Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I reject that assertion. We are investing significant amounts of money in biosecurity. I think we can agree that biosecurity is one of the most important things. We must protect in this nation to maintain our image as a clean, green supplier of food and agricultural products. That is why we committed an additional $200 million to build a modern biosecurity system, as set out in the Agricultural competitiveness white paper. It is also true that the total expenditure for biosecurity this financial year is $752.7 million. That is an increase of $149.3 million, or 25 per cent, since the coalition government came into power.

We are taking these issues very seriously and will continue to work with state and territory governments to keep our borders safe from pests and disease and to keep our image strong as a country that delivers clean, green and safe agricultural products to the world.