Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, congratulations on your appointment. My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Indi is sheep and cattle country. If foot-and-mouth disease hits Australia, the cost to our community will be devastating and the people of Indi are worried. Having grown up on a dairy farm and as someone who still runs beef cattle, I feel this fear too. What are the next steps to strengthen Australia's biosecurity response and when will the government take those steps?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for her question. I know, like all of us who represent regional communities in this place, that we are extremely concerned about the risk of foot-and-mouth disease entering this country. It is a concern that the Australian government is taking very seriously. It's why we have put in place the toughest biosecurity measures that the country has ever seen.

I thank the member for Indi and her staff for attending the backbench briefing that was provided yesterday by the minister Senator Watt and the chief vet. It is an important part of ensuring that we all do our part to make sure messages get out. Whether you are in a regional seat, like my own or another seat, you have people travelling to Indonesia and Bali, and it is important that you get consistent messages out.

As you know, the Australian government has put in place tough biosecurity measures, including measures in Indonesia, which I outlined to the House yesterday, and measures here in the country. But, of course, we are monitoring the situation closely every single hour, every single day. We continue to take advice from the biosecurity experts in relation to any further measures that are needed. We know that we need to continue to work closely with our Indonesian counterparts. It is in our national interest that Indonesia gets on top of that. Our embassy in Jakarta is working with and engaging at the highest levels in Indonesia, and we are continuing to offer both financial and technical assistance in that. But, of course, the very best way to ensure FMD does not come to Australia is to assist Indonesia to get the outbreak under control, and we are committed to doing everything we can to protect this important Australian industry.