Biosecurity measures at Canberra Airport have received a boost as part of last week's ACT budget.
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Just months after the airport opened to international air traffic, the ACT government has given $576,000 over the next four years to monitor exotic pests and diseases coming in from overseas.
As part of the budget measures, $137,000 will be spent on biosecurity in the upcoming financial year, before increasing to $144,000 in 2018-19, $146,000 in 2019-20 and $149,000 in 2020-21.
International flights will increase in the capital when Qatar Airways launches flights from February next year, alongside existing Singapore Airlines trips to both Wellington and Singapore.
ACT biosecurity senior manager Stephen Hughes said the funding will help deal with the influx of international passengers as well as cargo.
"Overseas airport traffic coming into Canberra is growing over the next two years, and this is pre-emptive action to make sure we're ready," he said.
"We're expecting daily flights in the next two years and the commencement of cargo-only aircraft and that can contain 100 tonnes of freight, and when you start bringing that in, you've got a lot of exposure to pests coming into the country."
The funding boost from the budget was in addition to a grant provided to ACT biosecurity by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as part of the National Plant Health Surveillance Program.
The $9500 grant was aimed at having surveillance programs in place to monitor fruit flies from when the first international flights arrived in Canberra last September.
Mr Hughes said the money provided through the budget will go towards training purposes for both biosecurity staff as well as growers in the ACT.
"Particularly it will go towards teaching staff and growers in emergency preparedness and how to react if there is a serious pest that comes into the country," he said.
"As the number of flights increase, we'll then move to appoint and engage more staff."
Biosecurity staff are focusing on threats such as fruit flies as well as insects that could affect pine forests around the Canberra area.
Mr Hughes also said money provided by the government would help growers around the ACT to help meet regulatory requirements to export goods directly from Canberra once cargo flights operate out of the capital.
Since the services started, however, no infringement notices have been issued by quarantine staff.
