Meet a list of standards to help reduce the impact of fruit fly in Tasmania, or be held accountable, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association says.

Primarily the association has called for tighter restrictions around Tasmanian entry points as well as the movement of fruit around the state.

On February 2 bipartisan support was offered to address the emerging issue of fruit fly in Tasmania.

Six days into the state election campaign we witnessed the signs of issues triumphing politics.

The joint announcement between Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff and opposition agriculture spokesman Shane Broad for a $2 million support package signalled this issue of fruit fly was beyond politics.

But it appears we were wrong.

Both at a state and federal level many conversations are being had about the issue of fruit fly, but very little action to support an industry crying out for more help.

A report written in 2015 about the growing issue of fruit flies in Australia shows Tasmanian stakeholders ranked fruit fly as a low risk for the state.

Prior to the current fruit fly scare, the fruit industry experienced the introduction of blueberry rust.

The focus must be on containing and removing fruit fly from the state.

A demand from the TFGA is to have information for everyone who arrives via the Devonport port. This includes the Spirit of Tasmania.

However, we must also move quickly into prevention mode.

Signage and warning in Tasmanian airports spread the biosecurity message.

A bin exists and there are signs to say what you can’t bring into the state.

At times there is a biosecurity officer with a sniffer dog.

But, all visitors should have this information before hopping on a boat or plane to enter Tasmania. Signage should be prominent prior to departure.

We also need to remove politics from the issue of fruit fly now. It’s bigger than politics.

More action is needed to support the department and growers. 

We have too much to lose if we continue to spend time kicking the political football.