Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum to this bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

We know all too well the threats of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease in Indonesia. In response to these threats the Albanese government has implemented the strongest ever response to a biosecurity threat in our nation's history.

While the system has performed well to date, we cannot afford to be complacent.

These biosecurity threats are increasing due to a rise in the volume and complexity of trade, the effects of climate change and the ever-increasing worldwide spread of pests and disease.

Australia's biosecurity system must be able to adapt and respond to these evolving risks. It must be fit to meet the challenges of the next decade, and this bill will help make that happen.

The measures in this bill will help strengthen Australia's biosecurity system, helping to protect our $70.3 billion agricultural export industries, protect 1.6 million jobs across the agricultural supply chain, and protect our way of life.

Biosecurity risks can present in many ways at our seaports, mail centres, airports and northern coastline.

In the case of foot-and-mouth disease, risks can even include the clothing and footwear of travellers.

Early identification and assessment of such risks remains fundamental to a responsive and effective biosecurity system.

This bill will provide new mechanisms for assessing risk and determining interventions for travellers entering Australia.

This may include requirements for people to provide information about whether they have been in a high biosecurity risk location.

This would allow for triaging and better-informed decisions about targeted assessment for the treatment of goods to manage and contain any potential risk.

It will also provide a mechanism for implementing certain preventative biosecurity measures where biosecurity officers assess diseases or pests pose an unacceptable risk.

This bill shows the government is serious.

People who jeopardise Australia's biosecurity system by failing to comply with these requirements will face civil penalties of up to 120 penalty points, or, currently, $26,640.

And in a new measure, those who attempt to evade biosecurity controls, for example those who deliberately conceal goods when travelling through our airports, will face even stiffer penalties including an infringement of up to $4,440. That is the largest infringement ever for a biosecurity threat and ensures the penalty fits the seriousness of the crime.

These measures will provide a vital tool in managing the current risk posed by outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in our neighbouring regions.

These tools will be able to be adapted to target and respond to future threats which could potentially include lumpy skin disease, African swine fever or Xylella.

The bill will implement important lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will expand pre-arrival reporting requirements, to ensure our biosecurity officers have accurate and up-to-date information available to assess the biosecurity risk associated with the arrival of vessels and aircraft.

Operators and persons in charge of these aircraft and vessels who do not comply with these requirements will be subject to tougher sanctions.

Biosecurity is everyone's responsibility, and everybody needs to do the right thing. If they don't, the Australian public would rightfully expect that the punishment would fit the crime.

This bill will step up a range of civil and criminal penalties under the Biosecurity Act.

These penalties must remain an effective deterrent against noncompliance and enable a proportionate response to contraventions.

These stronger penalties, in some cases up to $222,000 for an individual or $1.1 million for corporate bodies, better reflect the seriousness of any contraventions.

And compared with the current penalty regime, they better reflect the consequences that noncompliance may have on Australia's biosecurity status, market access and economy. If we wish to keep Australia free from pests and diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, the Biosecurity Act must remain fit for purpose and futureproofed.

This bill will help achieve this by improving the operation of the information and confidentiality provisions.

It will also provide specific authorisations for the use and disclosure of relevant information, while ensuring that sensitive information is afforded appropriate protection.

This bill will increase the transparency and effectiveness of administrative processes in the Biosecurity Act such as those involved in conducting a risk assessment for the purposes of making determinations or granting an import permit.

It will also introduce a framework under the Biosecurity Act to provide legislative authority to the agriculture and health ministers, enabling the ability to make, vary and administer arrangements or grants for expenditure relating to biosecurity related programs—which are key in facilitating a strong biosecurity system.

Another important aspect of the biosecurity framework involves the work of biosecurity industry participants, who are authorised to carry out certain activities under approved arrangements to manage biosecurity risks associated with specific goods, premises, or other things.

This bill would streamline and improve the operation of a number of provisions relating to approved arrangements and compensation under the Biosecurity Act, reducing administrative costs while strengthening audit powers.

Our work in strengthening Australia's biosecurity system does not end with this bill.

This is the first stage of amendments the government will make to ensure our regulatory framework remains fit for purpose and ready to take on future biosecurity challenges.

Having a strong and efficient biosecurity system is more important than ever as we respond to foot-and-mouth disease and other emerging diseases on our doorstep.

The Albanese government will not rest while these biosecurity threats are there.

We owe it to our farmers.

We owe it to those who work in the food supply chain.

And we owe it to all Australians to protect our food security.

I commend the bill to the House.

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