Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Is the minister aware that the Senate, after forcing an apple and pear revisit and a scathing indictment of meat imports from Brazil, inquired into bananas and uncovered that, without explanation or justification, Biosecurity Australia’s IR panel had cut the acceptable risk probability level from the government designated 95 per cent to an IRP ‘self-discretionated’ 50 per cent? Is the minister further aware that the decision to allow pork imports from PMWS countries was held by Justice Wilcox to be ‘unreasonable … unsupported by any fact, scientific evidence or scientific expertise’ and that the full court further held that the ‘risk’ definition was an ‘imponderable standard’ so any decision ‘at all’ could be legally valid? Finally, in light of this and the current decision on bananas that millions of boxes will be imported but not a single microspore of any contagious disease—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member will come to his question.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is my question, Mr Speaker—would the minister not agree that there is a need to now establish a new protection regime abolishing the current Biosecurity Australia and its processes, whose record proves their decisions ideological, their rules arbitrary and their incompetence legendary?

Peter McGauran (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No.