Gavan O'Connor (Corio, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will make some concluding comments. I hope the minister takes the amendments that are proposed in the spirit in which they are being proposed. I am certainly not paranoid about this matter. I do this in the context of the fact that in 2004 the government was warned of the potential devastation that this disease, if it entered the country, could have on the Australian equine industry. Of course, the matters relating to how governments and ministers responded to the industry’s concerns in 2004 will not be covered, as I understand it, by this inquiry. That is an overall political concern that we on the opposition side would have because, at the end of the day, governments and ministers—whether it is the current minister or previous ministers—must be responsible on the floor of the House for the portfolios that they administer.

This a very critical area in Australian agriculture and the Australian equine industry. This particular disease has already devastated the industry in two states and has the potential to wreak economic havoc in my and the minister’s state of Victoria. I put on the public record that warnings about the virulence of this disease and its potential impact on the Australian industry were around, as far as the industry was concerned, in 2004 and that those matters and how the government responded to them at the time will not be the subject of this inquiry. That is the simple point I am making.

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