Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I seek to associate Labor with the last 45 seconds of the Prime Minister's answer with reference to the strawberry situation. Labor hasn't been fully briefed on the complete detail, but I can assure Australians that we will work with the government in supporting farmers and deterring and stopping these despicable acts. The broader message to the Australian community's also important. Strawberry growers in Queensland have already been hard hit. And in Victoria, in the Yarra Valley—the Speaker's area and others—we're coming into the season for strawberries from the beginning of October. I want to quote and echo the comments of the president of Strawberries Australia, John Calle, a grower in the Yarra Valley. He said: 'Strawberries are so easy to eat. Just cut them up before eating. We want to say to Australians that a few isolated cases is no reason to stop buying strawberries. Keep having them with your breakfast. Keep supporting our growers. Just cut the berries up; don't cut the farmers out.'

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