Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, before I ask the question I am going to ask I will give you a little bit of background information so that you will understand why I have serious concerns about this particular issue. As the first elected conservative in the state seat of Burrinjuck in the New South Wales parliament, in the late 1980s, I raised the very serious issue of the importation of apples and pears from New Zealand and the inherent risk that that would place on Australia’s disease-free status, particularly in relation to fire blight. I raised the issue again in this place, in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004, and those issues are all on the record in Hansard.

Given the recent press release by Biosecurity about their recommendations to introduce apples from Japan into this country and the inherent risks associated with that particular cause, can the minister give the apple and pear industry in this country some assurance that he is not going to be influenced by the recommendations of Biosecurity, who have as a matter of record in the past demonstrated their lack of scientific investigation into the actual problems associated with the introduction of apples and pears into this country, in particular from New Zealand? Can the minister also give a guarantee to this parliament, the Australian people and in particular the apple and pear industry that he will not take too lightly the serious ramifications of any recommendation by Biosecurity Australia to compromise the very safe biosecurity regimes that have operated in this country and have prevented disease from apples and pears from other countries coming into this country? I say this in the interests of the very real concerns from apple and pear growers across the country who are, once again, being placed in a situation where, with their limited resources, they have to fight a federal department whose track record has demonstrated time and time again that they are is not interested in the safety of Australia’s disease-free status but are more focused on the easy option of agreeing to pressure from organisations outside of this country in the interests of so-called free trade.

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