Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. What updates are there on the detection of H5 bird flu in Western Australia? How has the Albanese Labor government been preparing and working with states and territories, industry and the community to respond to this disease?

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank our great member for Moore for that great question. I know that he and many other members in this place, particularly our members from Western Australia, are really concerned over the reporting on the weekend, where I announced that the CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness had confirmed that a brown skua in Western Australia tested positive to the H5 bird flu. Just a few short moments ago before question time, I, together with the Premier of Western Australia, Roger Cook, and Minister Watt, announced that further testing has confirmed H5 bird flu in a northern giant petrel found in the same region.

I reiterate that these are two migratory birds. Whilst these two confirmed results are not unexpected, given the spread of H5 globally, they are very concerning. I also want to be very clear at this time that there's no evidence of any mass mortalities, nor is there any evidence of the bird flu in our poultry or agricultural systems. Also, there's a generally low risk of human infection associated with this strain of the virus.

I want to reassure all Australians that we are well prepared for the arrival of the H5 bird flu, and we had been planning for this. Our national biosecurity response arrangements have been enacted, with Western Australia managing the on-ground response. They have responded very quickly to the detection with enhanced surveillance. They're working closely with industry, veterinarians, wildlife carers and local communities. My department, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, is leading the national coordination. Along with our experts, we've been meeting around the clock over the weekend with industry and with jurisdictions—the states and territories—to manage the response to this detection. The head start that we've been given before the arrival of the H5 bird flu has not been wasted by our government, particularly given some of the devastation in wildlife that we have seen overseas.

We've invested over $113 million to strengthen our preparedness for H5 bird flu. This is part of the more than $2 billion in additional biosecurity resourcing that we have provided since coming to government. It also includes funding delivered directly to the Western Australian government to support the delivery of rapid, critical diagnostic and decontamination equipment. Our preparedness funding has also made a great difference on the ground, with improved biosecurity measures, particularly for endangered species. We've also been conducting national preparedness exercises right across portfolios with states, territories and the industries.

We have been working really hard, in terms of the detection, with the public. I thank the public for this detection. I also want to say that this is the system working. I reiterate to the public that, if you see multiple sick or dead birds or other animals, please do not touch them. Avoid contact, record what you see and go to birdflu.gov.au.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I thank the minister for her update. The coalition stands ready to support the government as it deals with the impact of the confirmed detection of the H5 avian influenza in wild birds in Western Australia. It is a serious development, and I thank the minister for her willingness to contact me over the weekend and for her office's preparedness to provide updates to the coalition on a regular basis.

We need to be very clear that this is a threat for which the Australian biosecurity system has been preparing for many years. While we do need to prepare for the worst, we are hoping for the best. We stand ready as a coalition to support the government, particularly with the potential risk to our poultry sector. Although I emphasise the minister's point that these are wild birds that have been detected with the virus, we do need to do everything we possibly can to ensure that our $8 billion poultry industry and the 60,000 people who work in that supply chain are kept well informed in the coming days and weeks. I thank the minister for her update to the House.