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Dr. Gardner Murray

Australian Chief Veterinary Officer and Executive Manager, Product Integrity Animal and Plant Health, AFFA

Gardner Murray has qualifications in veterinary medicine and surgery, and management.

After graduating from the University of Glasgow, he worked in mixed large animal practices in the borders of Scotland, the Valley of Wales, Cumberland and the Isle of Mann. For a “break”, he took up a contract position with the Australian Government based in Adelaide, liked the place, people, work and country and decided to make Australia home.

Since then he has carried out a variety of jobs both within Australia and overseas, dealing with matters such as food inspection, quarantine, animal and fish health, agriculture and food production, emergency management and trade access. He is a member/chair of a number of boards and committees both within Australia and overseas. For example, he is President of the OIE Regional Commission for Asia, the Far East and Oceania and a member of AFFAs Executive Leadership Team, as well as CSIROs Sectoral Advisory Committee on Meat Dairy and Aquaculture.

Gardner has previously held positions as Executive Director, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service; Executive Director, Bureau of Resource Sciences; and Counsellor Veterinary Services in the United States.

Gardner manages the Product Integrity, Animal and Plant Health group within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia. This area deals with a range of issues relating to animal health (including aquatic animal health and animal welfare), plant health and plant protection. The Office provides national coordination for the management of exotic pest and disease incursions or outbreaks of pests and diseases of national significance and manages national pest and disease eradication and control programs.

This office also leads the Commonwealth’s involvement in the development, adoption and implementation of national policies and programs on food safety issues of national and international significance. The office is responsible for a range of national and international residue issues (including the operation of the National Residue Survey), and is Australia’s Codex contact point. It provides policy and technical advice on residue and standards issues, agriculture and veterinary chemicals and coordinates the management of residue emergencies.

In 2001 Gardner received a Centenary Medal as one of the top contributors to agriculture in Australia over the last 100 years. Specifically the Centenary Medal was awarded for outstanding contribution to the development of Australia's approach to quarantine and inspection and the control and eradication of animal diseases. In 2001 Gardner also received the OIE Gold Medal for significant and outstanding contributions to International Veterinary Science. This award complements the Australian Meat Council Distinguished Australian of the Year Award he received in 1999 for the work he has done for the meat industry and animal health in general.

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