Scathing report influenced vet's decision on diseased abalone
Hugh Millar gave evidence in an $82 million class action against the state government in Victoria's Supreme Court on Friday.
Fourteen abalone licence holders are suing the government after the virus wiped out about a third of Australia's wild abalone industry, causing the value of their licences to plummet from about $6 million to less than $1 million.
Dr Millar has been accused of acting too slowly to control the disease, which originated at the Southern Ocean Mariculture farm near Port Fairy in south-west Victoria.
Despite the farm reporting the outbreak to the Department of Primary Industries in January 2006, it was allowed to keep operating, pumping 40 million litres of virus-tainted water into the Southern Ocean each day.
By March that year, the virus had escaped from the farm, infecting wild abalone off Victoria's south-west coast.
The licence holders are blaming Dr Millar, Victoria's former chief vet, and former Fisheries Victoria executive director Peter Appleford for failing to shut down the farm when they knew of the disease and the risk it posed to wild abalone.
But Dr Millar said the recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry into the department's handling of an outbreak of ovine Johne's disease a decade earlier guided his actions.
The inquiry attacked the department for destroying sheep and goats on more than 20 farms, which were then unable to replace their animals for two years.
Dr Millar said the affected farmers told him the "cure was far worse than the disease".
He said the department's response to the outbreak also failed to eradicate ovine Johne's disease from Victoria.
"It had a deep impact on my thinking because the [parliamentary] committee severely criticised the department and the way in which this program was implemented," Dr Millar said.
"The things that I particularly remember was that there was insufficient information to justify the program's implementation.
"It was implemented in haste, these are not my words but I'm paraphrasing the committee, and what was really important to me, that there was almost a complete ... disregard for the impacts of the program on the people affected."
Dr Millar said while the department knew from the beginning of the outbreak and the risks to wild abalone, the virus was an exotic disease that had never been seen in Australia.
He said the department initially spent months investigating the exact cause of the outbreak at Southern Ocean Mariculture because it was an unfamiliar disease.
"The gaps in our scientific knowledge were significant and so that was a key issue. We needed scientific knowledge we did not have."
Dr Millar told the court that he had a general understanding of herpes-like viruses in animals, but had no experience with how that disease affected fish and molluscs.
The trial continues on Monday.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Fourteen abalone licence holders are suing the Victorian state government for about $82 million after a herpes‑like virus wiped out roughly one third of Australia’s wild abalone industry. The claim, heard in Victoria’s Supreme Court, centres on lost licence value and the government’s handling of the outbreak.
The virus originated at the Southern Ocean Mariculture farm near Port Fairy. Although the farm reported the outbreak to the Department of Primary Industries in January 2006, it continued operating — reportedly discharging about 40 million litres of water a day — and by March the virus had escaped and infected wild abalone off Victoria’s south‑west coast.
Licence holders say the value of their abalone licences plunged from around $6 million to less than $1 million after the virus devastated wild abalone stocks.
The licence holders have blamed Dr Hugh Millar, Victoria’s former chief veterinarian, and Peter Appleford, a former Fisheries Victoria executive director, for failing to shut down the farm when they knew about the disease and its risks to wild abalone.
Dr Millar told the court he was guided by lessons from a parliamentary inquiry into the department’s earlier handling of ovine Johne’s disease. He said that inquiry had criticised hasty, heavy‑handed eradication measures that severely impacted farmers, and he argued the abalone virus was an exotic disease with significant scientific knowledge gaps that required investigation before actions were taken.
Officials faced major gaps in scientific knowledge: the herpes‑like virus was exotic to Australia and unfamiliar in molluscs. Dr Millar said the department spent months investigating the exact cause at the farm because it lacked experience with how such viruses affect fish and molluscs.
The article reports that Dr Millar gave evidence in the Supreme Court and that the trial was continuing on the following Monday. The class action is actively being heard in Victoria’s Supreme Court.
Investors following seafood, aquaculture or regional licence values may want to monitor the outcome of the Supreme Court trial, any compensation or regulatory changes that result, and official reports on wild abalone stock recovery — all of which could affect licence valuations and the broader abalone industry. The article notes the trial is ongoing and the legal and scientific findings remain central to future impacts.
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