
Fall armyworm was first discovered in the Torres Strait a few years ago but could not be stopped.
The little caterpillar travelled more rapidly than anyone else even with coronavirus border closures and it was soon in Victoria.
African swine fever has already killed a quarter of the world's pigs, there is no vaccine or treatment for it.
If it got in, the only way to get it out again would be to kill every single one of Australia's pigs, there are about five million of them - the industry is worth $5.3 billion.
The added complication is that Australia is home to an estimated 24 million feral pigs, getting rid of them has long been too tough a nut to crack.
Have a think about it.
Australia is overrun with all sorts of wildlife, from natives like kangaroos to the exotics like camels.
Once an animal disease is in, it will be awfully hard to get it out with these wild populations.
Whole industries will need the understanding and co-operations of all Australians when they do actually sound the alarm.
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