Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As many people would know, the apple industry is an historic and integral part of Tasmanian industry, particularly in my electorate of Franklin. Tasmania has historically been known as the Apple Isle. Indeed, I have a significant number of apple growers in the south of my electorate, as I said, in the Huon Valley.

In the last week we have obviously seen a decision from the government that we will accept New Zealand apples exported to Australia. I put on record my support for the apple industry in my electorate. I assure the apple growers in my electorate, as I have done publicly in my electorate last week, that we have done everything we can but that we lost the World Trade Organisation appeal; we lost it on the science. We now have to accept that science, which tells us that the risk is minimal. We have introduced significant biosecurity measures over several months of consultation with the industry to ensure that we protect our industry in Australia.

What we cannot afford to do is risk retaliatory action. I know that Tasmania exports $127 million of product to New Zealand every year. We export $39 million of chocolate. We export zinc, paper and newsprint products; just to name a few. We certainly need to protect those industries in our state, and at the same time protect our apple growers.

The other thing that I want to reassure the industry in Tasmania of is that New Zealand exporters have said that at the moment they expect to export only to untapped mainland markets and certainly they will only come to Tasmania if there is a market there for them. I have already sought assurances from Coles and Woolworths. They have said that they cannot see in the foreseeable future that they will be stocking New Zealand apples. They intend to continue to stock Australian product, and certainly I will be supporting campaigns in Tasmania to continue to support the Tasmanian product. As I said earlier, we grow quite a number of apples—significantly the Pink Lady, the Fuji and the Golden Delicious. They are very well liked apples, stocked by our supermarkets and little independent stores in Tasmania. People are indicating to me that we have a great product and that everybody wants to continue to support our product.

As a government, we have looked at the science before us. We have lost our WTO appeal and we are making the only decision we can to protect our other industries, but also to protect our other farmers in Tasmania, the other horticulture and agriculture, from retaliatory action. We are doing what is in the best interests of our community, of the Huon Valley in my local electorate, because we need to ensure that we do not face that retaliatory action. My understanding is that there could be up to 100 per cent tariffs on Tasmanian products into New Zealand, so we need to do all that we can to protect our farmers from both ends. (Time expired)