The independence of the nation’s ag-vet chemical regulator will be not be eroded through industry or government control following a rapid fire inquiry, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt says.
Mr Watt made the guarantee after a strategic review of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority unearthed a string of governance and procurement issues and workplace culture and administrative inefficiencies.
Grain Producers Australia RD & E spokesman Andrew Weidemann welcomed the Albanese government’s promise to clean up the ag-vet chemicals regulation system, but said “ultimately farmers and consumers will pay the price” if it is continued to be used as a political football".