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

I advise the chamber that I have additional information to provide in response to questions I took on notice during question time yesterday, and, as is the custom, I will provide those answers.

In response to the question I took on notice from Senator McGrath, as I advised the chamber yesterday, on the week commencing 11 July, 23,600 passengers arrived from Indonesia by air with 90 per cent of those travellers coming in from Bali.

In answer to the question I took on notice from Senator Birmingham, I advise as follows. On 15 July, as part of the government's $14 million funding package to strengthen Australia's prevention and preparedness for foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease, we announced 18 new biosecurity officers would be employed at our mail centres and airports. The increase in biosecurity officers has been added to an already running biosecurity officer recruitment program, and this program will be finalised by the end of September 2022. Officers will then be trained and deployed to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Cairns and Adelaide. In the meantime, my department is bringing on an additional 65 contractors and 10 team leaders to assist with biosecurity efforts at our international airports and mail centres. New contractors began in both Sydney and Melbourne on Monday.

In answer to the question I took on notice from Senator Roberts, the exact number of doses held in the vaccine bank is considered confidential information in the interest of national security, including to protect against bioterrorism threats. We hold enough vaccine doses, I am advised, to cover at least the first four months of a disease response, which then provides time to order more vaccines should they be required. The vaccine manufacturer prioritises the production of vaccines for countries that are experiencing a disease outbreak, hence the priority being given to Indonesia at the moment.

Finally, in answer to the question I took on notice from Senator Cash, stakeholders were consulted about the government's plan to abolish the ABCC on the following dates since the election. On 17 June this year, a meeting was held with the CFMEU construction division. On 21 June this year, a Zoom meeting was held with the AWU national executive. On 29 June, a meeting was held with the ACTU. On 5 July, a meeting was held of Commonwealth, state and territory ministers with responsibility for workplace relations. On 19 July, a meeting was held of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council at Parliament House. I'm advised that at this meeting, the minister informed stakeholders, 'The building code will be amended to ensure that workers in building and construction are subject to the same rules as those in other industries.'

Council members include representatives from the Housing Industry Association, Ms Melissa Adler; the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Scott Barklamb and Andrew McKellar; the ACTU, Sally McManus, Michele O'Neill, Scott Connolly and Liam O'Brien; the Business Council of Australia, Ben Davies; the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, Gerard Dwyer; the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association, Steve Knott; the National Farmers Federation, Ben Rogers; the United Workers Union, Joanne Schofield; Master Builders Australia, Denita Wawn; and the Australian Industry Group, Stephen Smith.