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

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I'd like to comment on the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Indonesia and just how scary that could have been. I want to share my thoughts with the Senate because I've just returned from Indonesia and our committee is going up to Indonesia in a couple of months to talk about the scariness of lumpy skin disease and foot-and-mouth even more.

I'd like to let fellow Senators know that it was in May last year, I think, when the outbreak in Indonesia was first reported. I think the first case came out in about April. Since then, colleagues, I'm pleased to say that, since that first reported outbreak in May 2022, the disease has been detected in 27 of Indonesia's 37 provinces. Well, I'm not pleased to say that; that's quite alarming. But, as of 11 am on 9 February, the Indonesian government has reported a total of no less than 599,822 foot-and-mouth cases in Indonesia alone. So Indonesia is reporting that 11,849,455 doses of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine have been used, and it's great to say that Australia has been a significant contributor to that. I'm glad to hear that infections are predominantly in the western islands of Sumatra and Java. The highest number of infections have been reported in the provinces of East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, West Java and Central Java.

Australia has strong existing requirements in place for foot-and-mouth disease preparedness, and we have been on our toes with this for many, many years because we do know the damage that this could do to our $80 billion beef and meat industry. Since the outbreak in Indonesia, we've strengthened our response at the borders, enhanced our collaboration with states and territories and provided support to Indonesia. The Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee has been investigating this as well, when a reference was put through the chamber here. All members of the committee were very keen to roll our sleeves up, get together and start working on this to see just how vulnerable we could be and ask what things we needed to be absolutely clear on and what issues have to be taken to task to make sure that this dreaded disease does not get into our country. It's no secret here that once it's in we can't stop it. That's before we start talking about feral pig numbers and all sorts of things out there like camels—we have no idea.

The Australian government has recently committed to long-term sustainable funding for biosecurity through new investments worth $134 million, which will bolster Australia's strongest ever response to this terrible threat. Following the first reports of lumpy skin disease and foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia, border control measures were immediately enhanced and all risk pathways were reviewed. I know there was a lot of scaremongering out there. I have to say that it is great to be part of a government that moved quickly. Minister Watt was in very close consultation with the industry. He led the charge. They worked hand in hand. I can't find an agriculture or biosecurity representative body which hasn't had anything but good to say about Minister Watt's magnificent response and about the department and this government working closely to make sure that we do everything we can to mitigate any outbreak in this nation.

After the official confirmation from Indonesian authorities that foot-and-mouth disease had spread to Bali in July last year, the department implemented additional measures to further strengthen the border and protect Australia from foot-and-mouth disease. This is due, as we all know, to the high number of people who travel between Bali and Australia. I think the latest count was some 30,000 a week. It's great to see Bali back open for business and it's great to see Australians pouring into our favourite island. As a Western Aussie, I'm a real Bali tragic. I was so rapt that this year, after a three-year hiatus, I was able to get back to Bali.

If I may digress, it was just fantastic to see the joy on the Balinese people's faces now that tourism has returned to that island, to the island of the Gods. It's not at the point that it's going to save a lot of families. Those who regularly travel to Bali know only too well the terrible impact that the pandemic has had on those beautiful people. Unlike here in Australia, there is no free health care. It sickens me when I hear Australians whinge about our health system and refer to our health system as a Third World health system. They need to get off their backsides and see what's happening just over the other side of the Arafura Sea.

We are back with our Balinese friends again. They are so grateful to see Aussies back again. They are so grateful to have the opportunity—and I was talking to some people the other day—to get their $3-a-day wage. When I see Aussies trying to barter down Balinese for a lousy singlet, it makes me feel even more embarrassed. Anyway, I digressed.

It is so important that we work closely with our Balinese friends and all our Indonesian friends. Biosecurity response zones were established at all first point of entry for vessels and at all international airports that receive direct flights from Indonesia. The response zones enable additional powers to be exercised by biosecurity officers at the border, including the ability to direct arriving travellers to walk over sanitation foot mats. These mats are deployed for all arrivals of aircraft and cruise vessels from Indonesia. Since July 2022 over 800,000 arriving travellers have walked over them. I and my mates walked over them the other night, and it's no big deal. It's something as simple as a saturation mat. It doesn't even get the top of your thongs wet, which is an even bigger plus. These sanitation footbaths are also in use for commercial vessels arriving from Indonesia when crew disembark at Australian ports. I congratulate the minister and his department. They've got that covered brilliantly as well.

Biosecurity officers are boarding all aircraft arriving from Indonesia to make an announcement about the foot-and-mouth disease risk and remind travellers of their obligations to declare any risky goods they are carrying, including soiled footwear, when entering Australia. That's not just a reading point; it's what I actually witnessed when I arrived back in Australia on Friday night. It was great to see.

Intervention at international airports has increased. Those who have had the pleasure of sitting through Senate rural, regional affairs and transport estimates have heard me bleat about this. A lot of us sit there on a Sunday night and watch BorderSecurity. We all sit with our fist in our mouth thinking: 'How the hell do they get away with this? How the hell can people come into this country and not declare stuff?' They hide food in their pockets and they wrap food in their clothes in their suitcases. There are paltry fines. I'm very pleased to say—and this came out of Senate estimates in the last round, and we'll be going into Senate estimates again on Tuesday or Monday—that that's all old footage, thank goodness. Soon Channel 7 will get the new footage out and start showing that you don't get a slap on the wrist when you try to import 17 kilograms of raw pork into this nation, like we've seen on telly. A young Spanish fellow—and I'm not sure which airport it was; it could have been Perth for all I know—tried to sneak stuff into the country a couple of weeks ago. He thought he was clever in not declaring some things he had in his suitcase, including raw pork. He said it was prosciutto, they tell me. I'm happy to say that, not only did he get turned around and sent straight back out, but he copped a $3,300 fine.

I'm happy to say I can't wait to see the new series of Border Security on Channel Seven, because then I don't have to put up with my mates at the golf club calling me everything under the sun for letting these people sneak in with all this food and whatnot. I've even seen buffalo penises dried out for food, I kid you not. So that's a bright note!

But seriously, the threat to this nation and our great meat industry, is very serious. It's not very often that I congratulate governments—I'm well known for that—but we've moved so quickly. Minister Watt, you've done a magnificent job, and it gives me a lift under my wings when I sit with representatives from biosecurity and the agricultural and horticultural industries here in Australia, who sing as one how fantastic it's been to be able to sit down, work with government, get serious and not play stupid, petty politics that you would expect at a university fight club or drink club—or whatever they do at university; I don't know—on a Friday night. Well done, Minister Watt. Well done, Australia. It's great to work together with the industry.

In saying that, as I said before very clearly, we must do whatever we can not only to keep this disease out of Australia but also to support our very dear friends in Indonesia, who I can tell you now really do value the support that comes from Australia.

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I lend my support to most of Senator Sterle's comments, having also been on the inquiry into the biosecurity measures. Hopefully, the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee will be visiting Indonesia at some stage in the first half of this year to follow up on measures in place up there in relation to foot-and-mouth disease.

I would like to make a short contribution on the other side of this inquiry and this information, which was about an incursion of varroa mite, in particular Varroadestructor, into Australia. Varroa mite is the most serious global threat to European honey bees and poses a very serious threat now in Australia. Although we have detected varroa mite previously in European honey bees at ports, we've never had a known outbreak in this country. Sadly, in the last 18 months, that's exactly what has happened. Having sat on a number of Senate rural and regional affairs inquiries into the honey industry in the last decade, they have always been concerned about an outbreak of varroa mite, and it's happened. It's here. We travelled around the country taking evidence on this, and we have never seen a response in this country like the one that's being run through the New South Wales DPI and the federal government in a joint declaration of an emergency to try to contain and ultimately eradicate varroa mite.

I want to say today that we did hear from some witnesses—in Newcastle, for example—who were experienced beekeepers and industry advocates and who said they don't believe it is possible to eradicate varroa mite in this country now that it's here, but the New South Wales department and the federal department are still confident we can eradicate varroa mite. I certainly hope that is the case. We hadn't heard much news, which was good news, until just a few days ago, when new cases were recorded in the red zones around Newcastle. It may be a function of more surveillance and more work being done and, hence, more infestations of these mites being found, or it could be that there are new vectors and that it is spreading. Either way, this battle against this most serious of biosecurity breaches will continue.

The Greens are pleased to have been on this inquiry. We asked that varroa mite be included in the terms of reference for this inquiry. Originally, this inquiry was going to be just on foot-and-mouth disease, and then it was on lumpy skin disease also, and we asked if we could also include varroa mite. I know that there are many people in the bee industry who are still concerned. Whether they offer pollination services or are in the honey part of the industry, they're very concerned about a nationally coordinated program to stop the spread of varroa mite. For example, bees are now allowed to be transported and used across borders, when the eradication or containment lines are still being resourced and we haven't actually managed to eradicate this pest.

So there's more work to do, we must be vigilant and we'll certainly look forward to following up any updates at Senate estimates next week.

Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise in relation to the additional information tabled on behalf of Senator Canavan. I want to take a few minutes to talk about the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee report on Australia's biosecurity preparedness. This report came at an unprecedented time for Australia. As you've heard from the two previous speakers, we have got two major threats on our doorstep, and, as Senator Whish-Wilson indicated, we also now have varroa mite in New South Wales. This is a situation that has never happened in Australia before, and it certainly has tested everyone who has been affected, both in prevention and, as has been discussed, in attempting to eradicate varroa mite.

The biosecurity inquiry that I was privileged to be a member of was really a great opportunity for many, many organisations to contribute submissions and take time to come to hearings. Many of those organisations, particularly in the bee industry, have a volunteer base, with no full-time staff, but they wholeheartedly contributed to the process. Even some larger organisations only had one full-time employee. But, without a shadow of a doubt, the contributions were thoughtful and considered, and everyone involved took the inquiry extremely seriously because, as we all know, biosecurity matters. It matters to the value and quality of our agricultural products, which we rely on for a whole range of things: for the economic windfall that comes from our exports, the livelihoods of people in rural and regional Australia, food security, and our international reputation and standing.

I want to join previous speakers in commending Minister Watt and the Prime Minister, who acted extremely swiftly in this space to do all that our country could do to implement measures to protect our borders from the threat of FMD and lumpy skin disease. I saw firsthand their work ethic, their dedication and the rapid pace they worked at to make our borders safe and to activate the industries that are so vital to Australia. It's worth remembering that, because of this quick action, our country remains free of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease, as our Senate report notes.

It is also, I think, incredibly important to understand the hand that was extended to our neighbours, as Senator Sterle has mentioned, to help them in their fight, because lumpy skin disease in particular but also FMD are such threats to our neighbours' agricultural industries. Not only is it in our interest, because we want to have strong borders, but it is our duty to assist them, which this government has been doing.

I want to give an example of what I saw firsthand when I travelled recently to Tatura, which is in dairy country in Victoria. I had the privilege, on behalf of the minister, to address people on these issues during International Dairy Week. I will say that agriculture is not my strong suit, but I was extremely privileged to speak to a very large room full of farmers, breeders and processors about what we're doing in biosecurity and what the report said. This group takes biosecurity extremely seriously. Under the auspices of their peak body, they have convened a range of education opportunities for their members. They have also put a thoughtful, considered and consultative submission into this inquiry. They talk to their industry and they're currently mobilising their industry to ensure they do everything possible to have the best biosecurity strategy possible in that industry.

Talking about the best biosecurity strategies: Minister Watt released the National Biosecurity Strategy last August, and it is the nation's first such strategy. It charts the next 10 years of Australia's biosecurity policy development and, importantly, it bears the signature of every state and territory agriculture minister. That's what we saw at this inquiry: unity of purpose and absolute determination to bring biosecurity to the forefront in our industries. This strategy recognises that our biosecurity system is larger than the sum of its parts, and that our federation requires Commonwealth leadership and better collaboration between state and territory governments in this area of complex policy. However, the Senate committee report also acknowledges that threats to biosecurity are persistent and that it's impossible to operate in a risk-free environment when it comes to biosecurity. We know we must be prepared for threats to emerge, not just as isolated events but presenting themselves concurrently—as I described with the situation we faced last year. In that light, the Senate inquiry also heard evidence about where we need to do better: better cooperation; we need to reinvest in preparedness and detection capabilities; Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia need to broaden their consultations to include all stakeholder across the supply chain; and, importantly, we need a sustainable biosecurity funding model.

These recommendations did not fall on deaf ears. One of the strategies of the new Labor government is to approach our nation's policy challenges with an eye to the long term. For industries which face such significant biosecurity threats, this means committing to sustainable funding which will guarantee the ongoing protection of our agriculture sector. Finding a funding model that works and is sustainable is something the government takes seriously and is committed to. That's why the centrepiece of our agriculture budget was an investment of $134.1 million to bolster Australia's biosecurity system, including livestock traceability, frontline preparedness, and measures like detector-dog handlers and funding for Animal Health Australia. This is a substantial down payment on the election commitment to fund biosecurity properly and sustainably in Australia.

We will all reap the benefits of a strong biosecurity system, and that system is only as strong as its weakest link—or its most confused state border: New South Wales bees fly over the border, not realising that there is one, unfortunately! Taken together, the Senate biosecurity inquiry report and the National Biosecurity Strategy set out a strong manifesto for how the new Australian government intends to operate in the space of biosecurity and agriculture. The 29 recommendations made in the Senate biosecurity inquiry report, which I personally support, are currently being considered by the government, and the six priority areas to achieve greater cooperation and preparedness laid out in the national strategy echo the tone of these recommendations.

Good policy is the result of listening. To that end, the government will be consultative, partnering with industry, the community and state and territory governments to make sure the harmful impact of threats are closely monitored, and to make sure we can develop a sustainable and forward-looking biosecurity policy for the agricultural sector. I'm a new senator, and agriculture and biosecurity are not my strong suit, but I valued the immense opportunity to learn firsthand from the experts who we saw and the industry people who live with this threat on a daily basis. It was a privilege. It caused me to think about issues that I know nothing about, but I also saw firsthand the vital industries that are the backbone of Australia.

Biosecurity is everybody's issue. It's important that people read this report and also talk to those people in the industry. I know that Minister Watt will continue to do that. I look forward to having the opportunity again to work with great colleagues on this RRAT committee. It was entertaining, interesting and incredibly important. I thank the Senate. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.