Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I am very conscious of the time and so will limit my remarks. I welcome the tabling of this interim report of the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport on the matter of importing beef products from countries that are BSE affected. When I moved for this inquiry last year, I did so because I was fully aware that the community had no idea what was going on and that it was being done in secret. I thought it was absolutely critical that it be brought to the attention of everybody—that is, all the stakeholders and the community—and that has now happened. That the government has changed its mind is an extremely welcome outcome. As I have said many times in this house, it is the mature thing to do when you are wrong to change your mind. I am glad the government has done that and I am glad an IRA process will be undertaken, as should have occurred in the first place. Having said that, that goes for traceability as well.

Food labelling is something I have been passionate about for a very long time, and we have a lot further to go in labelling our food products in all sorts of ways. It is important that consumers can make informed judgments, particularly since the laws are so lax at the moment. As we know, if 50 per cent of the production costs are incurred in Australia then a product can be labelled as a product of Australia when in fact half of it can have been brought in from overseas. That has raised concerns in Tasmania, where packets of frozen vegetables have a beautiful photo of Tasmania on the front and the overwhelming majority of vegetables in the packet have been frozen and imported from China. The consumer deserves to know much more about what they are purchasing. As a result of this inquiry, that will be the case for imported beef products.

It is essential that that the community has confidence in the food it is eating. The community needs to ask the question: why would you go from the situation of having an absolute guarantee that your public health is not going to be compromised to one where you are taking a negligible risk? That is what this does. It moves from zero risk to negligible risk. I understand the trade ramifications but, nevertheless, that is what we are doing and the community deserves an opportunity to comment on that.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the committee secretariat and the fellow members of this committee, the rural and regional committee. The reason I wanted to particularly thank the secretariat is that they bend over backwards to make sure that the committee members have as much information as is possibly available, and also to include all committee members in trying to come to a consensus report and to consider it in an appropriate way. I know that they are overloaded, as indeed most of the secretariats of the committees in this building are, but, nevertheless, I wanted to particularly commend them for the work they do. I also want to commend the way that the committee works. Having been through an appalling process with the Economics Legislation Committee, it has made me realise just what a good culture exists in the rural and regional committee. People genuinely try to come to a consensus and, if they cannot, there is respect for the fact that there are dissenting views. They are expressed and at least there is a fair process. I want to commend the chairs of both the rural and regional references and the rural and regional legislation committees for creating a culture where that is possible and where people feel like their contribution is valued. I think that is important.

Question agreed to.