…and it’s goodbye from him

^{(Image: Dr Mark Schipp, Australia's Chief Veterinary Officer, supplied)}

After 30 years with the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture in its various iterations, and 12 years as Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer it is time for me to retire from the Australian Public Service.

I have been very fortunate throughout my career with the opportunities afforded to me, I would never have imagined as a new veterinary graduate that deciding to work as a government veterinary officer rather than in clinical practice would provide such a challenging and rewarding career.

I commenced my veterinary science degree at Murdoch University after completing a Bachelor of Science in biology and realised before graduation that I was not well suited to clinical practice, so upon graduation I joined the Western Australian Department of Agriculture working for a few years as a field veterinary officer in numerous locations around that great state.

This role involved providing advice to farmers, attending field days, speaking on rural radio, and on one memorable occasion conducting a postmortem of a beached dead juvenile whale. Government veterinarians provide advice to farmers across the country and investigate reports of suspect disease outbreaks. All of this is vital work, and I truly enjoyed my time in this role.

The Commonwealth offered ongoing employment in export abattoirs so next I became an on-plant veterinary officer overseeing food safety, hygiene and animal welfare at export abattoirs in WA, Victoria and Tasmania before eventually moving to Canberra. I continue to encourage veterinarians to consider careers in government service where the work is significant and important. There are no exports of live animals or animal products without the supervision and input of government veterinarians. 

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Canberra and the world

In Canberra I continued to work in export programs, negotiating requirements with importing countries, and accompanying visiting delegations from overseas as they learnt about and audited our export system. The department has a number of officers in overseas posts who work to gain access for Australian agricultural produce and liaise with counterpart government authorities. I was posted to Seoul, South Korea and to Beijing, China as Agriculture Counsellor in our embassies there.

These overseas postings were an enormous privilege, responsibility and opportunity. Personal contacts made throughout that period have endured and I was responsible for establishing our office in Beijing at a time of enormous interest in China and the opportunities for Australian agricultural products there. Our children were able to experience Chinese culture and learn Mandarin which they were able to continue once we returned to Australia.

On return to Australia I was promoted to lead the food export programs and also led our delegation to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the global standard setting body for food safety, inspection and export certification.

In 2011 Australia suspended live cattle exports to Indonesia and I was asked to act as Chief Veterinary Officer until the process of identifying Australia’s next CVO was complete. During this period we worked quickly to establish conditions for the humane export of livestock to all markets – the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS). These conditions allowed the trade to resume and form the ongoing basis of Australian livestock exports. I was asked to stay on as Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer.

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Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer

As Australian Chief Veterinary Officer I also became Australia’s Delegate to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and in 2012, at my first General Session I was elected onto the Council of WOAH, eventually becoming President of WOAH between 2018 and 2021.

Serving as Australia’s second president of the organisation was both interesting and challenging. My period as president was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic, I chaired one General Session in Paris in person, the next was cancelled and the third was conducted virtually very late at night from my office in Canberra. But it was also a period where WOAH recognised the role they could play in addressing One Health challenges, and the responsibilities of veterinarians for wildlife health which can serve as an early indicator of spillover events.

Working with talented and committed colleagues has been a great privilege and delight. I was fortunate to work with a number of Chief Medical Officers and their staff on our national antimicrobial resistance strategies. It was fascinating to work with Wildlife Health Australia and rewarding to see them recognised by WOAH as an international Collaborating Centre for Wildlife Health Risk Management.

I have chaired and been a member of the Animal Health Committee which brings together the chief veterinary officers of the states and territories, along with the Commonwealth and Wildlife Health Australia, Animal Health Australia and New Zealand. It has been a great privilege to work with such dedicated and accomplished people. Through the years there have been many interactions and relationships with our livestock and food industry colleagues, these have often been challenging relationships, but the strength of the Australian animal health system is the ability and willingness of industry and government to work together in the national interest.

Of course, there have also been very many work colleagues that I am very appreciative of, the mentors, experts, colleagues, and support staff that make work easier, more pleasurable and social. I have been blessed in my own office with a very dedicated and accomplished team, many of whom have been there for years.

Now I leave the role of Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, grateful for the many opportunities afforded me, pleased with what we were able to achieve and hopeful that the future will be even brighter despite challenges emerging and not yet seen.

We work in a fantastic profession, and I wish you all the best with your veterinary careers.

Thank you and good bye, Dr Mark Schipp.

For the latest updates on the work of the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer, please follow the social media channels of the Acting Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Beth Cookson on LinkedIn and Twitter.