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

But I thank the member for her contribution. There is no vaccine, and it is no-one's fault that there is no vaccine. What happened is Zoetis, the manufacturer and producer of the vaccine, changed the location of their manufacturing plant in the US, and somehow the transition caused the new vaccine to fall outside of the approvals of the APVMA. It is no fault of theirs; it just happened. It is a very technical science and approvals are very complex. But there is a way of fixing this. Zoetis make another product that is used in New Zealand and in other countries as we speak. What Zoetis need to do is apply for an emergency temporary permit so that the additional vaccine can come out quickly. Zoetis are somewhat reluctant because it is a very expensive process, the market here is relatively small and they do not necessarily see the return on their investment. It is an arduous, complex and expensive process.

The government has a role here. Minister Joyce is very happy to get involved in all sorts of issues in the agriculture sector when he wants to—and I have given some examples here today—but in the three months since I raised this issue with him last year, has he picked up the phone to Zoetis?

Had he expressed any concern about this terrible tragedy which could fall upon the equine industry? No. Finally, when we had some breeders in this place a fortnight ago, he decided to see them and he made some promise about talking to Zoetis. I trust he has, I hope he has and he may have, and I welcome that. How hard has he tried? What public comment has he made? What assistance is he offering Zoetis in an attempt to induce them to quickly pursue that emergency vaccine permit? I have seen nothing. I have seen nothing from the minister, who is most likely to intervene in this place when he sees political opportunity. For some reason, whether it be the levy or the vaccine, he sees no political opportunity in the equine industry, in the thoroughbred breeding industry in particular, so he has done nothing. He says nothing and will do nothing and it is a disgrace.

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