Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I am a strong supporter of the Food Standards Amendment (Fish Labelling) Bill 2015. This bill speaks to the very heart of what it means to be Australian—that is, that we should be supporting our producers, businesses, industries and of course jobs. Mandating that food outlets across the country provide the origin of the seafood served means that Australians will have the ability to make an informed choice about the foods they consume while dining outside of the home at restaurants and other food outlets.

Australia has some of the highest food standards in the world. We know that our produce is safe and is of the highest quality. If Australians have a choice when dining out between eating Australian seafood and eating imported seafood, the majority, I believe, will choose the Australian option. This in turn will more directly support Australian industries, which will support the growth of jobs.

In my home state of Queensland, we rely heavily on tourism. Hospitality and tourism are important sectors for all Queenslanders. Tourists dining in Australia want to consume our produce. The only way they can be assured of doing so is if seafood is labelled in restaurants and food outlets. The obligation on restaurants and food outlets to label food will be minimal. For example, restaurants will only need to display the origin of the seafood served on the menu or on a menu board. Therefore, the costs associated with implementing these labelling requirements are minimal; however, the benefits to Australia are significant. It is time we genuinely started to support our own industries, and jobs for Australians.

As of June 2014, there were some 72,000 businesses in the food and beverage services sector in Australia, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways as well as pubs, taverns, bars and clubs. Of those, 13,000 were in Queensland, with 90 per cent being small businesses. This means that the majority of businesses in this sector are Australian-owned enterprises that employ staff. By labelling the seafood served in these establishments, you are supporting these businesses and jobs, and all of those who work in the fishing and aquaculture sector. As a result, 13,000 businesses in my home state of Queensland will be actively supporting the promotion and sale of Australian seafood through menu labelling. According to many industry experts, seafood origin labelling will significant increase consumption of Australian produce across the country. This can only fuel the economy and of course grow jobs.

In June 2014, there were 6,348 businesses in the Australian fishing and aquaculture sector. Of those, some 1,500 were in Queensland, and 99 per cent of these were small businesses. This means that around 25 per cent of Australia's fishing and aquaculture is based in Queensland. Clearly, my home state of Queensland has much to benefit from this legislation. In fact, I recently visited several businesses in Queensland in this sector, including Gold Coast Tiger Prawns. I was impressed by the scale and calibre and quality of this business. They are producing prawns which are sold here in Australia. It is their view that there is increased scope to expand the business; we just need to encourage the people of Australia to buy Australian.

Unfortunately, based on statistics from the Department of Agriculture's 2013 annual report, Australia's consumption of imported seafood is roughly double that of domestic seafood. Clearly that needs to change. If the food and beverage sector is serving seafood labelled as Australian, then consumption of Australian produce increases. As a result, businesses in the fishing and aquaculture sector will flourish, which in turn will create more jobs and more revenue for Queensland and increase the economic prosperity of the country as a whole. It is for this reason that I support the bill and I strongly encourage everyone in the chamber to do so to support Australian businesses, to support the Australian fishing and aquaculture sector and to support Australian jobs.

We have heard a lot of talk from both sides of the chamber about the benefits of this bill. But unfortunately, and as expected, the two major parties decided that they would focus on the negatives and the reasons why we cannot have this legislation passed. You would think that if the two major parties were serious about this there would be amendments to this bill and we could vote on it and get it up because Australians need this legislation to get up. This bill is a result of a committee recommendation, and there is absolutely no reason why this bill should not get up. In due respect to New Zealand, it is Australia that needs this bill passed. As I have explained in my speech, as a result of this bill getting up the economic growth of this country would obviously increase, it would create jobs, stimulate the economy and put Australian produce, particularly seafood, at the forefront of everyone's mind.

They support the bill in principle, yes. It is a great bill. But, as I have said before, there has been no effort in coming up with amendments from either side of the House so this bill could be passed. That is certainly a very concerning issue for me because everyone agrees that this would be beneficial to everybody in this country. I call on all senators to support the needs of Australians and I call on all senators to vote for this bill.