Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his answer and would be interested to know if that is AQIS’s version of the answer or the minister’s office’s version of the answer. I would also like to know whether the minister agrees with the committee that, given AQIS’s pathetic performance in handling the citrus canker outbreak, the agency would be even less prepared to deal with industrial sabotage or a bioterrorism attack. Hasn’t the government’s failure to properly ensure that AQIS is capable of protecting our borders against exotic pests and disease left Australia vulnerable to bioterrorism?