Patrick Secker (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia currently permits the import of orange juice concentrate from Brazil;

(b) the United States has moved to ban imports of Brazilian orange juice concentrate due to traces of the fungicide Carbendazim being found in some juice concentrates from Brazil;

(c) in January 2010, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) suspended some agricultural production uses of Carbendazim, including use on all citrus fruits;

(d) in 2011 the APVMA completed its preliminary review finding of Carbendazim which has proposed removing many uses of this chemical; and

(e) the APVMA has proposed a change to remove the Maximum Residue Limits in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code that permits Carbendazim residues in some foods, including citrus products; and

(2) calls on the Government to instruct the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to increase the testing on imported juice concentrate to ensure Carbendazim is not present at levels which risk public health.

This issue came to light after Coca-Cola, that well-known firm that owns the juice manufacturer Minute Maid in the United States, alerted the US Food and Drug Administration that it had detected low levels of Carbendazim in its own orange juice. The US Food and Drug Administration was told by the manufacturer that some Brazilian growers had sprayed trees with the chemical.

Carbendazim is a fungicide registered in Australia for the control of a wide range of fungal diseases such as mould, black spot, mildew, scorch, rot and blight in a variety of crops. As a farmer myself, I understand these issues. Carbendazim is currently permitted for use on roses—which we do not normally eat—bananas, strawberries, ginger seed pieces, sugarcane setts pre-planting, pasture, red clover and subterranean clover, chickpeas, faba beans, lentils, vetch and macadamias, and in timber preservation. Under individual permit, Carbendazim may also be used on onion bulbs post harvest for seed production only, on pyrethrum—non-food crop—on mung beans, and on mushrooms, once only per crop when preparing casing material from peat. Although Carbendazim is permitted for these purposes, its actual use is believed to be quite limited.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, the APVMA, commenced a review in 2007—five years ago—following advice from the Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health that exposure to Carbendazim and its parent compounds could cause developmental abnormalities in experimental animals and hence might pose a potential public and occupational health and safety risk to people. That is what the motion before the House is all about. The APVMA addressed potential human health concerns by suspending the label approvals of Carbendazim products and issuing new instructions for use. It is obvious that there were some very serious concerns about this chemical. These new instructions provided revised safety directions for use of the product and a birth defects warning statement, to be attached to the container.

In Australia as of 25 January 2010, over two years ago, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority restricted the horticultural and turf uses of Carbendazim, based on data indicating that maximum residue limits for some food crops, and potential public exposure to treated turf, may not meet new health standards. New label instructions removed all uses, including post-harvest dipping, of Carbendazim on grapes; cucurbits, including melons; citrus fruit; custard apples; mango, pome fruit; stone fruit, including cherries; and turf. The APVMA also extended health warnings on Carbendazim product labels to include birth defects and male infertility in laboratory animals.

In the US the US Food and Drug Administration has temporarily banned Brazilian orange imports due to health concerns. Carbendazim is already a banned substance in the US. Carbendazim is legal in Brazil, where it has been used for more than two decades to fight blossom blight and black spot, a type of mould that grows on orange trees. Christian Lohbauer, spokesman for CitrusBR, the association that represents Brazil's four main orange juice producers, said Brazilian orange juice is routinely tested for this fungicide but has never been stopped by US customs over this issue. Mr Lohbauer says that any shipment of orange juice will test positive and he does not know what they will decide is the maximum level. That is just not acceptable to Australia. Their interest now is that juice keeps entering the United States, and of course Australia. The US Food and Drug Administration released a statement saying that it is sampling all import shipments of orange juice and will deny entry to shipments that test positive for Carbendazim. Up to 35 parts per billion were found in juice arriving in the US where it is banned. Carbendazim is currently only approved in the United States as a fungicide to treat non-food items such paints, textiles and ornamental trees. But another legal fungicide, thiophanate-methyl, can break down into Carbendazim after it is applied.

It is important to note that Australia imports 32,000 tonnes of frozen concentrate orange juice annually, two-thirds of which comes from Brazil. It is my understanding that juice labelled 'made in Australia' could be a product that is more than 70 per cent Brazilian concentrate. According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the acceptable level for Carbendazim residue in Australian juices is 10 parts per million—above the amounts discovered in the U.S.

As outlined in the motion, APVMA has proposed a change to remove the maximum residue limits in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code that permits Carbendazim residues in some foods, including citrus products. During a Senate estimates hearing last week, the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Steve McCutcheon, said that the APVMA had decided last November to amend the maximum residue limit for Carbendazim to zero. However, the recommendation was then watered down to halve the limit to five parts per million.

This issue is very relevant within my electorate. The Riverland is one of the four major citrus growing areas in Australia. The South Australian Citrus Board has called on the government to impose an interim ban on imports of orange juice concentrate from Brazil because of the contamination concerns. The Citrus Board Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Green, believes imports should be halted until imports are properly checked. Mr Green said to ABC Riverland on 19 January, 'I understand that AQIS does the testing here in Australia and it's at a five per cent type level, so something in addition to that would be important.' That comes back to the second part of my motion which calls for a greater testing. The Chairman of the Citrus Growers of South Australia, Mark Chown, also told ABC Riverland that juice already on sale needs to be tested.

Consumers need certainty, as do the growers. The Riverland region has experienced ongoing drought and many growers have had to re-invent themselves to survive. I wrote to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Joe Ludwig, about this issue but I am yet to receive a response. In my letter I expressed the concerns of growers and the industry, and I expressed the need for increased testing by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service. I ask the minister to listen to the concerns of the citrus industry, and I call on the government to support my motion. (Time expired)

Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

John Forrest (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak tonight on the motion that the member for Barker brings to the chamber. The motion calls on the government to instruct the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to increase the testing on imported orange juice concentrate to ensure that the fungicide Carbendazim is not present at levels which would risk public health. I understand the member's concerns, representing as he does the Riverland area of South Australia in his electorate of Barker. I also understand that Australian citrus producers, including those in the Riverland, provide a quality product and that the importation of orange juice concentrate is seen by some as a threat to the local industry. I see many parallels with the fate faced by many manufacturers in my own electorate of Throsby where we do not grow too many oranges. We do consume a fair bit of orange juice but we do not grow too many oranges. I understand that the Australian citrus producers, including those of the Riverland, produce a quality product and that the importation of orange juice, particularly orange juice which is infected or contaminated by the fungicide which is identified in this motion, not only threatens the product but it threatens the quality and the confidence of the entire market for orange juice.

The Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority, APVMA, is responsible for the regulation of chemicals that are used on food crops and animals, and the Food Standards Australia New Zealand, FSANZ, is responsible for ensuring safety in the food supply. These organisations are responsible for determining a safe residue level of Carbendazim in foods that Australians will consume. I have been advised that FSANZ is not currently aware of any test results in which Carbendazim levels in orange juice have been above this safe level, with the highest to date being 0.8 parts per million—well below the current limit.

While it is true that the United States has moved to ban imports of Brazilian orange juice concentrates due to traces of Carbendazim, we also understand that the United States is a net exporter of citrus juice with the states of Florida and California producing more than 11 million tonnes of orange juice each year. Australia is clearly not in the same position.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Orange County.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Orange County indeed. Our domestic market is only able to support around 45 per cent of the needs of the orange juice industry, with a national orange fruit juice production at approximately 438,000 tonnes annually. That is a market that I am advised is actually increasing, not decreasing. I can definitely say that this government, and I in particular as the member for Throsby, strongly support local manufacturing, including food manufacturing. Indeed, tomorrow I will be hosting a group of workers at a function in the House who represent workers in the food manufacturing industry and who are concerned about this issue, their ongoing competitiveness and the future of food manufacturing in this country.

We know that food and beverage production is a major industry sector for the Australian economy in terms of both its financial contribution and the jobs associated with it. Food and beverage processing is Australia's largest manufacturing industry—and this is not well known—with sales exceeding A$70 billion each and every year, accounting for around 18 per cent of manufacturing employment. When people think of the manufacturing industry, they think of the automotive industry and the steel and other heavy manufacturing industries but they do not think of food. They do not think of the tins of food that they may put on their pantry shelves or the things that they buy at the grocery store each and every week. But it is the largest employer, accounting for over 18 per cent of manufacturing employment.

The Gillard government has a strong commitment to food safety and a commitment to ensuring consumers have the best possible information about the food that they eat. This is why the government commissioned and supported the Blewett review into food labelling and why it has supported the implementation of the majority of its recommendations. Also, in January 2010, the government acted on the advice of an APVMA review into the use of the fungicide and suspended pre- and post-harvest uses of Carbendazim by Australian primary producers on a range of products including citrus fruits, oranges among them. This review is still an ongoing process, as is the APVMA's consultation with FSANZ on this matter. These processes are of upmost importance to the government.

FSANZ's current advice is that a 70-kilogram adult—somebody about my size—would need to drink 140 litres of orange juice per day to consume an unsafe amount of the fungicide Carbendazim. As fond as I am of orange juice, I can tell this House without any fear of misleading it that never have I consumed 140 litres of orange juice per day, so I am fairly confident that I have not tripped the magic level—the dangerous level—of consumption of orange juice such to consume so much of the fungicide Carbendazim to have reached the national maximum residue limit. The best science that is available at the moment says I and those who consume a moderate amount—far less than 140 litres a day—are not in the danger zone.

That is not to say that we should not as a government be providing all the resources that are necessary to the regulatory authorities to ensure that we have the best science available to us. If as is suggested by the member for Barker in his motion the current science, which says that 140 litres of orange juice per day is the unsafe level, is not correct then we should be reviewing that. I support the sentiment reflected in the motion by the member for Barker for us to ensure that those levels are reviewed. Let the policy follow the science. If the science tells us that we have it wrong then I will be first to stand in this place to ensure that we get this right in the interests of consumer safety but also in the interests of local food manufacturers and not allowing an unfair advantage to accrue to Brazilian producers or, for that matter, to producers from any other country anywhere else in the world. We do not want unsafe products to be put on the shelves of our supermarkets, putting the health and safety of Australian consumers at risk. I once again thank the member for Barker for bringing this important matter before the House.

John Forrest (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of this resolution, not just because I am the representative of an extensive citrus region in Sunraysia and the whole of the Murray valley all the way down to Koondrook but because for some time now I have been very concerned that Biosecurity Australia and its policing agency, the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service, seem to be preoccupied with controlling the quality of our exports. That is a noble objective and one which I support. Australia has a really excellent reputation around the world for producing clean and lean and green. My citrus growers are very proud of that record. The member for Throsby made some good points. But I wonder if he has confidence in them. That is what this resolution is about. I quote point 2 of the resolution:

…calls on the Government to instruct the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to increase the testing on imported juice concentrate to ensure Carbendazim is not present at levels which risk public health.

That is the point that the member for Barker and I are making. We do not have confidence.

The Americans, who have a much more extensive testing program of orange juice concentrate than we have in Australia, have reacted. Given the risk that Carbendazim poses to human health, I would have thought that the government would have made this a priority and instructed AQIS to increase the percentage of imported orange juice concentrate that they test. It is not good enough, given the risk to public health. There have been extensive health warnings made about this product. We are talking about birth defects, genetic defects and male infertility—this last has been proven in laboratory animals. We need to be absolutely confident. We have seen some tragedies in human history in recent time, such as with thalidomide. We should not take a risk. This resolution strongly urges the government to instruct AQIS to do their job with the products that are coming into Australia. It is just not good enough to assume that the level of risk is not high. It is extremely high. I urge the member for Throsby to use his influence, in addition to the contribution he has made to this debate, to ensure that point (2) of this resolution is observed and adhered to.

In January 2010 the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority restricted the horticultural and turf uses of Carbendazim—there is a risk in the use of turf, which is not consumed by humans—based on new data indicating that maximum residue limits for some food crops and potential public exposure to treated turf might not meet new health standards. Turf is not consumed by humans, but it is just that someone might lie on it or touch it or be involved in laying it in a new garden. Surely alarm bells should be ringing. This is a fungicide to be very wary of if it is sufficient to cause that reaction. As a result, we are now seeing new label instructions removing all uses including post-harvest dipping of Carbendazim for grapes, melons, citrus fruit, custard apples, mangoes, stone fruit, cherries and turf—which is not even consumed by humans. Many of these products, except for the tropical ones, are produced in my electorate—melons, citrus fruit and stone fruit definitely are.

All these things have not been done for nothing. There is tremendous suspicion about this fungicide. Point (2) of this resolution should be supported by government members so that we can be confident and sure. I ask government members to give it their support.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to be here to speak to this motion to increase the testing on imported orange juice concentrate. Carbendazim is a fungicide used in many countries to control diseases in some crops, including fruit trees. The honourable member who just spoke, the member for Mallee, raised a lot of concerns. Presently, two groups in Australia are currently in collaboration on this topic—the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, which is responsible for the regulation of chemicals used on food crops in Australia, and Food Standards Australia New Zealand, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of our food supplies and deciding safe residue levels of Carbendazim in foods that Australians consume. The food industry is a big manufacturing sector in Australia, and we export food as well. Many chemicals are used to get these products to the consumer.

As we get greener and cleaner there is an increasing awareness of fresh fruit and vegetables, and this includes orange juice. At present, Australians are consuming much more juice than we are producing—I think we are producing only something like 45 per cent of the orange juice consumed by Australian consumers. I take it on board that the United States has banned the use of this product, but their exports are in competition with Brazil's. That is not an unusual process.

I agree with the motion, with certain conditions. My principle is that we have Australian standards, which our farmers and manufacturers are bound by, and imported goods should meet those standards. We should set those rules. Australia currently has in place a maximum residue limit which allows the presence of 10 parts per million of Carbendazim in citrus products. That is the science that is being used in Australia. If that changes then I would be the first to say, 'Make sure we do it; make sure that we are on top of it,' but we must make these decisions in relation to science. It has already been stated in the House that an adult weighing 70 kilos would need to drink 140 litres of orange juice in one day to consume 10 parts per million of Carbendazim and a child would need to drink 40 litres of orange juice a day to receive the same 10 parts per million. Despite the information showing it is relatively safe from a health perspective one would always endeavour to err on the side of caution. I understand that there is an ongoing review process and consultation between the FSANZ and the APVMA, and they will continue to consult on this. They have now asked to extend the consultation for another 12 months. In that time they will continue to monitor the situation and will then report.

We are very strong on food safety, and so we should be. I know the member for Barker is very strong in representing his area in putting this motion forward. I congratulate him on doing it.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australian farmers produce some of the highest quality and safest food in the world. Agricultural production in this country drives $155 billion a year in economic production, over 12 per cent of GDP, generating around 1.6 million Australian jobs and $32 billion a year in farm exports. Around the world, Australian-produced food is regarded as safe—clean and green—and it is essential that we maintain that reputation. However, this reputation is put at risk by Labor's incompetent neglect of our national biosecurity.

There is no doubt that the clean, disease-free status of Australian food produce is paramount. Australia was once a biosecurity island fortress, but in recent years our biosecurity and quarantine programs have been cut back and undermined by this government. The government's commitment to biosecurity is a national disgrace. Labor's 2009 federal budget slashed $35.8 million from the quarantine and biosecurity budgets, leading to the loss of 125 jobs, and reduced inspections of arriving passengers and cargo. The sum of $58 million was also slashed from the Customs budget, leading to 4.7 million fewer air cargo consignments being inspected each year and 2,150 fewer vessels being boarded on arrival.

This neglect set the trend that Labor has continued into the current budget. In 2011, another $32.8 million was cut from the operational budget of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, reducing the capacity of the department to deliver services to Australian agriculture. The Beale quarantine and biosecurity review that was commissioned by Labor called for hundreds of millions to be spent on AQIS and quarantine annually to provide proper, real protection to our nation's borders. Instead of heeding this report, the government has failed to act, except to spend 2½ years since its release running AQIS down and stripping out its assets.

Many countries around the world provide advantages for their industries that include low input and labour costs and low levels of necessary compliance with government regulations. This government is complicit in providing this advantage to overseas producers by refusing to enforce adequate border biosecurity.

Carbendazim is a fungicide registered in Australia for the control of a wide range of fungal diseases such as mould, black spot, mildew, scorch, rot and blight in a variety of crops. It has been known to cause birth defects and irreversible male infertility in laboratory animals. New research has found exposure to high levels of the chemical causes infertility in some male mice, prompting the APVMA to both restrict its use and extend the health warnings on labels. In January 2010 Carbendazim was banned from pre- and post-harvest uses on grapes, cucurbits, citrus fruit including oranges, custard apples, mangoes, all pome fruit, stone fruit and all uses on turf.

This chemical has become an issue in Australia after reports from the United States that authorities had suspended some imports after trace amounts of Carbendazim had been found in orange juice imported from Brazil. Whilst the levels detected were low in comparison to international standards, there remains the fact that other countries can still use a product banned for a similar use in Australia. It is also a fact that the Labor government's neglect of biosecurity means that there is an increased chance that the product is entering Australia in imported fruit products. This not only creates an unlevel playing field; it also raises questions about the safety of some imported agricultural products.

The motion by the member for Barker requires the House to note that:

(a) Australia currently permits the import of orange juice concentrate from Brazil;

(b) the United States has moved to ban imports of Brazilian orange juice concentrate due to traces of the fungicide Carbendazim being found in some juice concentrates from Brazil;

(c) in January 2010, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) suspended some agricultural production uses of Carbendazim, including use on all citrus fruits;

(d) in 2011 the APVMA completed its preliminary review finding of Carbendazim which has proposed removing many uses of this chemical; and

(e) the APVMA has proposed a change to remove the Maximum Residue Limits in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code that permits …

(Time expired)

Sharon Grierson (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the member for Barker's private member's motion on the importation of orange juice concentrate and the use of Carbendazim. It is clear that all the speakers are genuinely concerned about any potential risk to Australians from the pesticides used on imported consumables. We have very high standards in this country and we need to look at how we deal with any such risk in Australia.

In January this year it was reported that the US Food and Drug Administration had temporarily banned Brazilian orange imports due to the discovery of low levels of the pesticide Carbendazim. The United States Environmental Protection Agency are yet to establish an acceptable standard for that pesticide within their imported goods.

Back here in Australia, in 2007, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority received advice from the Department of Health and Ageing's Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health division that exposure to the pesticide may have associated health risks. Some of the speakers have outlined those. In January 2010 the authority suspended the pesticide's use within our domestic citrus industry. Unlike the US, however, Australia currently has in place a maximum residue limit that allows for the presence of Carbendazim within imported citrus products at 10 parts per million. The levels found within our imported orange juice are well below this level at around 0.1 parts per million. Food Standards Australia New Zealand is yet to raise any concern regarding the presence of the pesticide in the orange juice that Australians consume. It has in fact indicated that an adult would have to drink 140 litres of orange juice in a single day in order to exceed the safety limit. We love our orange juice in Newcastle and around Australia, but it is a fair bet that nobody will be drinking 140 litres of orange juice in one day anytime soon. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority are in consultation with Food Standards Australia New Zealand in order to develop advice regarding a suitable limit for Carbendazim within our food that allows for trade to continue. Some may ask why we import orange juice at all. The fact remains, according to Fruit Juice Australia, a division of the Australian Beverages Council, that Australia's orange crop is approximately 200,000 tonnes short of what would be required to meet the market demand and produce 100 per cent home-grown orange juice. This is due to a range of factors, including seasonal variability. Australia's juice-manufacturing industry is therefore highly dependent upon importing frozen orange juice concentrate from countries such as Brazil. Australia currently imports 32,000 tonnes of frozen concentrate, two-thirds of which comes from Brazil. As a net exporter of citrus juice, the US is in a position to take measures such as banning the import of Brazilian orange juice concentrate; on the other hand, being able to domestically supply only 45 per cent of the orange juice industry's needs, Australia cannot.

In August 2004, one of the world's eight bulk juice terminals, located in my electorate of Newcastle, received its first cargo shipment of frozen orange juice concentrate. At that time it was anticipated to handle approximately one-third of our nation's orange juice imports. In its first year of operation, 9,572 kilolitres of frozen orange juice concentrate were imported from Brazil to be stored in Newcastle's Carrington facility—the equivalent of almost four Olympic sized swimming pools. Every three to four months, a shipment of frozen orange juice concentrate from Brazil arrives by ship into Newcastle port and the concentrate is stored in tanks at Carrington. Newcastle port operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, managing almost 4,000 ship movements each year, employing almost 2,000 people. Along with Newcastle's unrivalled coal-exporting facilities, the import of frozen orange juice concentrate is one of the diverse port activities that employs locals in my electorate of Newcastle.

The member's motion highlights the importance of having adequate testing in place to ensure public health and safety, and I am confident that the appropriate measures are currently in place and that Food Standards Australia New Zealand are putting the interests of the public's health at the forefront of their decisions. It is also worthy of mention that countries like Brazil are making great strides in bringing their standards higher. We encourage that and support that, and at this time we do not want to compromise on that important trade between the two nations. It is good to speak on the motion. It is good to make sure that people are not alarmed unnecessarily and it is good to know that the Australian government are dealing with this issue.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is much validity in calling on the Labor government to instruct the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service to increase the testing of imported juice concentrate to ensure Carbendazim is not present at levels which place public health at risk. It is expected that the chemical may be banned for use in oranges in Australia—it is currently suspended—but still available for other crops such as almonds. Labor is not putting due process in place in regard to inspections and must become more diligent about testing. In the 2009-10 budget, Labor slashed cargo-screening resources at ports and airports by $58.1 million. This led to 4.7 million fewer air cargo consignments being inspected each year and 2,150 fewer vessels being boarded on arrival.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has backflipped on its decision to ban the import of Carbendazim laced Brazilian orange juice concentrate. This organisation must gets its act together and send a clear message to the public. Carbendazim is a fungicide used in many countries to control fungal diseases in some crops, including fruit trees. Food Standards Australia New Zealand originally announced it would ban the import of juice concentrate where trace elements of Carbendazim were present. However, it has since reversed that decision, understandably angering Riverina Citrus in my electorate. What sort of message does this send to the average shopper looking to buy fruit juice? Riverina Citrus had previously called on Australian authorities to act to protect consumers following the discovery of the fungicide in Brazilian juice products imported into the United States, and it publicly stated support when FSANZ put the ban in place.

Concerns have been raised in Australia after reports from the United States that authorities had suspended some imports after trace amounts of Carbendazim had been found in orange juice imported from Brazil. The levels detected in the US are well below the internationally accepted level for Carbendazim permitted in oranges and significantly below the US human health and safety level. Even though the levels detected to date are very low and considered safe, the US is testing for Carbendazim because the chemical is not allowed to be used on orange crops in the US.

A strong biosecurity and quarantine system is critical to Australia's rural and regional industries, jobs and consumers and our natural heritage. The 2008 $1.7 million Beale review into Australia's quarantine and biosecurity systems found that our border defences are significantly under-resourced, putting Australia's economy, people and environment at significant risk. Consumers are unsure what they are buying, and this should be paramount. We should be mindful of what consumers are buying and mindful of the fact that they need to be safe and secure in the knowledge that what they are buying does not contain this trace element. According to the Land newspaper, people who are buying Australian juice labelled as 'Australian Made' could be drinking a product consisting of 70 to 80 per cent Brazilian concentrate. Studies have found that Carbendazim could cause infertility and testicular damage. Carbendazim was withdrawn from use in the Australian industry more than two years ago.

It is important that Australian law protects Australia from pests and diseases carried by overseas animals, plants and products and ensures that imported product meets stringent health standards. The Labor government's under-resourcing is putting this at risk. In July last year the ban on imported apples was lifted, and the Australian apple industry has been left in jeopardy through the flooding of local markets with products from overseas that potentially do not adequately address the health risk. Foreign apples should only be allowed if they are free from pests and diseases, especially fire blight. That decision has the potential to cripple areas such as Batlow and Tumut, in my electorate of Riverina, the economies of which rely heavily on apples. This decision with the juice concentrate of oranges is just the same as that example. It is neither right nor fair from a government that says it has regional Australia's interests at heart.

But it is not just apples where Labor has weakened the biosecurity and quarantine measures. The Asian bee has threatened the industry over the past 20 years and now threatens to affect everyone in the honey industry and everyone in Australia. Frank Battistel, the Riverina Citrus chairman, summed it up when he said:

We wonder when someone is actually going to stand up for the Australian people—growers and consumers—and how it is that the big money of the processing industry can again win out over what is fair, what is right and what the public are demanding.

Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak to this motion, brought by the member for Barker. As the daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of fruit growers, I understand very well both the importance of strong and effective regulation when it comes to the importation of fruit and fruit products and the importance of quarantine and food standard regulations which err on the side of proper protection—the importation of apples from fire blight affected countries springs to mind—while nevertheless not unreasonably impeding free and fair trade between countries.

Australia is a very substantial net exporter of food and so of course we rely on the fair and reasonable assessment and regulation of our food products in other countries in order to maintain and expand our food markets. I know that Australian producers happily accept the legitimate scrutiny of our agricultural products. They do so with little fear because the quality and standards of our food production are generally exceptional, but, where unreasonable barriers are put on the export of Australian food, there are very serious and damaging consequences. It makes sense that we set our import restrictions with this in mind.

The existing maximum residue limit, MRL, of Carbendazim, the active ingredient in a fungicide used to treat citrus trees, is 10 parts per million, and the highest recorded presence of Carbendazim is only 0.1 part per million. That is the case even though we import more than 50 per cent of the Australian orange juice industry's requirement for concentrate.

Australia's MRL is the same that applies in Canada and it is set at a level where a 70-kilogram adult would need to drink 140 litres of affected orange juice before there would be any health effect. That of course does not mean that the current MRL is sacrosanct or beyond review, and indeed I understand that the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, APVMA, following a review that commenced in 2007, did signal at the end of last year its intention to remove the MRL for Carbendazim residue in citrus fruits. But members and the wider public need to understand that the APVMA position is triggered by its consideration of the occupational health and safety aspects of the use of Carbendazim in the Australian domestic production process and not by any consideration of the health effects of consuming tiny amounts of that chemical. It is precisely because the APVMA determination has not been triggered by reference to the health effect of Carbendazim in food that Food Standards Australia New Zealand has asked that this proposed change to the MRL be subject to a further 12-month consultation period.

All this indicates that the regulation of Carbendazim as a potential contaminant is well in hand under Australia's framework of food standards and pesticide regulation. The involvement of AQIS in this task will continue to be shaped by appropriate advice and will occur in addition to the inspection and testing processes already in place through state and territory governments and industry monitoring. It is salient, I think, to also note for the benefit of the member for Barker that the reconsideration of how we limit the presence of Carbendazim is occurring under this government and that the MRL was not considered or reviewed at any stage while the coalition was in government.

I will finish by saying that I welcome the findings and analysis of the recent Blewett Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy and that I look forward to seeing the implementation of the majority of its recommendations. This is an area in which there is room for much greater transparency, with all the benefits this will deliver for Australian consumers, families and even food producers.

I have spoken previously about the fact that stronger requirements when it comes to the health and animal welfare claims of food labels will mean that consumers can buy food with greater confidence and greater discretion and that producers who choose the highest standards of animal welfare in their production of food like eggs and pork will then have the higher product value of that choice protected by labelling laws that prevent the cynical misuse of labels like 'free range'.

In any case, I thank the member for Barker for bringing the motion we have discussed tonight. I do not believe there is any significant issue with the safe and rigorous regulation of Carbendazim in Australia. I am confident that our regulatory authorities are giving proper consideration to this issue.

Debate adjourned.