Bio-tech investigation under review

The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office will investigate the Department of Agriculture’s investigation into a Bunbury bio-tech company accused of a biosecurity breach.

The Ombudsman has agreed to investigate the department following a complaint made by Perth MHR Alannah MacTiernan on behalf of the award-winning company Serana.

The department seized bovine serums, which are exported to pharmaceutical companies, last year during its investigation into a number of companies which it claimed had potentially breached Australia’s biosecurity.

The department feared the companies had imported serums from countries not cleared of foot-and-mouth disease.

However, the department agreed to hand back Serana’s serums after the Federal Court suggested its search warrant was unlawful.

The Ombudsman will query the department handling of the investigation including its decision made to seek the search warrant.

In a letter to Ms MacTiernan, the Ombudsman’s office has already warned the investigation may be lengthy and it cannot force the department to take any actions.

But it has said Serana could seek compensation from the Federal Government.

The investigation is unlikely to stop the Bunbury company from closing its doors at the end of the year and moving its operations to Germany.

The closure of the multi-million dollar company will leave 20 employees, who live in the South West, out of work.

In Federal Parliament last week, Ms MacTiernan alleged GE Healthcare, a subsidiary of multi-national giant GE, had tipped off the department about the biosecurity breach and then profited by the uncertainty surrounding Serana by claiming new bovine serum supply contracts.

The department has previously released a statement about its investigation, claiming it was acting to prevent a biosecurity breach.

It has said it cannot make any further comments about its investigation.

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