Peter Dutton is questioning the credentials of the federal government’s Agriculture Minister as concerns grow around the spread of foot and mouth disease. 

Viral fragments of the livestock disease was detected in meat products imported from overseas yesterday afternoon.

The federal government is rolling out foot mats, sniffer dogs and additional biosecurity officers at international airports, a fortnight after the National Party called for such measures.

It’s led the Opposition Leader to suggest the Agriculture Minister, Murray Watt, is out of his depth in a scathing review of Labor’s performance on the issue.

“I think what’s unsettling a lot of farmers and farmer groups at the moment is that Murray Watt is probably the most inexperienced of the government ministers,” Mr Dutton told Ray Hadley.

“He lives on the Gold Coast; obviously they just don’t have anyone that lives in a regional area on the Labor side that can represent and understand the farmers.

“I really think that’s showing in some of Minister Watt’s comments at the moment.”

Mr Watt yesterday acknowledged there is “no biosecurity silver bullet”, meaning Australia must rely on a multi-layered approach to mitigate spread of the disease.

“I just think given the severity of this issue, the potential consequences if the government gets it wrong, we really need to hear from the Prime Minister today about what extra steps are being put in place,” Mr Dutton concluded.

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview 

Image: Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images