Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the matter of public importance moved by Senator Canavan in relation to beef imports. I take on board everything that Senator Canavan shared with the Senate, and I'll probably touch on a couple of things as well as we go through. But I wish to make this abundantly clear—and I say this as someone who has been on the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee for 20 years and chaired it for 18: the Albanese government, as with every previous government in history, has made a massive effort in the biosecurity area. We've got to get this right. No government is going to do anything that could undermine our biosecurity.

I note that Senator Canavan talked about what happened previously with biosecurity, but let's not forget that we were left with a biosecurity system in an unfunded mess during the last two terms of your government. Let's not forget that. The Liberals and the Nationals did absolutely nothing to make importers pay their fair share for over a decade. While I have no doubt that Senator Canavan's motion will stir up a fair bit of conversation, I'd like to inform and remind those listening, as Senator Canavan said, that we have imported beef from the United States and we've been doing it since 2019—and, yes, we have been doing it with those strict protocols. There is no absolutely no doubt about that. But the same departmental officials that assessed that way back then, when the coalition was in charge of it, are the same ones now. The US beef imports review has undergone a rigorous science and risk based assessment over the past decade. The decision by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was undertaken by the department's independent scientists in the same way as all other technical market access requests.

Australia is a trading nation, with one in four jobs relying on trade, and our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this. Aussie beef has had back-to-back record-breaking export years. Last year they were worth $14 billion. Supported by reinstated and improved market access, exports, including to our largest market in the US and the second-largest in China, have increased 55 per cent since we came to government. As the agriculture minister and other senior members of the government, including the Prime Minister, have continued to say, and as I said earlier, we will not compromise on biosecurity and our enviable biosecurity status is not up for negotiation. Any suggestions from those opposite to the contrary are incorrect—given the severely underfunded biosecurity system we inherited, as I said before.

The US was granted beef access in 2019 and requested expanded access in 2020, well before the current US administration. These conversations started five years ago. Australia has been engaging with them on this matter since then, including, as I'm well informed, by the previous coalition government, to progress the issue.

Under international rules, Australia responds to market access requests from our trading partners in line with our World Trade Organization obligations, just as our trading partners respond to Australia's market access requests. And, while the opposition are certainly stirring up a bit of a scare campaign around biosecurity risks to Australia, I say again—and I don't know how many times I have to say it: Australia does not trade off our strong biosecurity system, science based risk assessments, import policies or biosecurity requirements.

The US beef imports review has undergone a rigorous science and risk based assessment over the past decade. I am ably informed by the minister that we have also engaged with industry and have made sure that they are consulted all the way along. Officials have regularly and extensively engaged key industry stakeholders, such as Cattle Australia, the Australian Meat Industry Council and the Red Meat Advisory Council over many years. In fact, Mr Will Evans, CEO of Cattle Australia, told ABC Radio National recently that the department had undertaken a technical scientific assessment, and, he said, 'We have to put faith in them.' He also said: 'We are a global advocate for rules and science-based trading.' He also said, 'we have to recognise that the science has been used here to make this decision'. Mr Evans also said that the US was an important trading partner and Australia needed to maintain the relationship with them.

Engagement with the industry started in 2017, with an initial review for beef and beef products from Japan and the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United States and Vanuatu. (Time expired)