Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

These will help us maintain protection from pests and diseases and boost our biosecurity status. We need a strong biosecurity status to build on our premium exports of food and fibre. Without exports, we can't grow agriculture. Without agriculture and food and fibre production and processing, we lose jobs, many of them in rural and regional Australia. There are over 1.6 million people employed in the food and fibre industry across Australia. Maintaining our pest-and-disease-free biosecurity status is essential to those Australians having sustainable and profitable career options in and around regional communities. Tough biosecurity measures underpin our trade efforts, ensuring that we can confidently attract a premium price for our premium product in the markets of the world.