David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

The federal coalition supports the passage of the Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. This bill contains amendments which will streamline administrative processes in the Australian Animal Health Council (Livestock Industries) Funding Act 1996 and the Plant Health Australia (Plant Industries) Funding Act 2002 by removing redundant provisions, adding provisions that create efficiencies and improve future levy arrangements and increasing consistency between these two acts regarding the spending of emergency response levies. Simply put, it contains measures that will strengthen Australia's biosecurity system and improve efficiencies in how it operates. Importantly, it will cut red tape for Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia. It's worth noting that the provisions outlined in the bill are identical to the legislation that was introduced by the former coalition government in November last year.

This bill before the House will deliver some important improvements to two very important organisations: Animal Health Australia, AHA, and Plant Health Australia, PHA. These organisations go to the heart of a shared approach to biosecurity, with membership including the Australian government, state and territory governments and industry. Biosecurity is everyone's business, and a strong government-industry partnership is crucial to maintaining Australia's already high biosecurity status, protecting its food security and boosting our world-leading agricultural trade. Both the AHA and PHA help us to be prepared and ready to respond to any animal and plant diseases and pests. They also strengthen on-farm and supply-chain biosecurity practices and foster good partnerships. These activities minimise disease and pest impacts, assist trade, safeguard the livelihoods of producers, support industries and communities and preserve Australia's environmental health. The changes outlined in this bill will each contribute to making the AHA and PHA funding acts more efficient, effective and fit for purpose.

Ultimately, the success of our national biosecurity system relies on the efforts of all parties. Therefore it is important that Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia are both able to operate as efficiently as possible. For Animal Health Australia, this bill will amend the AHA act to facilitate the finding of emergency responses other than the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement, such as the proposed Emergency Response Deed for Aquatic Animal Diseases. A power will be added to the AHA act for the Governor-General to make regulations, which is consistent with the PHA act, and redundant provisions in the AHA act that relate to honey will be repealed as honey related levies are no longer paid to Animal Health Australia.

For Plant Health Australia, this bill will broaden the permitted uses for emergency plant pest response levies. This will also allow greater flexibility, meeting their biosecurity needs, while maintaining response funding for these levies. This is also consistent with the use of levies in the AHA act. Levies will be able to be spent on other biosecurity activities once financial obligations to eradication responses have been met.

A power in the PHA act will be added for the security of the department of agriculture to determine that a body is a 'relevant plant industry member' by notifiable instrument, and a redundant provision in the PHA act that provides for the redirection of excess levies to research and development purposes will be repealed. Australia's biosecurity system is a pillar of our national defence, helping us prepare for, mitigate and respond to risks to our environmental economy and way of life.

Australia has enjoyed a reputation for clean, healthy and disease-free agricultural production systems through our natural advantage of geographical isolation. This has also given Australian producers the edge in a very competitive international environment. In 2020 the value of Australia's biosecurity system was estimated to be $314 billion over 50 years. That's why in government the federal coalition made biosecurity a priority, with more than $1 billion available for biosecurity and export programs in 2022-23, which was an increase of $435.8 million, 69 per cent, from the $630 million expended in 2014-15.

In government we increased fines and penalties for people breaking biosecurity laws. We were also partnered with New Zealand to develop world-leading biosecurity risk detection technologies such as 3D X-rays. The coalition government measures in office ensured that Australia remained a world leader in biosecurity, with strong controls in place offshore, at our border and within Australia.

The Joint Interagency Taskforce: exotic animal disease preparedness report, released at the end of September, found that overall the system is strong and well prepared. It is important to keep the system strong and well supported. During the federal election we committed $10 million for a genetics gene bank to futureproof Australian agriculture, and we encourage this government to take this forward. Countries such as the United States, Germany and the Netherlands have established national livestock gene banks.

It's worth recognising that many of these things we have taken for granted, as a constant of Australian life, are at greater risk than ever before. Exotic pests and diseases are spreading around the world and putting unprecedented pressure on our border, especially with a major foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Indonesia and lumpy skin disease and varroa mite. Responding to a rapidly changing environment requires the controls, partnerships, tools, processes and networks to manage current and future threats.

The provisions outlined in the bill represent another step forward in further strengthening Australia's biosecurity system, and the coalition is pleased commend it to the House.

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