Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present a report of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee relating to the committee's inquiries concerning the importation of seafood and seafood products. I move:

That the Senate adopt the recommendations contained in the report, as circulated to senators.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

When I first came into this chamber, nearly 12 years ago, one of my first inquiries when I was put onto the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee was an inquiry into the importation of citrus canker. My first thought was, 'My goodness me; I hope I don't catch that!' It was not funny, let me tell you. It ended up wiping out the citrus industry in Emerald in Queensland. What had happened was that, through very mischievous devices and deviousness, someone had imported some citrus—I think it might have been some stems or some buds—hidden in tea. To cut a long story short, there was a biosecurity outbreak, and it went mad through Queensland. Every citrus tree in the Emerald growing area—orange, lemon or lime—had to be destroyed.

We have now, unfortunately, found that a massive biosecurity clusterstuff has happened here in Australia in the seafood industry. I am not sending out a scare campaign, because those poor devils that are affected already know. I want to mention some statistics for the Senate. They go to the value of crustaceans—prawns, crabs, marron, gilgie, rock lobster, which we call red crayfish, and all crustaceans. This is the value to Australia of wild caught crustacean species at the last count, in 2014-15: rock lobster, a $668 million industry; prawns, $272 million; other, which includes crabs and other crustaceans, $61 million. That is a total of $1.001 billion to Australia. Then we add the value to Australia of farmed crustacean species, through aquaculture. Once again, the latest figures are for 2014-15. The value of prawns is $86 million; other, $4 million. A total of $90 million. For both wild and farmed that is a total of nearly $1.2 billion worth of exports and local market production. Unfortunately, an outbreak of a disease in prawns, called white spot, was discovered in the Logan River in Queensland, in the aquaculture area. After a series of tests the industry has been shut down. The farm ponds have been drained. You have to understand that the aquaculture facilities, as well as producing prawns for the domestic and export markets, breed the little ones that are sent off to other parts of Australia.

On Thursday I was in Queensland. While I was there, unfortunately, it came out that the white spot outbreak is now in Moreton Bay. We, Senator O'Sullivan and I in particular, have gone through this intensely in Senate estimates. This is a massive, massive stuff up that has occurred for a number of reasons. One reason is that absolutely devious importers of seafood have been bringing in prawns from countries where prawns are affected by white spot. Part of the biosecurity of this nation and the IRA is an inspection regime that is carried out by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. The inspectors have certain guidelines, under which they have to go in and take a certain number of samples from the containers. These prawns normally come in in container loads of between 17,000 and 24,000 tonnes at a time. You can imagine how many thousands and thousands of prawns come in. The inspectors are supposed to go in there and determine which boxes will be opened, which pallets will be pulled out, which pallets they will go to—hopefully in the middle of the container and at the back of the container. But what has happened, it came out in Senate estimates, is that some inspectors have not bothered to go out into the freezer facility. They have not bothered to go out there and make sure that when the container is cut there is still the security band—the tin thing; the name for it has just escaped me. What they have done is wait in board rooms or in the waiting room while the importer has brought out a sample of prawns. I know this sounds hard to believe for all of us in this chamber. The importers have said, 'Here you are, mate. Here are the prawns that we've brought in from Vietnam, from Thailand, from somewhere else in South-East Asia, from China or from South America,'—whatever it is—'Test them.' Of course none of the tests came back positive. They all came back negative—no white spot.

So how the heck did we suddenly have to close down the aquaculture prawn industry in South-East Queensland because there has been an outbreak of white spot? Are we seriously stupid enough to believe the nonsense that the department was running as a defence in Senate estimates: 'It's only a little bit. We're testing it. We'll just make sure that, ooh, look, hopefully it's not got out.'? As if the prawns in the Logan River stopped when they got to the edge of the river mouth and thought, 'Hang on, gang. We'd better not go any further so we don't infect our brothers and sisters in the wild catch area.' This is ridiculous.

I have read these figures to you. Any sensible Australian would sit back and say, 'Someone's head has to roll.' Rolling a head or two, whether they be of the crooked importers—and we will chase them; we will be going around this nation finding out how the hell this happened—or departmental officials who did not do their job properly, we can kick their backsides all the way across the Nullarbor. At the end of the day, thousands of Australians are going to be affected by this. I will roll off some employment figures, before I get to the poor devils who invested everything they have to get these businesses up and running, whether they be in aquaculture or whether they be in wild catch where they are investing in boats. We know through other seafood inquiries that it is not cheap to get into this industry. It is estimated that 13,813 people are employed in the Australian commercial fishing and aquaculture industry, based on 2011 census data.

I hope and pray that those prawns got to Moreton Bay, chucked the skids on and did not head north. You are joking if you think that this has not gone further. God help us if this has gone right into our wild catch along the Queensland coast. I am not a Queenslander. I am not from the Gulf of Carpentaria or the Top End. But I know very well how important the seafood industry, not only prawns but the rock lobster fishery, is to Western Australia. We have one of the best rock lobster fisheries. This white spot outbreak is very serious. The sad part is that if it destroys the crustaceans it will destroy our export markets, it will destroy our domestic markets and it could possibly destroy the livelihoods of thousands of Australians even before we get to the business people.

On that, Senator O'Sullivan and I will travel the nation along with the other diligent, hardworking members of the committee. This is not a goose chase; this is a very serious inquiry.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A prawn chase!

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a spot chase. To cut a long story short I should ignore that interjection, because you got me on the hop there, Senator Carr. It was a good one. I am absolutely alarmed that this has happened in this day and age. Unfortunately, we will come back here. I cannot see any good coming out of this. I do not know what the hell it is that these importers—I tell you we will find out who you are and we will report you to the relevant authorities. They cannot be allowed to walk away from this scot-free. I would expect every Australian to be absolutely disgusted that some so-and-sos thought they were so clever that they could import prawns, evade all our biosecurity and do this damage to our aquaculture and wild catch industries, not to mention show such scant regard for Australia's biosecurity.

I have to leave on this: it absolutely alarms me that officials can sit in Senate estimates and tell senators who are asking how the hell this happened something along the lines of: 'We've had a little bit of a hiccup. Our inspectors didn't quite have the skills they needed,'—I am not making this up; you have to believe this—'but we've spoken to them and we've corrected it. They'll be right.' I cannot give you the exact lines, because I left them up on my desk. It will not be right. I know the carry on and the damage that happened with canker, but we were able to contain that. How the hell we can contain this outbreak in our oceans has me absolutely perplexed. Anyway, we will certainly do our job, the rural, regional affairs and transport committee. It will be done on a diligent expedition around Australia, and I am not looking forward to the final report that we may have to present to the Senate. To the bureaucracy down there in Canberra: if you think you're going to get out of this one—gee whiz—you'll be better than Houdini!

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.