Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

There has a ready been an incursion of fire blight in this country and that was without any trade in apples from New Zealand or any other country. We managed it then. We have in place pest and disease incursion arrangements to address these very circumstances. These arrange­ments place an obligation on governments, state and federal, when these things occur. But, most importantly, it is about preventing its importation, and that is why we have four conditions on this importation of New Zealand apples to manage the risk of a range of diseases, as we do with every other commodity that comes across our border.

In relation to the issue surrounding streptomycin, can I just add that streptomycin is registered for use in Australian food production but it is not at this stage— (Time expired)