Livestock and dairy farmers in Australia are worried about the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Europe. They should be, because most of them aren’t insured against the consequences of an outbreak in Australia. Now Sydney lawyer Ivan Gritsci is calling for the Government to intorduce a compulsory insurance scheme for farmers.

Mr Gritsci, from Gadens Lawyers, says British farmers are only being compensated  by their government for the value of the livestock that has had to be destroyed.

He suggests that rather than hope for government handouts if the disease does make its way into Australia, farmers n farms, farmers should be made to subscribe to a compulsory insurance scheme which would have a partial government subsidy. “IT would significantly reduce the burden on farmers and taxpayers,” he said.

But rural insurance experts, while agreeing that few farmers carry business interruption cover, said such an insurance scheme would be unlikely to find favour with farmers. “Many of our clients are doing it hard already,” one broker said. “They’re not in the mood to pay more premiums.”

The Government would also be unlikely to introduce any kind of rural-specific compulsory scheme in the current political environment.