Patrick Secker (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

They might say that they are verified, but I can say to you that I have been to countries in South America and my parents have been to properties in South America and some of them really do not take much notice of the vendor declaration.

The alternative method is accepted for the Livestock Production Assurance—not the same but, yes, with equivalent method. You cannot follow through the system when you are accepting a much lower standard of livestock identification. Indeed, one of the things that many of the farmers of Australia, including myself, would like to have assurance about is that important markets such as Japan or Korea will not close their markets to us as a result of that decision. If the minister could assure us of that, then there would certainly be a lot more happiness out there in the electorate when it comes to this decision.

The consultation that has been done with the beef industry has been conducted without proper care, which will have adverse implications for this industry. This so-called consultation was done under a commitment of secrecy, and the minister knows this. What was he trying to hide? It is outrageous that under this government Australian beef producers will have to produce beef to a higher standard than imported beef from countries which have had a BSE outbreak. I think that is outrageous. Our industry legally requires an NLIS to sell beef to our Australian consumers, and it is ridiculous to suggest that we should lower the bar and allow beef in from countries which have lower safety and quarantine standards than those of our own producers. Under World Trade Organisation rules, we are entitled to demand the same criteria for importers as we do for our own producers. The Australian National Livestock Identification Scheme is an integral part of our food safety system, and it also ensures that we can trace an animal back to the property it came from in the event of a disease outbreak such as BSE.

On 5 February this year, the US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, announced that the US has abandoned plans for a national animal identification scheme and instead will rely on 50 different state-based schemes, which are clearly not equivalent to Australia’s world-class NLIS. The shadow minister for agriculture, food security, fisheries and forestry, John Cobb, was recently in Brazil and the United States, talking to agricultural officials, beef processors and producers, who all said they were aware of Australia’s NLIS and that they were jealous of our NLIS as a food safety, quarantine and marketing tool. However, due to domestic politics a similar system would not be introduced in either country anytime soon.

The coalition has instigated a Senate inquiry into the importation of beef from countries that have had a BSE outbreak. The Senate inquiry has uncovered a number of disturbing issues and the coalition will also be introducing a private member’s bill into both chambers of parliament to protect Australians and our beef industry from this lapse.

The Rudd government should release the import protocols before the ban is lifted on 1 March this year. Our beef industry is worth billions of dollars, it supports hundreds of towns and communities and, as the minister said, it is very important to this country. Thousands of jobs would be destroyed if there were a BSE outbreak in Australia. I accept, Minister Crean, that the risk is low. I do not think any minister would be crazy enough to allow more than a negligible risk, but I am not sure that the minister can claim 100 per cent safety. That was an extraordinary claim yesterday, Minister. It was a bold and courageous statement. I hope the minister is right and we do not live to regret it.

The nation’s clean, green, disease-free status is invaluable and quarantine is too important be ignored. The minister’s refusal to demand an import risk analysis and update the import protocols for all countries which are currently banned from importing beef into Australia because they have had BSE outbreaks is a disgrace and he should change his mind.

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