Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Our strong biosecurity system enables our agricultural sector, but it protects our way of life in Australia. Australia's biosecurity system protects the $53 billion in agriculture's fishery and forestry exports and 1.6 million Australian jobs across the entire supply chain. So the suite of biosecurity measures that is contained in this budget is just one of the initiatives that we are putting in place to boost the economic recovery and complement the reforms that we are implementing across our entire biosecurity system to make it the most modern, efficient and effective system and to make sure we keep Australia and Australians safe.

Recently, modelling from the University of Melbourne said that the net present value of what we are seeking to protect through our biosecurity systems over the coming years is $314 billion, and that means that this is about a $30 return on investment for every dollar that we invest in biosecurity. It makes absolute common sense.