Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the leader of the National Party for his question. I congratulate him on his election to high office. It must be difficult to follow the member for New England in your position, but I wish you well. I was aware of FMD, and I'm accountable for what happens in this place, of course. I was made aware by a tweet on 9 May 2022, and that tweet said:

This morning Chief Veterinary Officer Mark Schipp briefed me about Foot and Mouth Disease and its presence in Indonesia.

There it was, 9 May 2022. You would've expected the person who got that information to have acted, not to be in a position to then, subsequently to what happens down the track, look back and say, 'People didn't act earlier.' I heard that yesterday. I heard him say, 'People didn't act earlier.' But the tweet was in fact from David Littleproud MP, so on 9 May he was alert to the issue.

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