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

The minister and I can certainly agree on one thing, and that is that this is a very, very important piece of legislation. The completion of it today in the Senate later on will be the culmination of a lot of work by very many people which was initiated by the former Labor government almost eight years ago now when it commissioned the seminal Beale review of our quarantine system. It is the replacement of an act that dates back to 1908. I think that suggests in itself that this is an area that is well overdue for reform. This bill reflects the work of many towards the modernisation of our quarantine system or, as we know it today, our biosecurity system in this country.

Like the minister, I want to thank all those who made a contribution to this, all the way from Beale and his panel to the department, stakeholders and ministers—and I suppose we could include ourselves on the list. In particular I want to thank the Senate crossbenchers who supported me in my push to have the inspector-general reinstated with all the independence and powers he or she must have to undertake that role effectively.

Australia's competitive advantage in international markets lies largely in our clean, green and safe image. As an island continent, we are very fortunate to be largely free of pests and diseases that are so common in other nation-states. It is just so important that our biosecurity system is the best system it possibly can be—the best system in the world. My view—and I think there is now a consensus on this in this parliament—is that it can only be the very best system if it includes, as Roger Beale recommended, an independent inspector-general of biosecurity as a last cop on the beat, as I have described him or her, ensuring that the system is working in the way it should while continuing to review the system and audit the system, ensuring proper, full and independent investigation if and when things go wrong.

The minister has been out and about today, plastering himself on our television screens talking about his newfound friends Boo Boo and Pistol.

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