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

The $10 million package that I announced at the National Press Club—and again I recognise Senator Wong for her contribution to that announcement—was a combination of measures. Some of it was staff, and I'm happy to take on notice for you the exact number of staff that are working there. It includes vets and other technical assistance as well. That money also involves another allocation of vaccines to Indonesia, which we are in the process of procuring.

I know there are some people on the other side who think that you should be able to snap your fingers and get those vaccines immediately. That's not how it works. There's a worldwide shortage of those vaccines at the moment, but we are actively engaged in procurement negotiations to obtain another round of vaccines, which will be delivered. As I said, that $10 million goes further than just vaccines. It includes things like providing vets, providing diagnostic assistance to make sure that Indonesia has the capability to undertake testing for foot-and-mouth disease, and a range of other support as well.