Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that:

(a) the Australian banana industry:

(i) is worth $1.3 billion to the Australian economy and is the dominant employer in northern Australia; and

(ii) represents more than 540 growers and employs over 15,000 people;

(b) Australia, being a continent which until the 1800s had no farming, remains free of many of the world's most devastating vegetation diseases, including Moko, Black Sigatoka, and Banana Freckle;

(c) these diseases are found throughout plantations in the Philippines causing widespread crop losses and often producing a flawed, largely inedible product;

(d) these diseases will destroy Australia's banana industry and seriously damage our virgin, natural wonderland and threaten other food production activities;

(e) the US Department of Labor, the Centre for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), and the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER) have all found significant instances of poor work conditions in banana plantations across the Philippines, including widespread child labour;

(f) the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is currently considering an application to import bananas from the Philippines, and has advised that it will only consider the risk of disease; and

(g) bad enough in itself, the application does not consider the need for imports, the disparity in environmental conditions, chemical usage, wages and the various other factors that fail to make free trade, fair trade; and

(2) calls on the Government to take immediate and decisive action to protect Australia's banana industry by ensuring that the:

(a) application to import bananas from the Philippines is rejected, due to:

(i) unacceptable biosecurity risks that will create real danger to not only Australia's banana industry but also to Australia's virgin nature wonderland as Philippine banana imports will be the vector of a myriad of diseases including Black Sigatoka, Moko Disease and Banana Freckle;

(ii) the economic impact of decimating Australia's $1.3 billion banana industry, specifically considering the huge social and economic impact on communities where bananas are grown;

(iii) the devastating environmental impacts of bananas grown in the Philippines that have vastly different chemical and pesticide usage and lower overall environmental standards;

(iv) the difference in cost of production including wages and working conditions, for example, the average wage of $50 per week in the Philippines versus $1,153.30 per week in Australia; and

(v) significant evidence of child labour throughout Philippine banana plantations, as reported by the US Department of Labor, CTUHR and EILER, with studies indicating that 22.5 per cent of households in banana growing regions have a child working in banana plantations;

(b) Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry immediately reject the import application as there is no overriding need nor demand for the imported product; and

(c) Government immediately introduce legislation that acknowledges our other international obligations including, but not restricted to, slavery, child labour and other unfair working conditions and wages, and environmental impacts including pesticide and chemical usage.

'The free marketeers have lowered the price of food in Australia by opening our doors to imports'—no, they haven't. The price of Woolworths and Coles has gone up 100 per cent in the last seven or eight years. That's the price of food in Australia. You not only did not succeed; you increased dramatically the price of food in Australia. You opened the doors, and what we have here is a gladiator. Send him into the ring. He says, 'Give me your shield and your helmet.' He says: 'Hey, wait on. The other bloke has got his shield and helmet.' 'Oh, no—it'll make you tougher if you fight without a shield and helmet.' The gladiator says, 'No, it'll make me dead.'

I'll tell you how many dead gladiators are out there. Citrus canker cost this country $427 million. That's from letting products from overseas come into this country. We had citrus canker, white spot, papaya fruit fly, fire ants, varroa mites in honey, hendra virus—people died—and avian flu—people died. What the hell did we get out of it?

You are paid to protect this country. If you saw the bloke in charge of the authority saying whether things can come into this country or can't, you would see an arrogant individual who is enjoying his power, knowing that it is to the detriment and at the expense of this nation—not only in terms of money but in terms of human death, the death of our economy and the death of nature. When you bring that product in from overseas it brings in bacteria and diseases. This was a country that never had farming, so we didn't have any of these diseases.

Just to give you one example, the prickly acacia tree has taken over 25,000 square kilometres of beautiful natural grassland—all gone, all flora gone, all fauna gone—thanks to the likes of the people in this place who keep pressing this free-market syndrome and obsession. What other country has free markets? In sugar, our farmers were getting $270 for 10 to 12 years. America's farmers were getting $700, Europe's were getting $700, Thailand was on $470 and Brazil was on $420—and Australian farmers were getting $270. So, who's free marketing? It isn't Thailand. It isn't Brazil. It isn't the United States. It isn't Europe. Well, who the hell is free marketing out there? I will now turn over to my seconder and very able colleague.

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second this motion and commend the member for Kennedy for bringing it forward. He really is a fighter for the people of Kennedy whom he represents. He's a fighter for Queensland, and he's a fighter for Australia. As the member for Kennedy has already explained to this House, Australia has worked hard to remain free from many diseases that are the scourge of other food-producing countries. We simply can't afford to risk Australia's agricultural industries. The value of agricultural production in this country is about $90 billion each year. In my part of the world, the central-west of New South Wales, we view it as the food basket of the nation, and we know how important protecting Australia's biosecurity is.

Our country has a wonderful friendship with the Philippines. We fought alongside the Philippines for the liberation of that country during the Second World War, and both countries cherish democracy. However, I'm very concerned that allowing these imports potentially opens the door to diseases such as banana freckle, moco and black sigatoka. These types of diseases could decimate Australia's banana industry and wreak havoc across the broader agricultural sector. Think of all the jobs that are at stake: 15,000 in the banana industry. The whole industry is at stake here. It's worth $1.3 billion.

As the member for Kennedy also eloquently pointed out, New South Wales has been dealing with the devastating impact of varroa mite, as has Queensland. That outbreak led to extensive biosecurity measures, severely affecting the state's beekeeping industry. Pollination-dependent crops such as canola, which is vital to industry in New South Wales, have also suffered from reduced bee availability. Varroa mite was so invasive that New South Wales abandoned its eradication efforts, shifting focus instead to management strategies, and the mite's presence now poses ongoing—

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, Member for Calare: you're actually not standing and speaking in the right seat, so I might have to get you to go back to where your seat is.

Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, varroa mite was so invasive that New South Wales abandoned its eradication efforts and shifted instead to management strategies, and the mite's presence now poses ongoing economic, ecological and agricultural challenges across New South Wales. In fact, I was at the Australian National Field Days only recently, over the weekend, and a honey producer was telling me of the shocking impact the mite has had on their businesses.

Fire ants were first detected in Australia in 2001 in Brisbane. These infestations came in through international shipping, and their rapid spread has been a real challenge. Fire ants have been detected in new locations in New South Wales, posing a severe risk to our native biodiversity and biosecurity.

As the member for Kennedy pointed out, we've also got the looming threat of H5N1 bird flu. Australia is the only continent that has not reported an outbreak of this highly contagious flu. It's a reminder that we must be vigilant and that our biosecurity can't be taken for granted, so this motion brought by the member for Kennedy is a wonderful example of the crossbench leading the way on policy.

As we look across the aisle to the pain and, sometimes, dysfunction that may be being experienced by some on this side of the House or even on the other side of the aisle, we on the cross bench say that there is a better way for you. Bring us your tired, bring us your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, because a better life awaits you on the crossbench.

I know the member for Kennedy joins me in extending that invitation to anyone who is seeking a better life and a better way and a better future. I support the member for Kennedy's motion, and I commend it to the House.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, I take a point of order. I love my colleague, but his comments reflect upon me, and I wish to make a point of personal explanation. He said we're ineffective. Well, the fact that bananas are not here is completely—

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I haven't given you the call, Member for Kennedy, because I think you've had—

I didn't give you the call, Member for Kennedy. The question is that the motion be agreed to. I give the call to the member for Leichhardt.

Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for this debate has expired.