Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) on average, 2.5 million containers, 122,000 air and sea vessels, 22 million passengers and 144 million mail items arrive in Australia each year;

(b) around 35,000 pest and disease border detections are recorded across biosecurity regulated pathways each year; and

(c) the global and regional spread of pests and diseases is accelerating and trade volumes are growing; and

(2) further notes that:

(a) Australia has one of the most robust and effective biosecurity systems in the world, which is essential to keeping our nation safe from exotic pests and diseases;

(b) a strong biosecurity system protects and empowers Australia's reputation as a clean and green producer of food and fibre, ensuring primary producers can maintain their production levels and attain premiums for their product in our international export markets; and

(c) the agricultural industry's ambitious goal of $100 billion by 2030 is only attainable through substantial continued investment in biosecurity;

(3) acknowledges and welcomes the Government's history of investment in biosecurity, which saw investment in biosecurity and export services increase from $630 million in 2014-15 to a record 1 billion in 2021-22; and

(4) welcomes the additional $400 million in new funding announced through the 2021-22 budget to further expand biosecurity systems and safeguard Australian agriculture and our environment from exotic pests and diseases.

We in this place all know the importance of biosecurity, but this motion in the House acknowledges it again and reinforces some pretty clear facts: 2.5 million containers, 122,000 air and sea vessels, 22 million passengers and 144 million mail items arrive in Australia each year; around 35,000 pest and disease border detections are recorded across biosecurity-regulated pathways each year; and the global and regional spread of pests and disease is accelerating as trade volumes grow.

So it's little wonder that the Morrison Liberal government is taking biosecurity very, very seriously. Protecting our biosecurity status protects on-farm returns, access to overseas markets and our biodiversity, generating real, significant benefits for Australia's agricultural industry, regional communities and the environment. The Morrison government expects to provide over $1 billion for biosecurity and export programs this year, an increase of nearly $380 million, or 60 per cent, since 2014-15.

From 2016-17 through to today, total Australian government expenditure for biosecurity and export services has increased 28 per cent in real terms. The $400 million biosecurity package announced in May's budget this year is a critical part of the Australian government's overall budget. It includes $84 million in funding for frontline on-the-ground measures to better manage the risk of pests and disease entering Australia, with a focus on known and emerging threats like swine fever, and an $80 million investment in modernising and improving Australian biosecurity technology. On 31 May, the government announced a world-first Australia-New Zealand trial of autodetection algorithms for 3D X-ray technology. There is also $235 million to improve our ability to detect and manage threats offshore.

Australia's biosecurity system is a national asset focused on protecting Australian industry. We have a stretch goal of $100 billion of agricultural output by 2030. A key part of that is the Riverland citrus industry in my electorate of Barker. We produce $1.3 billion for the South Australian economy. That represents one per cent of our stretch target. Part of the reason for its success is that the Riverland was declared a regulated pest-free zone nearly 20 years ago. The pest-free area status means that produce from the Riverland can be shipped directly to international markets with recognised PFA status without the need for disinfectant treatments. It is estimated that those treatments would cost $4.2 million a year. Riverland citrus is exported to premium markets such as the United States, Thailand, Japan and New Zealand. All these markets would be at risk if we lost our PFA status.

South Australia is the only mainland state recognised as being free of Queensland fruit fly, from the east, and Mediterranean fruit fly, from the west. Our local industry has done an amazing job to maintain that pest-free status. Nevertheless, there have been outbreaks. The industry is not only battling right now the pandemic challenges around labour shortages and supply disruptions; there's also a fruit fly outbreak in the pest-free area. Some growers estimate that, owing to the outbreak, their cost of compliance is running to $300,000 a year. It's in the national interest to protect South Australia from medfly from the west and Qfly from the east to ensure not only that our local industry in South Australia is protected but also that South Australia acts as a buffer between the two jurisdictions.

South Australian industry and government have carried the burden of this issue for a very long time, both protecting the industry from outbreaks and eradicating the pests when they occur. South Australia has understandably taken that lead, but it's right now that we need the nation to lean in and help us maintain that pest-free status.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

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

I second the motion.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Riverina, do you reserve your right to speak?

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

I'll speak after the member for Bendigo. I want to hear her fine words, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In my keenness to rise to speak on the motion that has been put forward by the member for Barker, I do acknowledge I was standing a bit early, so I thank you, Member for Riverina, for jumping in to second the motion. Biosecurity is an important issue in our country, and the electorates that the people in this room represent know how real this is. Despite some government ministers saying that Labor doesn't represent farming electorates, we have significant farming in my electorate. We have not just boutique industries where they have gone for high-value products; we still have quite a bit of commodity.

One of the commodities that is still quite popularly grown but is constantly under biosecurity threat is the apples in our orchards in Harcourt. Every year, our apple growers struggle with fruit fly. I do not wish fruit fly upon any area of Australia. I know that in Tasmania they have their own running battles in trying to keep fruit fly out. And it's not just in South Australia that they're battling it; it's parts of Tasmania, it's parts of Australia where, if this fly gets in, it's hard to get rid of it. We are constantly looking for local ways that we can help our farmers and our growers battle this disease.

I guess that brings me to ask the question, why has it taken so long for this government to act? This government has been talking about biosecurity and a biosecurity levy since they came to office. They first promised reform in the 2018 budget. That's when they first proposed the biosecurity imports levy, yet it is constantly delayed, constantly being reviewed, constantly being reformed. It wasn't until this year that they actually put the money behind genuine reform, which leads me to ask, why did it take so long? The biosecurity import levy was a great idea. It was about raising revenue from what is imported in order to fund a robust system, which is desperately needed. We talked about African swine flu a moment ago, in the contribution of the member for Barker. I know how real that is. In my own electorate, again, it was raised with me by Don KR, which is the biggest manufacturer of smallgoods in Australia. They are based in Castlemaine, and they are continually concerned about the importing of product and what product could come in, given the way people try to sneak around our tough biosecurity laws. They tell you stories about people importing ham, then importing the bone in a separate process and then trying to put it back together—crazy stuff that people try to do, to get around our biosecurity rules. We know that these are the extents that people will go to. That's why we need a robust system.

So, it is disappointing that it has taken the government a long time to get to a place where they can now proudly talk about what they've done on biosecurity, because agriculture and farming and the value-adding industries that go with it are critical to this country. In this country we have banned certain forms of imports. I talked about pork before. You can import pork fillet to turn it into bacon, which they do a lot of at Don KR, but you can't import ham on the bone. There's a very good reason for that. It is because of the disease it carries. This is an area where all the regional MPs know what I'm talking about, because we live it and see it in our electorates every day. The people in their homes, in their kitchens and in their supermarkets are relieved that we do that. We know we need to have a robust system to keep disease out. There's another pandemic that is affecting humans right now, apart from COVID, and that is swine flu. A few years ago it decimated pig populations throughout Asia. Then it was found in the Timor-Leste, and we've had a few cases in Australia. We are working really hard to keep it out.

That is why a system like this is critical to that clean and green image and to the food we eat. People have become really conscious about what they buy and what they eat. If we want to protect our industry, if we want to protect our imports and if we want to protect what we export, we need to have a robust system. I do agree that we need to have national leadership on this, to bring our states together and to make sure we're all working together on this. I feel for the Tasmanian apple growers. They're battling what is happening in my electorate. We don't want to see fruit fly in their electorates. That's why we need national leadership, to bring our states together to have a robust rapid response team when this disease gets out.

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

I thank the member for Bendigo for her comments on biosecurity. She called for national leadership, and that is precisely what the Liberals and the Nationals are delivering. When I was in my first ministerial role I was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance. I well remember going down to the post-entry quarantine facility site at Mickleham, in the electorate of the member for McEwan, and looking at that 144-hectare site, which at that stage was just a greenfield—in fact, you could actually say it was a brownfield. That site has been transformed into a veritable Noah's ark. There are cats, dogs, horses, birds, plants and bees getting the proper quarantine that they need. At the time I commended the previous Labor government for having the vision to have all of that in one facility, because it superseded post-entry quarantine facilities in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. But, of course, it took a Liberal and Nationals government to pay for it. It took a Liberal and Nationals government to build it, and indeed we did build it and it's making such a difference. I know that the Donnybrook Road facility is doing such a great job and it will continue to do that.

The member for Bendigo spoke about leadership, and that's exactly what we are providing through one of these key pillars. We're trying, and we will, get our agriculture industry to grow to $100 billion by 2030. Biosecurity is one of the key pillars of doing just that, and that's why in this year's budget, delivered in May, we announced a package for biosecurity of more than $400 million, which is building on what we've done previously. Indeed, from 2016-17 to this financial year total Australian government expenditure for biosecurity and export services has increased by 28 per cent in real terms. That's delivery; that's getting on with the job. I know we as regional members understand—and I appreciate the member for Cunningham does too—how important biosecurity is. I've been in this place long enough to have served with John Cobb, a former shadow agriculture minister. I remember going to New Zealand with him on a self-funded tour to ensure that fire blight wasn't going to come into Australia with New Zealand apples, which had been allowed to be imported into our country. That is such a shame because we grow great apples at Batlow, in Tasmania and elsewhere. Right across the country, we grow great apples. Much as I love New Zealand and my friends across the ditch, why would we want to import New Zealand apples?

I also remember the fear of outbreaks of the Asian bee and potential incursions of fire ants. The member for Bendigo mentioned swine flu. She mentioned all the things that people try to bring into Australia in their suitcases. This is just madness, and that is why we have increased fines and we have made sure that people who try to bring in prohibited items are literally sent packing back to whence they came—and so they should be. We want to make sure that our agriculture sector can reach that goal of $100 billion by 2030, and that's why we're doing everything we can. On 26 May this year the minister for agriculture released the Commonwealth Biosecurity 2030 road map. It's a plan to protect Australia's environment, economy—most importantly—and way of life by setting strategic actions and clear early deliverables. That's what we do. As Liberals, as Nationals, we make sure that our farmers are protected. We make sure that our animals are clean and green when they're being processed so that our export opportunities are not put at risk by anything that may come into this country, or anything that we may do in this country.

I have to say the packaging, the labelling and the food origin requirements that have been placed on farmers have made the world of difference. You will recall, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker Wallace, the work that former senator John 'Wacka' Williams did in this place to make sure that that labelling is right. It all goes to food security; it all goes to biosecurity; it all goes to making sure that people know that, from paddock to plate, their food is going to be the best. Of course, Australian food is the best and Australian farmers are the best not only in the Pacific rim but right around the world. I compliment them and I compliment the government's biosecurity stance.

Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian biosecurity system is a national asset which we've got to be proud of. It's there to protect our agriculture and our exports. We are going gangbusters with our agriculture. This year we're on track for about $72 billion worth of product. This is up from about $48 million only a few years ago. Our farmers are renowned for the clean, fresh and green products that we produce. The Australian consumer loves our products and so does the export market.

Biosecurity is one of the key pillars. If you listen to our agriculture minister, there are seven key pillars when it comes to agriculture; biosecurity is one, and a very important one at that. So, as we head towards $100 billion by the year 2030, we, as a government, must ensure that we are here to protect our lifestyle and the products that we produce.

In this year's budget, as the member for Riverina said, over $400 million was put aside for a range of portable devices or machines that can be taken around by our Customs and Border Force people to detect what's coming in in containers and that type of delivery. It's very good; it's very effective. We need this money also to train our officers in the latest detection methods. Drones are now coming into favour; they're used for control of feral pigs, and camels and buffalo, more in the Territory. For instance, if foot and mouth was to get into the Northern Territory or into Queensland in the gulf country, we'd have no end of trouble. We'd find we'd have to destroy most of our herds of cattle, because it's very easily transferred.

David Littleproud, our minister for agriculture, has proposed a road map and is doing great things to protect our environment, the economy and early delivery of products. And that's a lot of paperwork. As the member for Barker said, there's a hell of a lot of product coming in and out of Australia. We are an island nation, but we export over $80 million of product and we're a country of only 25 million people.

It's for that reason that we've got to stop these diseases like canker. Canker is a disease that gets into our citrus food. It struck Emerald in my electorate, back in the early 2000s, and they had to have an exclusion zone for 30 kilometres—it took in the town of Emerald—and every citrus tree had to be destroyed and replanted and that area not used for three years. Swine flu is sweeping through China and other places around the world as we speak, and it's an outbreak that we don't want in Australia. BSE, or mad cow disease, is another disease that we don't want, and we'll fight tooth and nail to keep it out. White spot in prawns and crabs is another bad disease, and that has come into Queensland through importing raw prawns. Recently I was in Darwin at the barramundi farm up there, and what they fear up there is that we're still importing whole fish—that's the head, the gut and the skeleton, which of course we don't use in our kitchens in Australia—as that is where the disease is likely to be picked up, as with white spot in our prawns. They don't have visitors at the barramundi farm up there at Middle Point because they are so scared of introducing these foreign diseases. There's fruit fly—they call it the 'Queensland fruit fly', though I don't know why they call it the 'Queensland'— (Time expired)

Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In reflection on the member's very good speech, 'Don't come the raw prawn with me,' I was thinking! I've been married for over 40 years and I've farmed for 35 years. My wife and I had been married for, I suppose, five or seven years when some new virus got into our wheat crops and we had to go off and purchase a whole heap of fungicides and spray them out to save the crop from severe devaluation She hadn't heard of it before—and I hadn't heard of this particular thing, either, at that stage—and she made up a list of all the things that, as a nonfarmer, she had never realised could go wrong with a wheat crop. There were about 35 things on the list. I looked at the list, and I said, 'That wouldn't be the half of them!' So there is this realisation that there are so many things lurking around that actually want to damage what we do so well here in Australia.

We are fortunate because of the fact—and we've heard reference to it already—that we are an island, and that's given us a great barrier against so many of these things in the world, and we've managed to keep a lot of them out. A lot of them we haven't. Some of them we've even brought in ourselves. Rabbits, foxes, cats, sparrows and cane toads were all brought in on purpose. It's unbelievable when you think about it now. Until cane toads, they had all been brought in on the basis of ignorance. By the time we got to cane toads, we had actually worked out that some of these things coming into Australia were not good for us. One such case was prickly pear. So we brought in the cane toads 'after careful analysis' that was supposed to make sure they would do more good than harm. We got that one wrong as well. But I think we've become more sophisticated as we've gone along. The last outbreak of something that we brought in where we hadn't fully worked out whether it was going to be good or bad was the calicivirus for rabbits. It was a darn good thing it did get out, as it turned out, because it has given us a bit of a reprieve from the bunnies for some time.

We are moving towards an agriculture sector worth $100 million a year. We're over $70 million now. It's an outstanding success. I won't get into the debate about what the climate has or hasn't done to Australian farmers. I will only remark that we grow more every year of better quality, and we are exporting all over the world. It's a great tribute to technology, to science and to smart farmers getting on with the job. I reckon every farmer who is about my age says, 'I don't see what we can do next that will be any better,' but they all do. We are on a continuing two per cent growth on production, without worrying about prices. So these are great outcomes, but we need to protect the sector. Some of those other things that are out there have been touched upon already. Foot-and-mouth disease is one. African swine flu, I think, is a very interesting one. It has decimated—actually 'decimated' is an overused word, and it's misused because 'decimated' means a loss of 10 per cent. It's actually been far worse than that, with more than 50 per cent of the herd taken out through Asia. We've kept it out of Australia thus far. I was talking to some scientists about it, and I asked them: 'What's the vector?' They said, 'It'll come in because pigs will eat offal.' I said, 'We don't feed offal in Australia, so that's not a problem.' And they said, 'No, we do.' I said, 'No, it's banned,' and they said: 'No, no. We've got backyard farmers with a couple of pigs. They go off to Asia or Italy or wherever they go for their holidays, and somebody gives them this bung of you beaut stuff, and they take that home for the family. When it's gone a bit off, after they've all had a chew on it, it goes to the pig out the back. That's where it will come from.' Then you understand, when customs officials are seizing all those goods coming in through airports—and we're talking tonnes of the stuff—how lucky we've been, up till now, to avoid it.

I'm using up my time rapidly without getting to the point, but we have increased our funding over the last seven years by 60 per cent. That is obviously a very good thing, and there's another $400 million coming in as a result of the last budget. This is a serious, first-grade issue, not just for Australian agriculture but for Australia generally. We have a natural advantage and we need to protect it. We need to make sure that we keep ourselves as clean and free of these things as possible. There's pestilence and there are weeds. There's varroa mite which could take out the bees. It's an endless list, as I told my wife some years ago.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:24