A VISITOR from Vietnam who failed to declare 4.5kg of pork at Sydney Airport has had her visa cancelled.
Agriculture minister Bridget McKenzie said the cancellation showed that Australia would not tolerate people putting our environment, industries, economy and way of life at risk.
“The biosecurity threats that our country is facing are real and could be devastating for all Australians,” Senator McKenzie said.
“We have significant diseases like African swine fever on our doorstop, and one key pathway for this and other threats to arrive in Australia is by international passengers bringing in risk items.
“In the midst of what is potentially the biggest animal disease event the world has seen, it beggars belief that someone would deliberately attempt to bring pork meat past our border.”
The passenger was also found to be carrying garlic, fruit, raw eggs and more than a kilo each of squid and quail.
“Ensuring strong borders means ensuring a strong biosecurity system to protect our international trade reputation as a leading supplier of safe, healthy, high-quality food,” Senator McKenzie said. “This passenger will now be unable to come back to Australia for three years.”
