Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. As I was saying: we have ordered vaccines for Australia and we have them in a vaccine bank to ensure that we are properly prepared for a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, should it reach Australia. The former minister's question goes to Indonesian vaccines. Now, I know this might come as a surprise to the opposition, because it's something they never practiced when they were in government, but, when you work with other countries, you need to do it cooperatively. You actually need to develop a partnership relationship as opposed to the kind of relationship your government cultivated with our friends in South-East Asia and the Pacific.

So, when the Prime Minister was in Indonesia—where he was very well received, I might point out—he offered assistance in the form of vaccines to the Indonesian government. At that point in time, they decided to pursue their own interests. We have since, as a result of my visit, offered a million, and they're coming. (Time expired)