Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I second this motion and commend the member for Kennedy for bringing it forward. He really is a fighter for the people of Kennedy whom he represents. He's a fighter for Queensland, and he's a fighter for Australia. As the member for Kennedy has already explained to this House, Australia has worked hard to remain free from many diseases that are the scourge of other food-producing countries. We simply can't afford to risk Australia's agricultural industries. The value of agricultural production in this country is about $90 billion each year. In my part of the world, the central-west of New South Wales, we view it as the food basket of the nation, and we know how important protecting Australia's biosecurity is.

Our country has a wonderful friendship with the Philippines. We fought alongside the Philippines for the liberation of that country during the Second World War, and both countries cherish democracy. However, I'm very concerned that allowing these imports potentially opens the door to diseases such as banana freckle, moco and black sigatoka. These types of diseases could decimate Australia's banana industry and wreak havoc across the broader agricultural sector. Think of all the jobs that are at stake: 15,000 in the banana industry. The whole industry is at stake here. It's worth $1.3 billion.

As the member for Kennedy also eloquently pointed out, New South Wales has been dealing with the devastating impact of varroa mite, as has Queensland. That outbreak led to extensive biosecurity measures, severely affecting the state's beekeeping industry. Pollination-dependent crops such as canola, which is vital to industry in New South Wales, have also suffered from reduced bee availability. Varroa mite was so invasive that New South Wales abandoned its eradication efforts, shifting focus instead to management strategies, and the mite's presence now poses ongoing—

See this speech in context