Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'll take the interjection from across the aisle that we've been too slow. We haven't been too slow. We've actually been doing what industry expects of us and what industry has actually called on us to do, and we now have the strongest biosecurity measures ever in the history of Australia. So well are our measures working that foot-and-mouth has not arrived here. In fact, we picked up a traveller recently, as senators across the aisle would know, who had a dodgy cheeseburger. So well are our measures working that people are saying, 'Yes, we do have products that we should not be bringing into this country.' We've now got new ads on aeroplanes warning travellers to Australia that, should they arrive here with such products, they will receive a hefty fine. Someone who is bringing back a Big Mac or a Happy Meal will cop a $2,600 fine because they brought in some products they should not have brought into this country. Again, Senator Watt should be commended for the work that he has been doing, his department has been doing and our biosecurity officers have been doing to protect our borders and our agriculture industry, because it is so important that we protect our agriculture industry.

I also put on the record that we are now screening every single piece of material—mail, that is—coming from Indonesia and China. That should also be noted in this place. We've also reviewed the import permits of Indonesian products that may carry foot-and-mouth disease. The Australian government is now providing direct support to the Indonesian government to purchase vaccines to control the outbreak over in Indonesia. We also acknowledge that Meat & Livestock Australia deserve additional funding. That is why we are providing the additional funding that it deserve to help coordinate industry's response to the outbreak.

There is advice about our biosecurity responsibilities that I also want to flag in this place today. New biosecurity laws were enacted back in, I think, 2016, yet this is the first time an Australian government is using them. The same powers that the Liberal and National parties had but chose not to use in 2016 are now being used by the Labor government for the very first time. When those opposite had the chance to actually fix the mess that our biosecurity arrangements were in, they did absolutely nothing. That is why I'm so very proud that this Senate, with the support of many in this place, agreed to my motion to have an inquiry into our biosecurity arrangements, and I look forward to working with all senators in this place to actually address our biosecurity arrangements once and for all.