Mr O'Dowd:

I rise to support the member for Riverina's motion regarding foot-and-mouth disease, a disease that has been spreading throughout Indonesia, including the holiday destination of Bali. Roughly half of Australia's cattle population lives in Queensland, and roughly one-third of that lives in Central Queensland, which includes my electorate of Flynn. Many graziers have contacted me concerned about what a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak would mean to their businesses and, more significantly, to Australia in general. If foot-and-mouth disease reaches Australian shores, it will devastate the agricultural industry and associated industries and cost the Australian economy tens of billions of dollars.

In 2001, in the United Kingdom, foot-and-mouth disease forced the destruction of more than six million pigs, cows and sheep at an estimated cost of eight billion pounds. Australia's agricultural industry is worth much more than the United Kingdom's, with our beef industry being worth more than $20 billion alone. A new report commissioned by Regional Development Australia Central and Western Queensland has predicted catastrophic economic consequences if an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease were to occur. This disease would inflict a $1.1 billion hit to the Central Queensland and western Queensland economies and cause almost 34,000 job losses. The RDA report shows that western Queensland and the banana regions account for more of Australia's cattle herd than any other regions and would suffer gross regional product losses of 37.3 per cent and 10.1 per cent, respectively.

It is clear that the Labor government simply does not get it. In the short time coming to office, Labor has a biosecurity crisis on its hands. The Labor government's response to FMD has been marred by indecision, uncertainty and embarrassing backflips. Since the FMD outbreak in Bali, the federal government has been slow to react. Labor's approach to an $80 billion risk to the Australian economy is dangerously indecisive at a time when Australian farmers are crying out for tough measures. A prime example is that Labor took over four weeks to put foot mats at airports, allowing tens of thousands of people to waltz through our borders from Indonesia despite our calls.

The Labor state Minister for Agriculture in Western Australia has been saying that an outbreak of FMD in Australia would result in cheaper meat and milk. These comments from a state Labor minister about a disease that threatens tens of thousands of livelihoods are appalling and offensive. Agriculture ministers have a serious job. They are meant to understand the industry and then support and promote it. This minister has shown that she is incapable of this. It demonstrates yet again that the Labor Party does not understand the needs and concerns of the agricultural sector.

Our agricultural industry needs to be protected against biosecurity threats such as foot-and-mouth disease, and this requires leadership. On 22 July New Zealand introduced a ban on travellers from Indonesia bringing in animal and meat products. If this measure was good enough for New Zealand, why not Australia? Every single arrival from Indonesia needs to be screened. This does not matter whether arrivals have visited cities or rural areas in Indonesia. The foot-and-mouth disease threat is too great.

Since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, the coalition has been calling for this Labor government to immediately offer 3D X-ray technology to Indonesia to help combat the threat of the disease at their airports. This state-of-the-art technology works, and the Labor government must urgently move to establish a similar screening program with Indonesia. Labor must act swiftly and work constructively with Indonesia to get this technology operating for incoming luggage. If we are to have the technology, why not use it? Offering 3D X-ray technology to Indonesian airports, and banning travellers from carrying food products from Indonesia, are all necessary, particularly when the federal government's one million vaccines for Indonesia have only just arrived, a shameful seven weeks after they were promised.

We need to explore the possibility of temporarily suspending all but essential travel to Indonesia, including Bali. The same protocol was implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19. Industry groups are calling for border closures because they are not convinced the Labor government has a plan to adequately manage this major issue. To restore public confidence in the management of this, the Labor government must explain why border closures will not be considered and why existing measures are adequate.

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