Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I find it interesting that the member for Throsby's proposition that where states and territories nominate from within their jurisdictions, including New Zealand and those others that I referred to, it is being seen as an appointment by the minister. The jurisdictions, in putting forward membership, select from their systems people with the expertise and knowledge to fulfil the roles required on the board. The minister approves the names that come forward. Minister Ley neither selects them nor interferes with the process that has been established and agreed to. I find it astounding that the member for Throsby thinks that when you have states and territories, the New Zealand government, the Commonwealth and the ministers who represent each of those jurisdictions putting names forward it is interfering with a sovereign process that he refers to in respect of this chamber. That is far from the fact. His amendments disregard each of the jurisdictions who in their own sovereign right have put forward names that they want considered to represent them in all of the deliberations. The protections that he refers to that are diminished by his supposition in fact do not occur. Having been a senior bureaucrat who participated in the FSANZ process out of New South Wales, I know that all of the appointments came at the directions of the relevant agencies and they were respected and considered for both their knowledge and their capacity to contribute to the debates on food security and their brief in respect of the terms that they operate under.

So I challenge the member for Throsby as to what his true purpose is—why is it that he seeks to challenge his Labor colleagues in the states where there are Labor governments and to refute the selection of those they nominate. I think the member for Throsby should give due consideration to the sovereignty of each of the jurisdictions. Again, in their wisdom, they have provided over the years outstanding members to FSANZ and in all of their deliberations I know that they have considered all of the detail required. If they need expertise or expert advice then they seek it from within their jurisdictions and include that advice in all considerations. There is no way that the government will consider what the member for Throsby and those on the other side are proposing, so the amendments that he is putting forward are not supported and are contrary to his own colleagues in the state and territory jurisdictions.

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