Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

He did mention flies? I recognise the fact that he has done that. Most of his speech was devoted to flies. Few Australians probably understand the importance of dung beetles, but I think most Australians understand the great Australian fly and what an inconvenience it is to all Australians, whether it be around the barbecue or working the land. Dung beetles play a very, very important role in removing that product, which becomes a breeding ground for flies and which attracts flies. This is very, very important work. If we could do more to have people connect dung beetles with the fly infestation problem that we encounter in this country, we would probably have more debate about dung beetles and more people discussing the importance of properly investing in research and development in this area. I acknowledge what the member for Canning was saying about new potential breeds from other countries, and I know that France was one of them—breeds which are active at different times of the year or, therefore, during different seasons, which would of course expand the scope and effectiveness of dung beetles. Again, I would join with the member for Canning in working on a bipartisan basis to overcome any quarantine issues or biosecurity issues that might be associated with the introduction of those new species.

I recall listening to probably an ABC Rural report some time ago about the work of our CSIRO scientists, who were painstakingly taking dung beetles to the southern parts of Western Australia to conduct further experiments on the effectiveness of these breeds. It is slow and arduous work—if I remember well, it was going to take between 10 and 20 years for the scientists to be able to show without doubt that the introduction of these species was having a very positive impact on the fly population in that part of Australia. It is painstaking and very slow work, work for which you have to wait a long time for a return. That is one of the reasons that I pay so much credit to those who are working in this very important area.

I have said in this place many times before—and it is not designed to be a partisan comment, although it probably will be taken as one—that in my view we lack a coherent strategic plan for Australian agriculture. We do have a white paper on its way, and we are assured that it is going to be comprehensive. I suppose Minister Joyce would argue that that will form Australia's strategic plan in agriculture. I am a bit sceptical and not confident that that will be the case. I am not confident, because even the terms of reference for the white paper are not sufficiently broad, in my view, to pick up all of the issues that we need to tackle in terms of our agricultural future or the issues that arise if we really are going to fully capitalise on those opportunities in Asia—the phenomenon I prefer to call the 'dining boom'. It will stretch all the way from our productivity and the efficient use of our limited natural resources right through to how we make decisions about where those resources should be allocated—where the niche markets are, where the return is going to be, what products use water most efficiently and so on. Here today in this debate we see another aspect. It is may be a relatively small aspect but it is a debate that gives you an idea of how comprehensive those challenges will be. These are things which, going back to where I began, are never at the forefront of the public debate in this country—but should be. There are many more I could name.

I will take a few minutes to talk about messaging in rural Australia and how we promote conversations in rural Australia about these important issues. The medium we rely upon most to activate these discussions in rural and regional Australia is the ABC. It is a very sad period for the ABC because government imposed cuts are now starting to bite very hard on this most important part of the social and economic infrastructure of rural and regional Australia—our local ABC services, in particular ABC Radio. As we speak, in Newcastle, my own region, each and every one of the 33 staff who work at that facility—

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