Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calare for his generous invitation, which I shall respectfully decline. I rise to speak on the motion made by the member for Kennedy. I want to put on record that Australian bananas are great. Far North Queensland bananas are the best in the world. Banana farming makes up an integral part of our culture and identity in the Far North. It also plays an integral part in my breakfast and I'm grateful for it every day. Bananas have good potassium and 24 per cent of your vitamin B.

But I'm not saying anything new. There's not a person in this place who doesn't support Australian produce. It's almost embarrassing how good we are at producing food. Despite that, there seem to be some who, for political reasons, want to run a bit of a scare campaign about the future of the banana industry in this country, so perhaps it's time for a few facts, to make sure that we understand where we are.

On 16 September, the department advised that it is undertaking a rigorous science and evidence based assessment as a result of a request from our trading partners the Philippines to consider alternative measures to those in the 2008 import risk assessment. There is no predetermined outcome. It is important to note that this does not mean that trade will commence, that it is imminent, that a flood of bananas will come. It is a request we have to take seriously. But, as the Prime Minister and Minister Collins and other senior members of this government have said, our biosecurity is not up for negotiation. It is not up for compromise, and neither is our agricultural industry. But, as a member of the World Trade Organization, we're obliged to consider formal requests for imports from our trading partners, just as other countries are obliged to listen to ours. We cannot expect others to follow the rules if we ourselves do not.

Australia is a proud two-way trading nation, and this is especially so of the Australian agriculture sector. As I've said, our food produce and our meat are the envy of the world. They have ads about Australian beef in America—McDonald's Australian beef. They love our food. In fact, we export around 80 per cent of our agricultural produce each year. In 2024, our exports in forestry, fishery and agricultural products were valued at $73.5 billion. That is a massive, massive number, and it is only achievable because of our position on international trade and our reliance on the trade rules, the standards that support our position as a major global exporter of agricultural goods. Operating within the WTO framework reinforces our position as a trading partner that other countries can trust.

If you're wondering about the next steps, I'm happy to dispel some of the rumours. Visits will be undertaken by the Australian government, and DAFF experts and technical officials will travel to the Philippines to see their banana-growing practices firsthand to better understand the risks and the controls and alternative measures proposed by the Philippines. Australian banana growers will also take DAFF to banana farms in Australia so that they understand the expertise and the work done on the ground here. The development of an issues paper, for release in the first half of 2026, will then begin. It will provide background information on the Philippines' request, what will be considered during the assessment and how the department will engage with stakeholders. That's it. Those are the facts. There is no wave of foreign bananas coming to this country. It is merely department officials considering the requests and suggestions of a valued trading partner. There's no need for a scare campaign.

To be clear, the Albanese Labor government will never, ever compromise our biosecurity. It is the envy of the world—ably assisted by the fact we are an island—and it is not up for negotiation. We will continue to back our farmers and producers, with trade being the most valuable and diversified it has ever been thanks to our government. Since the 2022 election, the Albanese government has committed over $2 billion in additional resourcing for biosecurity.

I know that the industry is concerned. I drove up to Lakeland just last week and spoke to some banana farmers up there, and I'll be meeting with the banana growers association later this week. But my message is clear: we support the industry and we support trade. If you want to support Australian bananas, go out and buy a banana, and make some banana bread, put banana on your breakfast cereal or have some banana after a workout.

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