Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

The government appreciates the intent of this motion but we cannot support it. We recognise that the sponsors of this motion are very concerned about country-of-origin labelling. As the government we recognise that consumers want to know the origin of their food and the government has made considerable progress on country-of-origin labelling. We also note that the senators concerned work on the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee inquiry into seafood labelling and acknowledge the hard work of that committee in the inquiry process.

The government is currently considering its response to the recommendations from the inquiry into the current requirements of the labelling of seafood and seafood products. We are continuing to consult with the industry on this issue. The government is precluded from acting unilaterally to introduce a compulsory regime. As stated previously in the chamber, the Commonwealth has limited legislative power in the area of food regulation and although standards may be developed by FSANZ, their development enforcement is undertaken in collaboration between and are reliant upon state and territory legislation in Australia and New Zealand.