Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday this House heard the L-plate agricultural minister make a dill of himself in his first question time outing. When asked about the emergence of fruit fly in northern Tasmania and the failures of the Tasmanian Liberal government that allowed this biosecurity farce to occur, this is what the young fellow said:

I'm proud to say that the Hodgman Liberal government are also undertaking their responsibilities …

The new minister went on to praise the Tasmanian Liberal government for providing $2 million and a new fund to fight fruit fly. Well, Minister, if the Tasmanian Liberal government had undertaken its responsibilities, it would not have cut $1 million from Biosecurity Tasmania. It would have kept its 2015 promise to ensure that biosecurity guards and dogs met every flight and every cruise ship coming to Tasmania. It would have stopped fruit fly from entering Tasmania in the first place and not had to scramble at the last minute after the horse had bolted.

We are now seeing massive biosecurity gaps in Tasmania that allowed fruit fly to enter Tasmania for the first time ever, putting at risk a $200 million industry and thousands of jobs. Yesterday, as the minister was extolling the virtues of the Tasmanian Liberal government, authorities discovered two more fruit fly in northern Tasmania. That's now 18 flies and larvae discovered within the past month alone. It's not a crisis yet but it's getting there. This government has got to go.