Tuesday, 28 November 2023

Bills

Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Ros Spence:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Emma KEALY (Lowan) (14:57): I rise today to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023 – otherwise known as the BLAIR bill, quite conveniently. It is something that has been in the pipeline for some period of time, and there has been wide consultation with the community. We have seen that through Engage Victoria over a period going back to August 2022, and we have got the final legislation before us today. But of course some of the amendments in there started a long time ago, particularly when animal activism was escalating around 2017. It certainly impacted on my electorate in 2018. What was highlighted through a number of incidents across the state was that the laws and the penalties, particularly in relation to trespass onto a property by animal activists, simply were not enough of a deterrent. As a result of a number of initiatives that the Nationals led the debate on, we have been pushing very, very hard to see increased penalties. This includes the inquiry back in 2019 around animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture where there was a minority report put forward, with Melina Bath doing an enormous amount of work on that committee, and I will go into greater detail on that later in my contribution.

There have been two private members bills that the Nationals have put forward. My colleague in this place the member for Murray Plains and my colleague in the other place Ms Melina Bath have both raised private members bills. It is some solace that increased penalties will be put in place through this legislation. However, there has been an enormous amount of grief in the interim and an enormous amount of pressure put on agricultural families in particular and those who live on farm next to their duck sheds, next to their shops, with their stock in neighbouring paddocks where they have been under threat by animal activists, unfairly, and where there have been biosecurity breaches and threats put upon them and harm to their animals and livestock in a way that actually has caused more stress and duress not just to the owners, the farmers and the workers there but also to the animals, ironically; they are the ones who really have suffered from a lot of the stress on property.

I would like to acknowledge, Acting Speaker Farnham, that this is the first time I have made a contribution in this place with you in the chair. I welcome seeing you as Acting Speaker, in that role, and I know that you will be a very fair Chair and a fair Acting Speaker of the house, and I congratulate you on putting your hand up for that role.

I would like to go into some of the details of the purpose of the BLAIR legislation before us today. The main purposes of the bill are to facilitate additional information sharing with the Commonwealth and other jurisdictions; improve control area and restricted area provisions by broadening their applicability and streamlining public notification procedures; improve clarity and efficiency of emergency management provisions, including simplified quarantine provisions; amend compensation payment procedures in relation to exotic animal diseases, including eligibility criteria and valuation processes, to facilitate administrative efficiency; improve enforcement capability by providing for Victoria Police officers to be appointed as inspectors without requiring the declaration of an exotic animal disease outbreak; strengthen the inspector powers by allowing inspectors to direct people and vehicles during an exotic animal disease outbreak and broadening the applicability of existing provisions; strengthen traceability requirements to improve compliance and enforcement and mitigate exotic animal disease risks; improve compliance processes by broadening permit provisions in relation to the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010; improve enforcement capability by providing for Victoria Police officers to be appointed as inspectors under the Livestock Management Act 2010; and achieve greater deterrence by increasing penalties for offences under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010 and the Livestock Management Act 2010.

As we know in Victoria, I think perhaps there is increased awareness and understanding of the presence of exotic animal diseases that could have a catastrophic impact on our Australian livestock industry in particular, but also we have seen it for our bees with varroa mite, we have seen it with other weeds and pests, because we hear more about it and are more informed about what is happening overseas. We also understand the risk of what would happen if we did not manage the threat of an animal disease coming into our country, which could absolutely devastate our agricultural economy.

We saw the impact of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK some decades ago, which was catastrophic, not just for the farmers that were impacted – those who had to destroy their stock or manage their stock through that time – but people were cut off from their friends and family for a long period of time. I actually met with somebody earlier in the year who went through FMD in the UK, and it was very emotional to hear from him what the impact was in his community, of the loss of jobs and the loss of stock which they had taken decades to go through a breeding program to develop – their stock, their cattle. When you talk about, as I said, the emotional impact and the mental impact of having your property and your home in lockdown – we know how hard it was during the COVID lockdowns in Victoria – essentially this was something that was faced over the foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in the UK over that period of time.

It is something that we know we need to do very, very well. We need to protect the Victorian agricultural industry and livestock industry – the primary production industries – as much as we possibly can because the implications are far too great, not just for our farmers but also for our international reputation of having a safe product for export to the world. Of course we are very fortunate in Australia, and in Victoria in particular and, I would like to think, in my electorate in particular, which is the largest electorate in the state; the reason for that is we have a hell of a lot of farming land with not many people spread out amongst the paddocks in the area. We also have beautiful national parks, which helps, but we are very much in the agricultural sector. We all know – we talk about it regularly – how important it is that we keep pests and disease outside of Victoria and outside of Australia wherever we possibly can. The only way that we can do that is by making sure that we have efficient deterrents in place and proper inspection opportunities to make sure that we can manage our risks appropriately, that we can make sure we have got strong borders at a federal level but also at a state level so that we have everything in place to make sure that if the risk does arrive, we can get going immediately and take action to minimise the impact to a particular area of the country or of the state.

We have seen recently – I mentioned it earlier in my opening remarks – that varroa mites have entered the shores of Australia. The varroa mite of course is a mite. It is a parasite which lives on bees, and it is absolutely devastating for the honey bee industry but also for the pollinating industry. It is very important; we quite often hear about how important our bees are. This is a massive risk to our bee population. While I think all of our apiarists were aware of the threat in New South Wales and they were doing what they should have been doing, there was still some misinformation or lack of information and lack of effective responsiveness when there was a varroa mite outbreak identified very close to the New South Wales–Victoria border. In fact it was right on the New South Wales–Victoria border, on the river in the Euston–Robinvale area.

It was disappointing, and it is something that I made statements about at the time and met with the former Minister for Agriculture about. We really needed to have a responsive public system – a department of agriculture that could make sure we could get information to the apiarists, to the people who were managing the hives, so they could understand what they had to do and what they could not do and of course manage their bee populations during the end of a pollinating season to make sure that when the bees could not access any food, their increasing aggression would not actually cause further harm to individuals in the community. It was disappointing that it took over a week, I think it was, before there was a formal level of information provided to beekeepers in that area along the river who were directly impacted by the varroa mite outbreak. I understand that this is sometimes because we have a federation of states working together and we have that federal overlay as well of working towards a national plan, but it does reveal that there are vast opportunities for us to strengthen the way that we respond to these types of pests or diseases – in this instance a parasite – that can be absolutely devastating for our agricultural sector.

While I respect the information that was provided by the secretariat of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee last week, we heard about the 5000 additional staff that would be very quickly required to effectively manage an outbreak of disease, whether it be foot-and-mouth or lumpy skin disease, and avian flu was spoken about earlier in the year. There are many, many different viruses and bacterial diseases and parasites that could cause harm to our communities. While I understand that it is great that there is a plan and that we will need 5000 individuals, 5000 additional staff, to be able to implement those measures and provide that effective response on the ground, I do fear having brand new employees – and I assume they would be seconded from the public sector – with no understanding of agriculture, no understanding of what the implementation plan is and no understanding of what the risks are if it is not managed appropriately. Even just commanding and controlling a new staffing group of 5000 individuals sounds like an enormous task to be able to manage in an effective way.

As I said, while it is good there is a plan, I just question if this plan is achievable, and if we do not get it right, we must also understand what the outcome would be, because it would be massive. It could be catastrophic for our agriculture sector. It would not just be catastrophic for a very, very short window of time; it would be catastrophic for at least a decade, if not multiple decades, on the reputation of Victorian product internationally. It is also about redeveloping that livestock, particularly if it is around breeding livestock and getting the numbers back up to the same quality and quantity that they had when a great depth of stock has to be destroyed. We see that sometimes in a different instance. Following bushfire, we sometimes hear of the catastrophic impact that it has on individual farming families who have lost generations of stock through bushfire. They have to then make that critical decision of how they re-breed and how they secure the genetic materials that they then need to be able to restock their property. It just becomes too overwhelming for many of them to consider; they have to start it all over again after perhaps farming for generations to get to that point, and everything is lost in a moment. In many instances you can see how that exact scenario is comparable to what we would see if there was an outbreak of one of these diseases in the Victorian agricultural community. So we absolutely need to do all that we possibly can to make sure that that does not occur.

I have had some feedback on this legislation. It is not significant feedback, and I note this was provided to us also in the briefing and a response was given to us in the briefing from the minister’s office. I would like to thank the minister’s office for the bill briefing, which was offered very promptly after the bill was tabled. It is very positive that we are able to ask questions about legislation that is before the house and that we are given a full 14 days to be able to communicate that with our electorates and with our stakeholders and that we can get their feedback and take possible action or talk through any questions with the minister’s office. I think this is important for democracy, and I hope this is something that will continue not just with the Minister for Agriculture but with all ministers in this place – having respect for democracy and giving the opportunity for stakeholders to provide feedback on legislation.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) provided feedback around two elements of this legislation. There was a question mark they had around providing additional powers to Victorian police officers and concern that this may be misused in certain circumstances. However, they have received some comfort that there is a very low likelihood that that will occur, which, given the balance of what we trying to achieve – making sure that, if there is an inspection required, there are not any exotic materials onsite that could carry disease, pests or weeds that would be a threat to our agricultural sector – on balance, I think the legislation has got right.

I also spoke to the Police Association Victoria about that particular matter, and the police association were very supportive of having additional powers in the belief that it would empower them to better perform their duties in supporting department officers and vets to access certain elements of a property in a rapid time frame, rather than going through a much slower process. So that was very positive also.

The other aspect that the VFF raised that they had some concern about was the opportunity for an emergency fund, grant or money that could otherwise be made available to an individual to be withheld if there was suspicion that they contributed to the outbreak of disease in the state of Victoria. I understand that this is a very difficult line to get right, but we do not want to see any individuals who need emergency grant money just to survive having that funding withheld by the government on the presumption of guilt before being given the opportunity to have their case tested through a normal process. We did receive some assurance during the ministerial briefing that that would be something that would be used very rarely, but it still is something that would be very important to make sure is utilised in a way that is not biased at all and does not presume guilt in an unfair way. I would like to think that if that power was utilised, it would be in absolutely compelling circumstances where there was absolutely no question that there was a direct link between that individual and the outbreak that was present at that time.

Just to summarise, that was the feedback that I received on the legislation. I do note that a large number of organisations were consulted as part of forming this legislation and that it was put through the Engage Victoria process. I believe that a large number of organisations that represent the agricultural sector, whether it is around livestock or the horticultural industries, were certainly well consulted and provided input on this legislation. Again, I always think it is better if an exposure draft is made available to the sector before we bring legislation before the house so there are no surprises, and it often makes for a much more polished piece of legislation and therefore a much smoother pathway through the chambers of this place as it makes its way into legislation.

I would like to take some time just to speak about some further matters, and they are around the history in relation to animal activism and the impact that it has had on our communities and also on our farmers, particularly those that live on farm. With this legislation – and I believe it is clause 96 which is relevant to this point I am making – Victoria will finally bring our penalty units in line with New South Wales. So for an individual the fine would be approximately $23,000, which is the same as or a similar level to New South Wales. This is a far greater deterrent for animal activists than we have seen in the past. Currently it sits at around $10,000. That was increased from a very small amount previously.

Roma Britnell interjected.

Emma KEALY: As the member for South-West Coast has just raised, we have seen disastrously low penalty rates imposed through the judicial system with the fines imposed. This was of course in the matter related to John Gommans of Gippy Goat. I would like to acknowledge and pay my respects to Mr Gommans, who is no longer with us but who was a tireless campaigner for fairness through what happened on his property, and that was a property at Yarragon. We had Gippy Goat there – a fabulous little shop. Animal activists broke into the site. They actually stole a goat. It was an incredible breach of biosecurity requirements and caused enormous stress to his staff, his family and all associated with the community. As we know, it is very, very confronting and stressful to go through a court process, and at the end of the day the court awarded just a $1 penalty. It was a $1 fine for that individual who was found guilty of breaking into that property.

It was not just about the theft of a goat, it was about the breach of biosecurity, and we all know that our biosecurity requirements for the agricultural sector are increasing all the time. The onus is always on the property owner to ensure that they have full traceability and security of their stock, and that has been brought in through the national livestock identification scheme. We see other requirements around our border controls and our state controls, and of course we have a strict understanding that all of our farmers need to manage their pigs and make sure that they know exactly who is going on their property, what animals are going on their property and what risk there is to their local livestock to ensure that there are not any exotic diseases or pests there so that if there is an outbreak we can trace it and hopefully contain it as well. When we have biosecurity breaches on properties, it absolutely puts all of that at risk, and that could be, as I have outlined earlier in my contribution, absolutely catastrophic for the agricultural sector. That is why the Nationals and the Liberals have been very, very strong in saying it is not an adequate deterrent to get a $1 fine for breaching biosecurity regulations and for stealing a goat –

Roma Britnell: Four years.

Emma KEALY: and then for it to take such a long time, as the member for South-West Coast has just said, to ensure that we have a fairer and, more importantly, strong deterrent for animal activists not to go down that pathway.

Through the inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture, there were recommendations in relation to enhancing and increasing the fines related to trespass on property. As I said earlier in my opening remarks, Peter Walsh, the member for Murray Plains and former Shadow Minister for Agriculture, put forward a private members bill around exactly this point to increase penalties and increase the deterrent for animal activists. We have also heard that Ms Bath did an enormous amount of work on that committee and was part of hearings right around the state where they heard from farmers who had been impacted by animal activism. She also put up a similar private members bill. To the last election the Liberals and Nationals took a commitment that we would double penalties for animal farm trespass, which is what we see in the legislation before us today.

But unfortunately we still are seeing the impacts of animal activism. Earlier this year I visited CA Sinclair abattoir at Benalla, which was impacted by animal activists who had gone onsite, who had broken into the property and who had actually locked themselves into the gondola, which is used as part of the process of gassing pigs, which is the recommended way to stun or euthanise a pig. The biosecurity risk was significant for the pigs that would therefore have to go through the abattoir. It cost an enormous amount money to be able to clean the property in an appropriate way; there was damage to the property. But they were also shut down for a number of days. There was a protest on Mother’s Day this year where the intention was to block the trucks coming in on a Sunday, just to stop the flow of traffic and to impact on that business.

More needs to be done around how we manage animal activism. We have still got online the Farm Transparency Project, which has got photos of farming properties and their locations, and often it includes private homes. It is not okay to do that and to target law-abiding businesses in this state who are doing the right thing. If you speak to Sinclair’s, they have so many different requirements and audit requirements that they have to meet in order to continue their business. They are the only Victorian-owned pig abattoir left in the state of Victoria. What we are seeing more and more often is an outcome which is worse for pig welfare in that the pigs are being trucked interstate, often to South Australia, they are being slaughtered there and then they are carried back into Victoria, to meat processors, to be made into the pork products that we love. We have actually got activists who are shutting down an industry in Victoria. But it does not mean that it is not still happening; we have then got pigs on a truck for a longer period of time, which is less ideal for the pigs. It is not something that the RSPCA even support. You do question when activism crosses over to the actual outcome of more stress for the animals and more duress for the animals.

Really, we know at the end of the day animal activism is about all of us no longer eating meat or animal products. Coming into this Christmas I know I will certainly be looking forward to tucking into some turkey, some ham and probably some prawns or some yabbies if we can get hold of them. I will certainly be supporting as many Victorian industries as I can by eating meat, because I love meat and I am not going to give up meat anytime soon. I think it is every Victorian’s right to choose whether they eat meat or not. It is not up to anybody to mandate that you must eat meat or that you only eat it infrequently, weekly –

A member interjected.

Emma KEALY: or that you eat every day, three times a day, maybe a caveman’s diet – I do not know if Acting Speaker Farnham is on a caveman’s diet or not – or whether you choose not to eat meat. I do not mind what that is; I do not mind. But I do not believe that anyone should pass judgement upon that decision. It is an individual choice, and that is where we should be and what we should support, and that is the legislation we should support.

There is also a risk that I would like to briefly address in relation to camping on river frontage Crown land. This is something that again came in the previous Parliament, when there were concerns raised that this would create a biosecurity risk. I do note some signage that was sent through to me just earlier today. There was a stile that had been built to go over a fence line. There were a number of warnings on the sign: beware of snakes and bring your own portable toilet if you are going to camp there. There was a map of the site. But there was nothing on the department’s signage whatsoever that had any statement in relation to protecting the biosecurity of the property that they were entering. There was a note on there to be careful of livestock and not to leave out your meat overnight, or any food, because they might come and have a nibble on it. I am not aware of any cattle that would come up and have a nibble on your leftover snags on the barbie. But you cannot do that in those areas if you are camping on river frontage Crown land. I think that this is important enough that if we deliver on what the intention is of this legislation, to improve biosecurity, we need to make sure that we are also protecting our areas where we are allowing camping and people to enter, which may present a biosecurity risk.

I think there should be farmers’ choice over whether someone enters their land or not. It is what happens in most instances and has happened for a long period of time, but you simply need to knock on the door, know the owner perhaps or at least have the courtesy of taking the time to introduce yourself. Generally, in my experience, if you build that relationship, people will let you camp on their property. But they will require you to not be in that area at certain times of the year, if there is calving or lambing going on, or they will ask for additional protections. They will ask for you to perhaps not wear the boots that you just wore when you went to Indonesia for a bit of a farm tour. They will ask you to do other things that might be just cleaning up your cans, making sure you do not have a camp fire or keeping it down at this time of year – you might disturb the thoroughbred horses up the road. I do ask the department to focus on that, because (a) I think it is creating a biosecurity risk for our agriculture sector but (b) we are not even bothering to put up any biosecurity warning signage when we are putting up a stile or when we are warning people of other aspects that impact them. Let us think about it a bit bigger than that. Let us think about more than just the people camping there. Let us also protect biosecurity on those properties.

In summary, this legislation will improve some of the elements of biosecurity in this state. It is very good to see there will be increased penalty units, particularly for areas of biosecurity breaches, and as I have said, I have been assured by the minister’s office that that will be applicable to animal activists trespassing on agricultural property and abattoirs. I do think there probably is more work to be done in that area. We need to ensure that there is absolutely no opportunity for animal activists to be dominant and allowed to have free rein and breach all biosecurity rules with no consequences for that. We need to make sure that if this legislation goes through the house, and I am confident it will, if people are picked up doing the wrong thing, the charges are laid, the fines are applied, the agricultural sector is finally secure from this threat of animal activists and we have a framework that supports biosecurity.

Michaela SETTLE (Eureka) (15:27): I am very, very happy to rise to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023, and I do thank the member for Lowan for her contribution. I am delighted that we are all on the same page on this one. I am really very passionate about this bill because it is all about protecting our agriculture industry. Our previous minister said at one point that:

Biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility, and we all need to help protect our agriculture, our economy and our unique natural environment.

I would like to thank the previous Minister for Agriculture in the other place but also our current minister, and I am honoured to work with both of those wonderful women and to see every day their passion for our wonderful agricultural industry, which is an incredibly important industry for us economically here in Victoria. We are Australia’s largest exporter of food and fibre by value, accounting for about 26 per cent of the national total, with our commodities reaching over 170 export destinations around the globe. About 11.4 million hectares, which is about 50 per cent of Victoria’s land, are managed by 21,600 agricultural businesses, with a gross value of agricultural production of approximately $17.5 billion. So it really is an incredibly important sector to the economy in general and of course to those of us in the regions.

This government is very, very serious about biosecurity, and last week I was delighted that we released Victoria’s Biosecurity Strategy, in which:

Biosecurity is defined as the collective effort to prevent and manage the harms caused by plant and animal pests and diseases …

But it is pretty complex, biosecurity, and the risks are very broad. It requires a collective effort to manage the risks. Our biosecurity system consists of three main pillars, if you like: prevention and mitigation, preparedness and response, and management and control. This biosecurity system plays an absolutely crucial role in protecting what is, as I say, a $17.5 billion agriculture sector.

This bill amends the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, the Livestock Management Act 2010 and the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010 to enhance the Victorian government’s capability to manage biosecurity incidents, including preparing for, responding to and recovering from. As the member for Lowan pointed out, it is not just when you are in the grip of one of those biosecurity breaches; it has quite a long tail. Not only do we have to manage the immediate crisis but then there are of course the impacts on the industry and the longer tail. The bill supports a public commitment made by the Victorian government to improve exotic disease preparedness and response capability. The bill will provide clarity and efficiency of emergency response and management for exotic diseases and pests and incentivise compliance by increasing penalties for various offences, including tampering with livestock traceability.

The biosecurity risks are intensifying, and it is something that we all need to acknowledge and be aware of. There are a range of reasons for that. We live in a very fast moving and global world if you like – that is saying it twice, ‘global world’ – but people are moving about much more, and that really does increase the risk. We had nearly 100 biosecurity incursions in Victoria between 2015 and 2023, and sadly, it is now less a matter of if but more a matter of when Victoria will be challenged by its next significant threat. As I say, increasing levels of travel and trade are creating new opportunities for biosecurity incursions. Close to home for me, in 2020 we had an avian flu outbreak in the Golden Plains shire, and I am proud to say that the Golden Plains shire does about 20 per cent of our egg production. It was devastating. Over 460,000 birds had to be destroyed, and that eradication ran for nine months, with over 340 people involved. That is I guess where we talk about that long tail.

We are very lucky in Australia – ‘our home is girt by sea’, as we proudly sing. That does create a sense of comfort, having an island state, but of course the risks are very real to us here in Victoria. We have not had an outbreak of African swine fever – it has never been recorded in Australia – and foot-and-mouth has not been detected in Australia since the 1800s. But it is very close to our doorstep. We know in 2022 there was an outbreak of foot-and-mouth in Indonesia, and by November 2023 the Indonesian government reported FMD in 27 of their 38 provinces. It is interesting for people that do not necessarily know the agricultural industry well. It is easy to say we will have this outbreak and we will kill the animals and that will be that, but the impacts just go on and on and on. We are an export country, and very proud. As I say, Victoria is a big exporter of food and fibre, and if we were to have any sort of outbreak of, for example, FMD, that cuts down all of our export markets with really devastating effects across the whole industry. I guess what I am trying to say here and provide the context for is the absolute importance of biosecurity. I would ask anyone listening in at home, when you are asked at the airport about your shoes or where you have been, do not smuggle in that piece of wood, do not think that you can just ignore those questions. It is incredibly important – thousands and thousands of lives rely on keeping our state safe.

As I say, there are three different elements to this bill, including improving emergency response capabilities. Of course timing is of the essence in any sort of outbreak. We know that early detection and rapid control really make the difference, and any delay has really direct consequences in an incursion, so improving that response capability is of the utmost importance. The bill also strengthens the existing enforcement and compliance framework, affording the capability to police officers to effectively investigate farm-related crimes. But it is important to understand that you are operating in a really fast-moving situation, and anything that we can do to make sure we are getting on top of any sort of biosecurity breach is very important.

I think in terms of the increase in the penalties, I absolutely agree with the member for Lowan about making that a deterrent for animal activists. It is terrible when we have those incursions on farms. I know we had something happen a couple of weeks ago in this house, and all of our safety and security were brought into question by people coming into the house. In the same way, every farmer has the right to be safe in their workplace.

I would also support the bill more generally, in that biosecurity, as I said at the outset, is really something we all have to observe. The fragility, if you like, of biosecurity is its absolute interdependency. We need every farmer to comply when there is an outbreak. I know that farmers absolutely are there first and foremost to protect their animals, but we just need to make sure that if there is anyone out there who wants to sit outside the system, they understand that there is an interdependency and we have got to protect each other to protect the whole industry. It looks at financial compensation if there is an outbreak. There is also something in there about how we advertise and get the message out. I know that often regional papers can be a weekly paper, so it is really important that we use as many tools as we can to get any information required out there. As we say, time is of the absolute essence.

This bill goes a long way to securing our farms, our agriculture and our unique environment. As I say, I want to thank both the previous minister and the current minister for all of the work that they have put in. I also would really like to tip my hat to the department of ag. I have had the pleasure to work alongside them, and more passionate people I have never come across. I think that you can see that in a bill like this. People who live and breathe agriculture are absolutely passionate about it. We want to protect it. We used to say that we rode on the sheep’s back, but I think we ride pretty much on agriculture’s back. It is important for us to stand together and protect that industry. I could not commend more strongly this bill to the house.

Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (15:37): I am always pleased when there is a bill before the house about strengthening biosecurity, because nothing could be more important from an agricultural point of view, so I am very pleased to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. It covers off on quite a number of elements. Having come from a farming background and currently living on a working farm, these issues are always important, and certainly in the electorate of Eildon I represent such a large area that in the main is agriculture – that agriculture being primarily beef and sheep. The market has just completely fallen out of sheep at the minute. It is heartbreaking to see the cost of sheep, what farmers are getting for them, and the prices for lamb in shops. Also I have a number of orchards, so plants and other diseases there are particularly relevant. Not only that, there are some very, very good vineyards in the Yarra Valley, with some in Mansfield and further north as well as in Murrindindi and Nillumbik, actually, so quite widely spread in my electorate there are a number of great vineyards.

There are some 29,000 farms in Victoria, and with that, in primary production alone, there are about 67,500 employees. So that is fairly significant, and obviously they are in regional areas. There are another 82,000 downstream in manufacturing and production – produce from the raw ingredients – so all up about 150,000 people working there. The value of the food and fibre industry is $17.5 billion, and these are 2020–21 figures, so they are a little bit outdated. The reason biosecurity is so important is we need to protect this industry. This agricultural industry is what feeds us. It is not just what feeds us; it is also what we export to help feed other countries that do not grow a lot of what we grow. We have got an excellent reputation in Australia and in Victoria for growing very clean and green produce, so it is important that we maintain that reputation.

So when we look at biosecurity, what is it that we are talking about? It is about the mechanisms and processes that are in place to protect our primary producers and protect the farms and the farmland. It is so important for a number of reasons, because we want to know that the food that we are eating is exceptional quality, but it is also about our international reputation. For example, if you are exporting meat and livestock, Australia has certain requirements on what you do and your practices on the farms to make sure that you meet particular standards, so that not only are we growing it but when we are exporting things to another country they can be guaranteed that it is particularly high quality.

Also supporting our biosecurity is the traceability of stock, which is happening more and more. We have got issues around borders and about what can come in and out. Farmers often have signs saying ‘Biosecurity: do not come on here. Come and report to the farmhouse’ or the office that may be there, with the onus being on the farmers to make sure that you follow all that is needed to protect our industry. We have diseases – some are emerging threats, and we have existing animal and plant diseases. For those that are in close proximity we can have lumpy skin disease or foot-and-mouth disease, and these can absolutely wipe out herds, farms and districts if they come in – if they enter our state. We are very, very mindful – across Australia actually – of what practices we have in place. There are other things like bovine Johne’s disease. We have had incidents of bird flu and equine influenza and swine flu. The varroa mite in bees has been particularly concerning in recent years because we know how important bees are to all of our production, and we need to be particularly vigilant because there are times when the number of bees around seems to drop, and we need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to maintain and protect those.

But also with plants – as I said, I have orchards and we have fruit fly – fruit fly has been penetrating from north of the state down through areas of Yarck and the Murrindindi shire down into the Yarra Valley. I want to recognise the efforts of Bronwyn Koll, who is the regional coordinator for fruit fly in the Yarra Valley. She has been battling away for years doing her darnedest with not enough funding to help her to get as much done as she would like to get done – because she could always do more, but Bronwyn is always out there at fairs and festivals making sure that she is talking about fruit fly.

Not only that, but we have also got phylloxera, which attacks grapevines and destroys the grapevines. It can go root to root. These little insects can crawl along the ground, and because of this it is very easy for it to move from one area to another. The insects can attach to boots, clothes and equipment. We have got a wine industry in Victoria that also supports about 1200 jobs and $380 million in exports. $114 million is the value of the wine grape product, and Victoria is the third largest wine exporter in Australia. As I said, I have got some particularly good vineyards in my electorate. But we have diseases that do infiltrate every now and again, and the financial impact of the phylloxera in the Yarra Valley is estimated to be around $1 billion. If you have to replant nearly the whole region, replace the rootstock and cover losses during the production lag – and this is some information that has been shared by Rob Sutherland, a viticulturist at De Bortoli in the Yarra Valley, who was at a ‘taking tech to the regions’ workshop in McLaren Vale, because people on the ground are working really hard to protect this – and if you need to dig up and replace all of your vines there is an enormous cost to it. It is really important that some of these biosecurity measures that are coming in are taken very seriously.

I want to touch on trespassing, because we have typically had some very low penalty rates for farm trespass. We have had some dreadful incidents, and some of them were animal activists getting into chicken sheds, and we had the incident at Yarra Glen with the Gippy Goat Cafe. The trespassers – the activists – got a $1 penalty, and that is just extraordinary. It was not just about the theft of the goat. There were huge biosecurity issues, because people bring onto farms diseases that they may not realise are on their clothes or their shoes. This sort of incident is exceptionally distressing. It is not just distressing for the farmer but also for staff to know that somebody has come into sheds, sometimes at night, to take animals, and it is really distressing for the animals. I find it quite hypocritical that the animal activists are there protecting the animals when all they are doing is absolutely making the animals distressed, and that fear impacts on egg production, it impacts on quality of milk, it impacts on so many different things. So I am pleased to see that this bill does give rise to greater penalties for trespassing.

I want to mention with this – and the Shadow Minister for Agriculture mentioned it – camping on licensed river frontages. This is a big biosecurity threat. I am disappointed that the government has not tackled this. In fact they have let it go full steam ahead. Campers do bring in diseases. They do not take notice, as they should – some do, some do not – of biosecurity signs. We have had incidents not terribly far from us where campers have actually gone through the gate that says ‘Don’t come in here – biosecurity. You need to go there’. They have ignored that, and they have gone onto the property, through private property, to get to where they can camp. That is just not on. I wish the government would have a look at this and review it in coming years. It has not taken effect fully at the moment because most of the river frontages in my electorate for the last 12 months and maybe a little bit more have been flooded quite significantly and there is a lot of damage. The land has been quite wet, and we have had ongoing floods, not just those in October 2022. Some farmers in and around Thornton, Whanregarwen and Molesworth have had three lots of flooding of their flats, and it has wiped them out in terms of hay production and even the stock that they can put on those paddocks. But these are areas that will be opened up for campers, and I implore campers, if they are looking to do this and there is a biosecurity sign, to take it seriously. Here we are in Parliament debating the importance of biosecurity and at the same time the government has its own policy that flies in the face of this. I just do not think that is good enough. They really need to have a look more broadly at these issues.

Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (15:47): It gives me great pleasure to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. As a government we have committed to improve disease outbreak and control capabilities, and this bill serves to fulfil our promise. The bill amends the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 and Plant Biosecurity Act 2010 so that we have a greater capacity to respond to biosecurity incidents and improve efficiencies within the system.

This bill holds great importance for our state. Agricultural security ensures our food security and our economic security and provides protection for our environment too. An exotic disease outbreak across our livestock or plants could have disastrous consequences if not properly managed. In order for good management of an outbreak to occur, we need robust legislation which provides for both swift and decisive action in the event that measures need to be taken, as well as clear and proportionate penalties for imperilling our state’s biosecurity. This bill will improve clarity and efficiency of emergency response and management for exotic diseases and pests. It will incentivise compliance by increasing penalties for various offences, including tampering with livestock traceability. It will improve enforcement capability by providing for Victoria Police officers to be appointed as inspectors without requiring a declaration of an exotic animal disease outbreak. Importantly, this will not require extra training for the police force, but it will expand the circumstances under which they can exercise their inspector responsibilities.

Biosecurity is a matter that is actually quite close to my heart both personally as a former organic greengrocer and also as the member for Monbulk, which just happens to be the horticultural centre of Victoria and, dare I say it, Australia. I was therefore delighted to join the Minister for Agriculture last week at Auravale Alpacas in Belgrave South, when the minister launched the Allan Labor government’s biosecurity strategy. We were joined by David Reid, the policy and technical manager for Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria, and Danyel Cucinotta, the Victorian Farmers Federation vice-president, both of whom had worked on the biosecurity reference group.

The biosecurity strategy was formed through extensive engagement with traditional owners and nearly 450 stakeholders covering all aspects of Victoria’s biosecurity system, from farmers and industry groups to land managers and emergency management agencies. The biosecurity reference group worked closely together to develop recommendations for our state’s biosecurity which are practical and effective and will help protect our agricultural sector from potential biosecurity threats, such as exotic diseases like foot-and-mouth – I was about to say ‘hand, foot and mouth’, but no, that is what our children all get from care when they are about five. But I digress. Auravale Alpacas was a great location to launch our state’s biosecurity strategy, and their controls for disease prevention were clearly on display. We were all required to wash our shoes in a disinfectant solution upon arrival. Simple yet effective controls such as decontamination of shoes, equipment and transport vehicles make a significant difference in preventing potential pests or pathogens from spreading from one farm to another. It is in all of our interests here to ensure good biosecurity exists across our agricultural sector.

We do understand Victoria will face growing risks as a result of climate change, increasing movement of people and stock through trade and travel and changing land use. So this comprehensive statewide strategy, which was launched last week, was developed to ensure that as a state we continue to protect our $20.2 billion agriculture industry. It is a key priority for our Allan Labor government, and in this year’s budget we have actually invested $17.4 million to continue strengthening our emergency animal disease preparedness, bringing our total investment since 2022 to $43 million.

This bill strengthens our capacity as a state to safeguard against pests and disease. I mentioned before foot-and-mouth disease. I was in the United Kingdom back in the early 2000s when that outbreak occurred. The damage which that disease wreaked upon the agricultural industry of the United Kingdom was extraordinary. It is actually estimated that that outbreak cost the country £8 billion 20 years ago. I do not even want to think how much that would be today. Not only is our proactive approach to preventing diseases such as this from taking hold – effectively nipping it in the bud, so to speak – the best way forward, it is the only way forward.

I have a keen interest in growing food. As a greengrocer in organics for nearly seven years, through weekly conversations I came to understand the challenges which farmers face. The weather is one such challenge. We cannot control the hailstorms, the floods or the droughts any more than we can hold back the rising tide, but another challenge which growers and farmers face which we can mitigate is disease and pestilence. Farmers know how to manage their established pests through a variety of methods, but an exotic disease outbreak brings with it many unknowns and great risk. It therefore calls for quick and decisive action, and the legislative framework must allow for such measures to be taken, which is precisely what this bill achieves.

My electorate of Monbulk, as I mentioned before, is a horticultural centre of Victoria, and Victoria is the horticultural centre of Australia, so to say biosecurity is important to my electorate is an understatement. The Victorian horticultural industry is a sector worth over $2.5 billion which employs more than 24,100 people and engages with over 4000 stakeholders. From small family-based organisations all the way through to multinational companies, they are represented by Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria, NGIV. One-third of their membership resides across the Dandenong Ranges. They conservatively estimate that in my electorate of Monbulk, or across the Dandenong Ranges, over $600 million of economic worth is generated per annum, and 250-plus employers are employing thousands of people there. It is a significant industry.

Monbulk has a very long and proud history of plant growing. It is famous for Tesselaar – you would be hard pressed to find someone who has not heard of their tulip festival – but it is also the home of Garden Express, which is Australia’s largest online nursery and mail-order garden supplier. I had the wonderful opportunity last week to actually tour that nursery and a number of other nurseries. I was astounded by the industry. Some people think that growing plants is a lovely, romantic, nice thing to do – and it is beautiful – but I tell you what, the processes, the science involved, the scale, the detail and the innovation were astounding to behold. I have got to say it was marvellous. I am looking forward to my next tour of some other growers.

I was just going to say that really at the end of the day we have to protect our agricultural sector. Be it livestock or green growth, which includes obviously fruits and vegetables as well as ornamental plants, it is critical to our food security and economic health.

This bill, as has been mentioned by the speakers before me, including the member for Eureka and members for Lowan and Eildon, significantly increases penalties for offences for the contravention of provisions related to exotic animal diseases and livestock traceability requirements, which gives a really clear signal about how serious these offences are. Hopefully, this will deter potential offenders, because these offences can inflict real harm on the community, the environment and the economy. For example, the penalty for breach of a restricted area order is going to increase from 360 penalty units to 1800, and if I tell you that a penalty unit at the moment is $192.31, it means that a breach of this will go from $69,231.60 to $346,158. That is a significant jump, and hopefully that will do enough to deter people from breaching in this way. We are aware of the importance of encouraging farmers to promptly report any suspicion of disease on their properties as timely reporting is crucial for effective disease control and prevention, and the amendments focus on clarifying and broadening provisions related to the payment of exotic disease compensation in the event of such a detection or outbreak.

As the member for Eureka stated, Victoria is a significant food and fibre exporter. In 2021–22 Victorian food and fibre exports equalled $17.9 billion and had actually increased by $4 billion on the previous year. Victoria at that time had 26 per cent of the national total in food and fibre exports, so we basically led the nation. This is a really significant industry for us. These penalties that we have introduced bring us closer into line with Queensland and New South Wales, where we had fallen short. In fact we have now leapfrogged them when it comes to penalties such as the one I mentioned for the breach of that.

As I mentioned, as the member for Monbulk, the horticultural sector is incredibly important to my electorate, but as Victorians in general our agricultural sector is absolutely significant for all of us. I commend this bill to the house for ensuring that these protections are there for our industry.

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (15:57): I rise to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. It always gives me pleasure to speak on the subject of agriculture as agriculture was a very, very big part of my life, and probably one of the reasons I ended up here is the advocacy work that I did in the region, because I am very proud of what our agricultural community do. It is so important to understand and value the importance of food production and fibre production.

This bill actually brings in some extra powers for police, and it strengthens some of the biosecurity rules and communications – all sorts of things that I think will be a great improvement, because when I was milking cows, which I did for 20-odd years, one of the biggest concerns was the threat of foot-and-mouth disease. I can remember going to buy our third farm, and one of the guys who we bought hay from said ‘Why on earth would you do that? The risk of foot-and-mouth is so horrifically close’. Obviously, when you are buying farms, it is very, very big debt and very big money, and you do not sleep very well at night because of the amount of debt. He had got to a point in his life where he thought the risk was too great. So that is how much of an impact this has on farmers – we have it in the back of our minds at all times.

It always concerns me when I see cuts by the government to areas such as the Victorian agricultural budget, and even now we have got a department that does not even have the word ‘agriculture’ in the name. It makes me worry about the lack of understanding of the importance of food production. Why do I worry? I worry because without food we really cannot survive. We in Victoria do so much to contribute to the challenge we have as a world of producing very good quality, clean food. Now, that is an important challenge, and do you know why? Over the last 500 years we put fences up and started becoming organised farmers – and that is what I refer to farming as; it is not intensive farming, because that has connotations that we do not care, and I will go into that in a minute. It is called organised farming in my mind.

Since we did that and created herds, we have produced a huge amount of food, but we have to produce that exact same amount that we have produced over the last 500 years in the next 50 years. Just think for a minute about that challenge. We have got a population heading towards 9 billion; we have only got 7 per cent of the earth’s crust to actually farm on and to produce food from, and that is a challenge that a lot of people are putting their minds to: ‘What are we going to do to be able to do this?’ To be able to improve our ability to increase food we have to invest in the research, and it often takes 15 years to take a concept and make an actual product.

I always have such great, deep respect for a man called Norman Borlaug, who was a scientist from the USA, who invested his intelligence into making the wheat plant less tall so it would go to ear quicker. This was in the 1950s, and he is credited with saving many lives because post war the threat of starvation was very real. And here we are again as a society very much facing a similar challenge. Just 2 per cent of the world’s population actually grow the food we all eat, and of that 2 per cent only 25 per cent have a qualification or make the management decisions. Let me tell you, as the member for Monbulk talked about with the science involved in farming, it takes a lot to grow an apple; it does not take as much to pick an apple. That is why I say there is a big challenge ahead of us and we need to make sure we invest, because we have a lot of work to do to be able to make sure we can feed the population.

You can probably tell that I am very passionate about agriculture, because it is a very important industry. When we see the government backing out of research, it worries me no end. With the risk of foot-and-mouth disease in the last few years, with it being very close in Indonesia, I think we should be investing in more ag scientists and more people. I remember having a conversation with an ag scientist who said we just would not have the capability. So we need to have police engaged to put more capability around an intense surge. We are going to need people in the event – and it is not if, it is when – that we have one of these outbreaks. I am looking forward in the future to speaking more with some of my English counterparts from my dairy days, who I hope to visit in the next few years, about their learnings so we can bring some of those back. But some of these stories about what England faced in 2011, I think it was, were quite horrific.

I am also really pleased that this bill actually increases the penalties for trespassers on property. These are animal activists mainly but sometimes also people in other sectors. We are seeing a bit of that with the renewables sector, where they think they have the ability to just walk onto farms and not consider the fact that it is somebody else’s land that has some biosecurity processes and protocols in place that should be respected. We have also got trespassers who think that they are saving the world. Let me state right now that farmers are environmentalists and they also care about their animals. Just like some parents – there are horrific stories – abuse their children, we see the same thing with animals, and that gets the headlines. But we have laws in this state, and farmers 99.9 per cent of the time are law-abiding businesspeople that respect their animals and understand the environment and are absolutely scientific in every decision they make. You know, they understand the soil science and they understand the animal nutrition. I have often said I knew more about my cows’ diet – how much fibre, how much energy and how much protein they consumed – than I did my children’s. I literally worked it out every single day. I hoped my kids were not eating too many lollies, but I never worked it out to see what the sugar content was, like I did with my cows. It is incredibly scientific, and I am always disappointed when I see people thinking that they know more and taking themselves onto farms.

I was on farm when our farm was under threat by animal activists, and the police were calling me, saying ‘Where are you? Because we’re quite concerned that your farm is going to be targeted’. For the children it is scary. For the staff who have children as well, it is very confronting to have people threatening them in their workplace, which is their home. So to have a penalty that is now in line with New South Wales is absolutely fitting. It should be a penalty that deters people, not a penalty that is so insulting. The $1 fine that was given to an activist after a court case a few years ago sent a very damning message to farmers that they were not valued.

I think the Labor government should be seeing far more priorities in how they can support – and I did not say subsidise; I said support – and enable policies they can put in place to actually grow agriculture and protect farmers, and penalties is definitely one. We need to see a lot more of it, though, and certainly increasing research is where we need to go, not decreasing.

I take great pride in the farming community of South-West Coast. We contribute the largest area to food production in the state of Victoria, coming from western Victoria. We have great diversity, with dairy, sheep, beef, abalone and crops. We are the biggest dairy area now in the nation, and the farmers that I talk with regularly are great contributors to the environment. That is absolutely their first priority, because they understand that unless you work with nature, nature will not allow you to progress. Nature is far smarter and far harsher than any farmer can contend with, so they actually work with nature. You understand the balance, you understand the ecosystem and you are constantly trying to improve so that the land you work will be handed on to your children and your grandchildren, and this has been happening for centuries.

This is why farmers, particularly in Victoria and Australia, do invest in research by putting their hands in their own pockets and paying the levy that invests in the research. We are very proud in south-west Victoria to be great contributors to the world’s food needs. We have got so many good farmers. It is getting harder and harder. I mean, when I started in agriculture many years ago, there were 3000 dairy farmers in northern Victoria, and now with the buybacks of the water – and it is happening again this week – there are, I think, about 500. That is a great shame, because we cannot keep taking water and not realising that we are compromising our own food capability and compromising the future. Farmers are not the enemy; they are the answer. In south-west Victoria we have natural rainfall and we have great soils that we look after, and we need to find ways to support that, not punish that. I have said it for 20-something years now, since I began in agriculture, because I was so impressed by the scientific nature of farmers. They take every decision onboard to use the science to make a decision that is in the best interests of their animals, the best interests of the environment and the best interests of community.

Darren CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (16:07): It is with some pleasure that I rise this afternoon to make a contribution on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. In reflecting on this bill and the briefings that I have been able to secure with respect to it, I very much want to just acknowledge and thank some tremendous Victorian scientists who work for the CSIRO animal research laboratories in Geelong, who have been doing some magnificent work in researching the risks associated with viruses and bacteria being transmitted from animals to humans. Of course we have seen globally over the last decade or so an increased risk, where we see a disease burden that has increasingly migrated between species, particularly between pigs, birds and bats, across to humanity. This has caused significant health and safety risks globally and indeed the death of many, many hundreds, if not thousands, of people throughout the globe.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank and acknowledge the many Victorian scientists over the decades who have worked for the department of agriculture under its various name changes, particularly through the research institutes that exist and that very much do a deep scientific dive into the productivity of horticulture and agriculture across Victoria to assist our fantastic Victorian farmers in producing for our state the biggest export by value to a global economy. Again, I want to just acknowledge and thank those research scientists who I think in so many ways have assisted and ensured Victorian farmers are globally exceptionally productive with the goods that they produce for an export market.

In thinking about biosecurity and in an Australian context, in so many ways we have had a massive advantage in that Australia has been in a biosecurity sense isolated from the global community. What that has meant for a very, very long time is that pest plants and diseases have found it much more difficult to make their way onto Australian farms as a consequence of that distance from other global countries where pest plants and diseases have been a significant problem. That has given us a significant advantage in so many ways. However, with increased globalisation, with increased movement of people across the globe, with climate change and the realities of what that might mean for the migration of disease burden, what we are now seeing is that those significant advantages that we have had are very quickly dissipating. What that means is that right throughout our nation we need to see further emphasis, further legislative reform, put in place to ensure that we can protect our farming communities – not only that we can protect those farming communities but that we can protect Victorians and Australians from the consequences of disease burden coming from our primary production sectors and in fact disease burden making its way into our farming communities and creating the economic consequences that would flow from that.

In a Victorian context and indeed in an Australian context we do have when we look at the history of agriculture in this country some significant own goals, to be frank, where people thinking they were doing the right thing have introduced pest plants or animals into this country. Indeed as a Geelong-based MP I am very, very conscious that just down the road at a small town between Geelong and Colac we had for the first time some 150 years ago now the rabbit introduced into Australia. That rabbit was introduced because that community at that point in time wanted to see a bit of England in the landscape and they thought the introduction of the rabbit would be a good thing. We have also seen in Australia the introduction of the cane toad. In Queensland it was thought that the introduction of the cane toad would eliminate the cane beetle and that, by eliminating the cane beetle, the production of sugar for a global market would increase because those farms would be so much more competitive as a consequence of being able to grow more cane without having that pest doing damage to sugarcane.

When we look at the global risks, a number of contributions have been made already on this bill where we have seen mad cow disease and what that meant particularly for the British cattle industry, and we have seen the varroa mite and what that meant for the production of honey in many parts of the global economy but of course now creating real consequences in the Newcastle region of New South Wales. Despite the intervention of the New South Wales government and the federal government and a national taskforce being put in place, the opportunity to eliminate that mite has been lost to us. We are now in effect managing its advancement as opposed to stopping it and eliminating it from the landscape. We have also seen – and people have made fleeting reference to this – an increased global population. We are seeing the need to have more intense agriculture as a consequence, and all of these things lead to a greater risk profile in the landscape. The more animals you have in a landscape, the more capacity there is for the advancement of disease through that landscape. All of these things lead to risk.

We have also seen climate change, and climate change will see some diseases able to reside in different landscapes where they have not in the past. This legislation I think will set up Victoria to have a new, modern set of arrangements to be able to ensure the biosecurity of our community and of our farmers, working in the landscape to ensure that we can continue to be a global leader in the production of food and fibre and we can continue to be seen as a clean, green place to produce food and fibre. That is why I very much commend this bill. It is pleasing to see that there is bipartisan support for it.

Chris CREWTHER (Mornington) (16:17): I rise today to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023, which makes several amendments to the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, the Livestock Management Act 2010 and the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010. Many years ago, when I was a senior legislation and legal services officer at the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, I worked on the federal government’s biosecurity legislation to replace the Quarantine Act 1908, as well as numerous other pieces of legislation and regulation relating to quarantine and biosecurity, as well as providing legal services and advice in the quarantine and biosecurity space. So it is fantastic to return to another piece of biosecurity legislation in the Victorian Parliament.

In recent years the threats of emergency animal disease, pests and weeds have received increased media interest, particularly following the incursion of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease in Indonesia and the varroa mite in New South Wales. Since 2022 the government has been reviewing Victoria’s biosecurity laws, including seeking stakeholder feedback. This legislation acts upon that feedback and makes some limited changes to biosecurity legislation. Overall the bill will make amendments that are calculated to enhance the Victorian government’s capability to manage biosecurity incidents, including preparing for, responding to and recovering from an exotic animal disease or plant pest or a disease detection and outbreak. Other amendments are mainly miscellaneous and technical, relating to the administration, operation and enforcement of the aforementioned acts.

The bill also represents a public commitment to improve exotic pest and disease preparedness and response capability, aiming to do so through amendments to ensure a holistic and effective legislative framework that protects Victoria’s valuable agricultural and horticultural sector and mitigates the potential risks to market access from trade disruptions associated with an exotic animal disease or plant pest or a disease detection and outbreak. Furthermore, the bill strengthens the existing legislative framework available for the reduction of biosecurity risk caused by unlawful entry onto agricultural premises. The bill will ultimately see the highest penalty for unlawful entry onto agricultural properties increased from around $11,000 to around $23,000 for individuals and from around $57,000 to $115,000 for organisations. On-the-spot fines will also increase from around $1300 to $2300 for individuals and from around $8700 to $11,500 for organisations. The new laws also include the introduction of offences for damaging, defacing or removing biosecurity signage displayed by farmers that ensures that trespass fines apply to their properties; new penalties for those who remove or replace identification tags or livestock or those who fail to follow biosecurity and traceability requirements; and provisions to allow Victoria Police to be recognised as livestock inspectors.

Now, there are of course some concerns that these stringent measures further infringe upon animal activists’ right to demonstrate against animal cruelty, but it is important to note that the fines for trespassing on farms were introduced in the Livestock Management Amendment (Animal Activism) Act 2021 in response to incidents like the one at the Gippy Goat Cafe in West Gippsland, where several animal activists turned up and stole three goats and a lamb. While that piece of legislation and the legislation before us today will hopefully protect farmers from such deplorable intrusions into their personal properties and farming operations, it is also extremely important for biosecurity purposes. There is the need for even more stringent fines than the ones that were introduced last year, especially given that certain animal activists and protesters do not seem to be deterred from trespass and damage. Just earlier this year, in April, some 30 animal activists stormed a Benalla slaughterhouse facility, completely halting operations by chaining themselves to machinery, locking themselves into the gondola that is used to lower pigs and so on. The full force of the law should come down on this intimidating and criminal behaviour. Law-abiding Victorian and indeed Australian farmers should not be subject to such behaviour. While I of course support everybody’s right to protest, and I believe that we need to ensure animals are being slaughtered in the most humane way possible, there are processes and procedures for such matters, and the law is and should never be the law of the jungle.

I also note that the Victorian agricultural economy is worth about $18 billion. We are the powerhouse of Australian food and fibre exports. Our state is the biggest exporter by value nationally, and with over half the value of Victoria’s agricultural industry derived from livestock, we must do everything we can to protect farmers and to protect their livestock from biosecurity breaches and so on. Trespassing in any livestock facility is inherently dangerous, posing significant biosecurity, animal and human safety concerns.

This bill also further reinforces the government’s capabilities in relation to exotic plant pest or disease detections and outbreaks, improving the clarity and efficiency of emergency response and management provisions related to plant pests and diseases. All in all, these provisions strengthen the plant biosecurity act, with the original main purpose being the preventing, monitoring, controlling and eradicating of plant pests and diseases, amongst other purposes. It is essential that we make sure the biosecurity of Victoria’s plant industry is maintained and that we keep out particular pests and diseases that could be a huge cost to our industry and put at risk our export market.

One of the strategic advantages for Victorian and Australian agriculture more generally is our clean, green, high-quality, stable economy and sector – or at least that is what we should be aiming for, as in most cases we cannot compete internationally on price due to wage costs, regulatory costs and so forth. So we should be looking to add value to what we produce here to sell at higher prices based on higher quality and value-added goods. These are the types of produce and types of products I used to market at places like Seoul Food during my time as the CEO of Mildura Development Corporation many years ago, which sparked a lot of interest from the South Korean market afterwards in the Mildura region, which I understand has continued to this day. By protecting our plant agricultural sector, where we can add value, we are protecting the thousands of businesses specialising in horticulture, nursery, wine, grains and more and adding value to our agricultural production in Victoria.

It would be remiss of me not to also discuss agriculture in the Mornington electorate and broader peninsula. This is an issue that I am passionate about, having been surrounded by farms growing up in Horsham and coming from a farming background on both sides of my family at Ellam, near Jeparit, and Carwarp, near Mildura. That is where my grandmother Dawn Simmons grew up, who was my dad’s mum, who unfortunately passed away aged just 23 years old when my father was three. She grew up with my Aunty Marlene on that farm. My Aunty Marlene was like my grandmother, growing up. Unfortunately, she has just passed away, in the last couple of hours – I heard before this speech, coincidentally, because I was actually writing this speech and mentioning the farm earlier today. I thought I would note that on the record. She was an amazing person and a grandmother to me for a long time. Also, having worked in many roles involving agriculture and on farms, including working in the wheat breeding team of the then Victorian Institute for Dryland Agriculture and the canola breeding team at Bayer Crop Science, both in Horsham, during my university years, I have got a passion for this area.

I note on the Mornington Peninsula we have a significant agricultural sector and play a pivotal role. We have many local producers of note, and tourism on the Mornington Peninsula also benefits from the agricultural and horticultural production that we do have. For example, we have Benton Rise Farm, which has a fantastic community farm gate, and even George Calombaris has sourced from their farm. We have Sages Cottage Farm, which highlights the local produce from the Mornington Peninsula and has a great cafe with local produce that incorporates people with a disability and of different abilities to work on that farm. We have Tuerong Farm, which grows, mills and bakes heritage, ancient and modern grains in the Mornington electorate. They also breed beef cattle and offer boutique accommodation. We have cattle breeders like Southfork Angus and Milparinka Belted Galloways in Moorooduc, and Pure Peninsula Honey, who have a range of honey products. We have many nurseries, tree farms and orchards like Atlanta and Shepherd’s orchards; farm tourism providers like the Big Goose; Heritage Farm, who do duck eggs; more in Moorooduc – Miralana Alpacas, Cripps Family Fish Farm, Somerville Egg Farm in Moorooduc, the Christmas Tree Farm in Moorooduc, Moorooduc Christmas Tree Farm; and many other family and other agricultural endeavours in the electorate.

I also note there are many more wineries and cellar doors in the wider electorate, including Vintina Estate, Underground Winemakers, Morning Star Estate, Dromana Estate, Moorooduc Estate, Phaedrus Estate, Barak Estate Winery, Mornington Peninsula wineries, Stumpy Gully winery, Yabby Lake winery, Mr Velvet Ears wine company, Barmah Park wines, Jones Road wines, Kooyong Winery, Dexter wines, Robinson Vineyard, Barrymore Estate, Chirping Bird Wines, Marengo Redoubt, Turtle Rock wines and more. Plus there are breweries like Tar Barrel, Devilbend Farm Beer Co., Pure Peninsula Honey’s ciders, Ten Sixty One apple ciders and more, and we have the Victorian Farmers Federation Peninsula branch, headed up by Stephen Todd, who do a terrific job as well.

Lauren KATHAGE (Yan Yean) (16:27): Condolences to the member for Mornington from all of us here. We are sorry for your loss.

I want to start with something the member for Eureka mentioned, which was also one of the first things I thought of in relation to this bill, and that is Australia’s history of being built by riding on a sheep’s back. It is a funny saying that we heard growing up, and often only as you get older do you understand the true meaning of it. Our family was one of the families to have the game Squatter in the games cupboard. I do not know if anybody else here had the Squatter game, but certainly sheep empires were built and fell at my home, and perhaps that was good political training – who knows. Maybe I am the sheep.

Farmers hold a place in the Australian mythology. They are somehow beyond just a job or just someone who lives in a rural area. They are part of our mythology, and that regard is very well earned. Our most basic need is fulfilled by farmers. They feed us and they clothe us. I am really lucky to have great producers in my area. I think of Stokes Orchard, where I recently got a beautiful punnet of strawberries, which was greatly enjoyed by my three-year-old. There is this fantastic, magical ability to conjure food from the ground. And we know that members on all sides here take great pride in the produce from their region. We heard from the member for Mornington – and for some reason it has stuck with me, the passion the member for Mildura had for avocados and how proud she was that the avocado that people were eating on toast in the city came from her region. So we all have reason to be proud of the produce from our areas.

One of the other things that makes farmers so remarkable is that for them each year, each crop is a calculated risk. They are constant risk takers. They have to take into account the weather, the timing of the rain and how much rain – all of these things that are within and beyond their control. They have to face fate each time. I guess it is no wonder that where my family’s farm is, the paddocks in that area are dotted with churches, because people would go there and pray for a good result, and then they would take some of their produce to church for harvest Sunday to say thanks when it all worked out.

Now on farms I do not know if there is as much praying, but there is certainly such a strong focus on science. We have got the long-range weather forecasts shining out of phones and the like while they plough along in their combine harvesters. Just as the member for South-West Coast said, farmers are natural scientists. I remember my grandfather, who had sheep and wheat, and his record keeping. The detailed record keeping of a farmer is like a scientist’s. And it did not wear off. After retirement he kept every score of the AFL, every week of every season, and we found those records after he passed on. I also saw that in farmers in my previous role in international development. Working with farmers overseas, you need to demonstrate things in a demonstration plot, because this is really important stuff that cannot just be left to pens and paper and chalkboards and chalk. Farmers know how things work, and they need to have a go and see how it works for themselves. There is a lot at risk, so you cannot get it wrong.

I remember that in Jared Diamond’s book The World until Yesterday, which I am certainly not recommending people read, there is a story in there about PNG cropping. In Papua New Guinea the department of agriculture from country X went to teach these farmers over there how they could increase their yield and improve the way that they did their farming. They said to the Papua New Guineans, ‘Look, you’ve got your different plots spread out all over the place, and that’s a really inefficient way of doing farming. You need to bring them altogether in one spot, then you don’t have to walk that long way up the mountain. It will be a lot quicker, easier and better.’ So then they did that. They tried that. They brought all the crops together in one spot, and lo and behold, all the crops got wiped out in a single incident. The Papua New Guinean farmers knew to separate their crops and spread them out far and wide so that if there was a bad incident, there would be some fields and some crops left for people to survive on.

Farmers deal in risk and things beyond our control, so when we do have things in our control, when there are things that we can be involved in and influencing, then we should do that to the best of our ability if it is going to improve what our farmers are able to produce and what they are able to do. Farmers already do this. I do not know if you are a pink lady person or a royal gala person, but the way we have it now in Australia is that if you buy an apple from the supermarket, it is going to be crunchy. Farmers – the whole sector – worked together to make sure that what was being offered to customers in the shops was crunchy, because a floury apple from one producer impacts the sales going forward for a long time for all apple producers. So they worked together; there was a collective benefit for them to have crispy apples. Farmers know how to work together to support not just their livelihoods but also all other people in the same sector and then for the benefit of the community.

I am really glad to speak to the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023, because this is about supporting farmers, and the way it does that is with the biosecurity measures that are spelt out really clearly in the bill. We have got an increase in penalties for contraventions. We have got the power of the minister to declare control areas and restricted areas rather than the way it was previously. I think it is really important to stress that the changes to the compensation framework that are being introduced in this legislation make things quicker and more consistent for farmers. That certainty that we are providing through this is really important, and it will be well received. It is only fair that when somebody has received compensation that they should not have, there are opportunities for that to be taken back.

There are many benefits of this bill. There are benefits of this bill to nature by protecting our unique ecosystem here. There are benefits to the community – if we can keep our food and fibre as it should be, without this mass wastage when there is an outbreak, then we can keep up supply, which will help us in this cost-of-living situation by making sure that we are not paying more. I think of bananas after cyclones in Queensland – you know, bananas were worth more than my wedding ring at those stages. So it is good for the community to keep the supply up. This bill is also good for our economy to make sure that our exports can continue to flow at the rate that they are, as well as for our domestic agriculture sector.

Farmers understand risk. We have seen the ways that farmers have managed what is in their control to protect their harvest. We need to do our part as legislators to do what is within our control, so that is why I am really proud to speak to this bill. I thank all of the producers in my area for the way that they add so much to our community, because we know that farmers are some of the busiest people, but if you go to, for example, the Whittlesea Agricultural Society, they are also the people that give back so much to their community. So I am really lucky to live surrounded by farmers. I commend this bill to the house.

Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (16:37): I rise to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023, and in starting out can I commend the previous speaker for her comments around our farmers, our food producers and our fibre producers in this state. This bill is very much about that issue. This is about maintaining our ability as a nation, as a state, to produce food and to produce fibre and to make sure we keep pests and disease out of this country or out of this state if they get into other parts of Australia. So the member for Yan Yean I think very well articulated the importance of the bill and the importance of our farmers producing food.

I think that is why there is heated agreement on this piece of legislation. The Liberal and National parties will be actually supporting this legislation. It is something that we believe is necessary. Some of the measures in this legislation are measures that, in the previous Parliament, we actually introduced in private members bills to try and achieve, particularly around the increases in penalties. If you go back in recent times to the issues around Gippy Goat and the invasion of that farm down in Gippsland by 60-odd protesters at about 6:30 in the morning and the pressure that put on John Gommans and his family at that time with protesters stealing animals from that establishment there, that just was a stark reminder to us as legislators, who have a responsibility to keep industry safe and to keep people safe, that protesters just should not have freedom to go and disrupt and to cause havoc for farmers and particularly to steal animals or cause stress to farmers’ staff or animals. In that case one of those protesters actually stole a goat and took it home to live in her house with her, which was not appropriate at all for the goat or for the person doing that. At that time there was some change to the legislation, but what we see with this particular piece of legislation before us today is the increasing of the penalties around those sorts of offences – doubled – so that they come in line with what we believe should have happened at that particular time, which puts us in line with New South Wales.

People I do not think necessarily know where their food comes from, and they probably do not necessarily have to know where their food comes from. But we do produce some of the best food in the world here for our population to consume, and keeping diseases like foot-and-mouth out of Australia and having the capacity to contain and eradicate an outbreak if it does happen is just so important to our industries. The numbers no-one really knows, but the estimation is that if we had a serious foot-and-mouth outbreak in this nation, it would cost the economy of Australia north of $50 billion. Its impact would be huge. For those that are old enough to remember the foot-and-mouth outbreaks in the UK back in the 1990s, Dr Bill Sykes, who was a former member for Benalla, was a vet who spent time over there as a consulting vet through that particular outbreak. He told us the harrowing stories that he went through as a consulting vet going onto properties where there were generations of breeding in livestock, and that livestock actually had to be destroyed as part of the containment. Just the smell in the wider community of all the animals that were being burned to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth is something we do not want to have here in Australia. We do not want farmers to have to go through that trauma themselves, we do not want the animals to have to go through that sort of trauma and we do not want the economy to suffer with an outbreak like foot-and-mouth.

The provisions in this bill strengthen quite a few of the compliance issues to assist the department in managing an outbreak if it happens and containing it and making sure that those farmers within the industry that is affected are held to account to do the right thing. I think the overwhelming majority of farmers will always do the right thing, but this makes sure that that will happen, and if it does not, there will be severe penalties for those farmers, including the withholding of compensation if there is a view that they may have been involved in or contributed to the bringing in of a particular disease or pest or the spreading of a particular disease or pest. So it is important in the context.

I suppose the most recent outbreak that is very fresh in everyone’s minds here in Victoria, and particularly in northern Victoria, is varroa mite. We were very fortunate in Australia that we were one of the few nations in the world that did not have varroa mite here. We had an export industry of queen bees because our industry was varroa mite free, and there was an export industry particularly into North America for queen bees, because they do have varroa mites. The fact that now we are no longer varroa mite free is very sad for agriculture. What a lot of people in this house would not know is that probably in excess of 50 per cent of our food crops are actually pollinated by bees. The biggest example in one single place is the almond industry across northern Victoria, where there are tens of thousands of beehives shipped in effectively for a three- or four-week window, and that has been disrupted because of the varroa mite outbreak and what restrictions were put on at that particular time.

Can I put on record that I thank Gayle Tierney, who was the minister at the time, and more recently the member here in our house who is the minister. I thank them for the cooperative way they worked with industry and across the chamber to deal with this particular issue, because it is just so important and it was so disruptive. When you have an industry that is on the Murray River and goes on both sides of the river, there are some challenges sometimes between the two states, but I know Victoria worked very hard in making sure that varroa mite outbreak was contained. Unfortunately, the white flag has gone up, and it is now about how it is managed rather than eradicating it, which is unfortunate, but we accept that was the case, because as I understand it maybe some people in New South Wales did not do the right thing. But if that happened in the case of this legislation being in place, there would be the rules and there would be the penalties to hold those people to account.

The other thing is it is not just about farmers and agricultural suppliers. We had an incident a number of years ago where one of the major suppliers of horticultural products sold what turned out to be a weed. That was quite embarrassing for that particular company but also an issue for home gardeners who all of a sudden found they had a noxious weed that was actually prohibited in Australia in their gardens, and there was a major recall. This puts in place some rules and some penalties that would make sure that major suppliers of garden plants would be held to account and have some quite substantial fines if that happened in the future.

We see in the wider landscape serrated tussock, particularly around Melbourne and the fringes of Melbourne and some of the areas that are hard to get to to control it. That was something that was brought in as a garden plant years ago and now has gone wild out in the environment. Prickly pear was a huge issue through northern New South Wales and Queensland a couple of generations ago, with no known control measure at that particular time. There were thousands and thousands of acres of agricultural land effectively turned useless by prickly pear until the CSIRO actually found a small parasitic insect – the cactoblastis – that laid its eggs in it and ate the prickly pear. That was a huge thing at that time. People had spent years trying to eradicate it with mechanical means and with poisoning, but it was finding a parasite that actually stopped that plant, which then opened up huge tracts of land that had been affected with prickly pear. I suppose the reason I raise it is because we do not want a repeat of those sorts of things, we want to have the rules, the regulations and the appropriate powers for the department. This legislation also increases powers for the police to be involved, which I think is a good thing. We want to make sure that those sorts of examples do not happen in the future.

As I said when I started, this legislation is very much about maintaining Victoria’s ability to produce food and fibre for the state and for our own consumers but particularly for our export markets. It just generates so many jobs in this state. There is conjecture about which is the biggest exporting industry out of Victoria, but if you actually put together all the different foods – the red meat, the dairy and the grains – and wool, agriculture is one of the single biggest exporters out of this state. In recent times it has been the single biggest exporter out of Melbourne port with container traffic and with what goes out of there. This is about protecting that for the future, and we wish the bill a speedy passage.

Steve McGHIE (Melton) (16:47): I rise to contribute to the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. As I am from a peri-urban interfacing council and electorate area, I am acutely aware of the importance of farm biosecurity. As we work towards safeguarding Victoria’s interests and fortifying our resilience in the face of what feels like a growing biosecurity risk, of course out in my area we have many food producers, particularly in that Bacchus Marsh area, but there is still a lot of farming district around the Melton electorate. I am pleased to say that that continues and the production out that way is very good, and we need to keep it safe.

Our biosecurity system is recognised worldwide as being very strong and bringing benefits to our community, and previous speakers have spoken about that. Of course in our unique environment and in our way of life it is important to keep our biosecurity system safe and free from infestation and things like that. So we do try to stop as many pests and diseases as possible coming into this country, and hopefully people are doing the right thing. I should declare, even though people will not believe it, with me being such a young bloke, that back in the late 1970s I was a quarantine officer at Tullamarine airport. I was one of those –

Members interjecting.

Steve McGHIE: Oh, yes, yes, it was just another one of those jobs for me in the late 1970s. I was one of those guys that used to walk down the aisle with the pressure pack cans spraying the planes as first-port aircraft. Primarily it was to kill the bugs that were on the plane – sometimes it was probably for some of the humans that were on the plane too. But you would be shocked to see what was brought into this country in first-port aircraft.

The other role that we had was when people came through the airport terminal – they had to declare anything that they were carrying that could have been a prohibited item – we would check their baggage. We would also check their shoes if they had been on farmland overseas, and if their shoes were dirty, they had to be cleaned in very powerful wash. As I said, you would be shocked to think what people try to bring into this country, whether that be plant material, seeds, animal products or dead animals themselves, and they bring them in for their own particular reasons, whether they are religious reasons or whether they feel that it is something that is going to help them with their health. It is quite interesting to see what is stopped at all the ports – the airports and even the shipping areas – and what people try and bring into this country. I have just got to say thank God we are so stringent in what we do to try and stop that coming into the country, because as previous speakers have said, if that got out into our food production and into our farming areas, it would be devastating for this country. I lasted 18 months there and then moved on to become a paramedic after that, so I went from insects to other things.

Anyway, through this bill we are clearly ensuring our government’s capability to manage any biosecurity incidents, including preparation for responding to and recovering from any exotic animal disease, plant disease or pest. The way of dealing with detection or outbreak is reinforced and enhanced. The essence of the bill is to empower Victoria with the strength and capability to adeptly manage biosecurity risks, because our primary goal is to establish a robust and comprehensive legislative framework that safeguards Victoria’s valuable agricultural and horticultural sectors, mitigating any potential risk associated with market access and trade disruptions resulting from the detection or outbreak of these threats. The vulnerability facing Victoria is very real, and we have seen that. Again, the Leader of the Nationals spoke about some of the infections that have affected the bee industry and what is happening there. It is disappointing that it has come into Victoria. We certainly tried to prevent it, but unfortunately there are always some people that do not do the right thing and abide by the current laws and current practices that keep the state and the nation safe.

The Victorian Farmers Federation tell us that Victoria makes up I think 25 per cent of the Australian gross value of agriculture and 42 per cent of sheep and lamb meat production and is responsible for about 62 per cent of milk production, so we know how important producing in Victoria is not only to this state but to the nation. Again, previous contributions have referred to foot-and-mouth disease and what happened in England, in the UK, back in the 1990s and the damage foot-and-mouth disease coming into this state and country would do. We saw foot-and-mouth in Indonesia back in May of 2022, and of course it spread across to Bali by July of that year. And then we saw lumpy skin disease in both Indonesia and Singapore, and we saw the things that were put in place in particular, say, in somewhere like Bali, where Australian tourists travel to and from, and the things that had to be put in place to stop the possibility of foot-and-mouth and lumpy skin disease coming into Australia. So it is important to have these biosecurity measures and to tighten up the legislation, and that is what this bill does here.

The proposed amendments in the bill enhance the functionality of the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, the Livestock Management Act 2010 and the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010. Their aim is to mitigate disease risk by streamlining a swift and effective response to an incursion of exotic animal diseases or plant pests in Victoria. The amendments improve traceability processes, and they fortify compliance and enforcement mechanisms. It is through these measures that we can bolster our preparedness and response capabilities, ensuring the safeguarding of Victoria against the looming threats posed by those exotic diseases. Of course they will improve the clarity and efficiency of emergency responses to it and the management provisions for exotic diseases and pests that have the potential to, as we have said previously, adversely affect the agricultural and the horticultural industries, including broader information-sharing powers.

We know how important agriculture and horticulture are to this state but also to this nation and how many people are employed in those areas of food production and plant production. As I say, not only is it about the spread of the disease and how it would decimate food production, but it is about the jobs that it would cost also and the tragic circumstances if something like foot-and-mouth came into this state or country and animals were killed, unfortunately, due to that disease. Again, we saw that example in the UK back in the 1990s, and as I say, the Leader of the Nationals referred to that issue: the killing of thousands of heads of animal in response to it to try and eradicate the big problem.

Recently – and I know I have not got long to go – Ag Vic conducted a new initiative, the Great Biosecurity Quest, across Victoria through October, including in Melton, and of course it was a great success, encouraging children and families to play their part in protecting Victoria’s precious environment and agriculture by keeping an eye out for some of the state’s highest plant and pest risks. Participants could download or print a citizen science toolkit. They grabbed a magnifying glass or a phone with a zoom, and they got out into their backyard or park or garden and documented what they could find. It was a great exercise for many in our communities, and I know many people in the Melton electorate took up that exercise. It was fantastic to see our kids involved in those sorts of things and getting a greater understanding of what is around them and what can affect their environment.

This is a really important bill, and I am pleased to say that both sides of the chamber are supporting the bill. I commend the bill to the house.

Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (16:58): It is my absolute pleasure, as it is every time in this place, to talk about our food and fibre producers, because without them we would be in quite a spot of bother. One thing that I do bring to this place is firsthand experience in a lot of stuff, and farming and agriculture is one of those things, having grown up on a stone fruit and vegetable farm and married a food producer, who I have been madly texting during the day to get some stats on things like beehives and how many almonds we actually produce and things like that – and I am sure he is sick of me, so I will leave him alone now.

I will talk mostly about my firsthand experience with the varroa mite outbreak that occurred in Euston earlier this year. It was a bit of a panic, it really was. I cannot stress enough how important this bill is. I have seen it on Instagram reels a little bit recently where comedians make jokes around having to take their shoes off at the airport when they have been to Indonesia or when they have been to other parts of the world. Sorry, honey, this is not a joke. This is going to cost our entire economy $50 billion if foot-and-mouth disease gets in. Sorry, not a joke. I love stand-up comedy, but that ain’t funny. The tightening of this legislation through this bill is so, so important, and we saw the need for this during the varroa mite outbreak earlier this year.

Just to give you context, I do call myself the member for Australia’s food bowl. I know that the member for Shepparton may challenge that, particularly lately, but in the electorate of Mildura we are the largest almond-producing region in Australia. We are the second-biggest table grape producing region in Australia, second only to the Riverland – third is the Riverina in New South Wales; we will not worry about them. We are producing a third of Australia’s carrots on supermarket shelves, and barley – we are putting beer in bottles as well – wheat, chickpeas, lentils, pulses and all sorts of other things, and we are getting innovative in those spaces through the likes of Mallee Sustainable Farming and Birchip Cropping Group.

This bill broadens the information-sharing powers. We saw that this was an issue during the varroa mite outbreak, given that we knew that there was a varroa mite infested hive on the New South Wales side of the Murray River. I do not know if you know this, but bees can actually fly across a river. Some people would have you believe that they do not. The rules were very strict, so hopefully this will help ease that up so that the Commonwealth can share and states can share information.

It will clarify and improve compensation provisions. This is one thing that the apiarists, or beekeepers, were quite concerned about, given that in the Sunraysia region alone during almond pollination it is the biggest livestock movement in the country. We bring 200,000 hives into the Sunraysia region on both sides of the river, so if these provisions were not there – you can imagine that someone’s entire business could be on a single farm or it could be scattered around the region – if the apiarists were unable to move their hives out if permits were unable to be obtained, what would the compensation for that be if the business in fact went under? It was a real concern.

The bill also significantly increases the penalties and strengthens infringement provisions to further deter non-compliance with the act, including new offences relating to livestock movements and vehicle movement in quarantine areas. It would be great to see New South Wales follow suit here given the whole movement through Queensland and New South Wales into Victoria – that is generally the corridor of this particular livestock movement. Like I said, I will speak from experience because I know a lot about the varroa mite outbreak and a lot about beehives, and they are fascinating. Again, I cannot stress how important bees are to the entire ecosystem, not just the food industry.

The bill strengthens enforcement and compliance by recognising police officers as inspectors. Now, this will actually help. There has been a little bit of concern around this, but in rural areas, where it might take a day or so to get inspectors into the area, being able to have Victoria Police step in as inspectors I think could be a good thing. It does strengthen the powers of inspectors as well. It improves the clarity and efficiency around emergency management provisions. We heard the Leader of the Nationals speak about how when the varroa mite outbreak first occurred it was an eradication strategy, and like he said, it has moved to a ‘white flag’ movement now, where we are moving to management, which is what we are realistically going to have to do. I have heard a lot of speakers talk about foot-and-mouth and the burning of animals et cetera, but that is what occurred with varroa mite recently – there was the burning and eradication of hives, and thousands of them. We do not want to see that. Like I said, we love bees and we need bees, so we do not want to see that, but we want to be able to manage that. We want to be able to make sure that we have the resources to deploy strips for the hives and to manage the pests and the infestations, and we want to make sure that we can manage the people to deploy them as well.

The bill will also expand powers to request land information from councils. It is very important that everyone works together when this kind of thing happens. Whether it is varroa mite, foot-and-mouth, lumpy skin or whatever it might be, everyone needs to work together for the greater good of our food industry, because without it food security all of a sudden becomes a very real problem for everyone, not just for those of us who are producing the food and fibre, once it has trouble getting to the supermarket shelves. We saw last year lettuce at $12 each. I do not know about you, but that is too much to pay for a lettuce, and I am sure the farmers probably were not getting that either. So I cannot stress enough – and I know I bang on a lot about it in this place – how important it is to protect our food and fibre producers, make sure that when an emergency breaks out they have clarity on what the strategy is, whether it is eradication, whether it is management, what the compensation will be, who is inspecting and how you get a permit, and to make sure it is a quick process.

I spoke before about how much food we do grow in the north-west of this state. Like I said, I do sometimes refer to myself as ‘the member for Australia’s food bowl’, and I will continue to do that because I think I am. We are, like I said, producing a third of Australia’s carrots. We are the biggest almond-producing region in the country. At the moment we have headers out, we have people driving chaser bins –unfortunately I do not get to again this season – and we have what are affectionately known as ‘harvest widows’ taking care of duties, and I become one in February when the almond harvest starts.

A lot of people have finished in the north, so it is very diverse from one end of the electorate in Millewa – lighter crops to a point in the north. Some of those finished before the rain hit last week, so it seems like a good opportunity to thank them for their harvest. But those in the south of the electorate – I was talking to farmer Will yesterday, and he had had a really good run until the rain hit. I am getting alerts on my phone now that thunderstorms are coming through, and I know some of the chickpea growers got hit with hail last week as well. It had been a very good run, but it seems like we will be going well into mid-December; let us hope we get Christmas off. But I thank our food and fibre producers and I thank those that are keeping the drivers and the labourers fed at the moment for harvest. The stone fruit harvest is also going on at the moment, and the grape harvest and almond harvest will start in the new year.

I do want to finish with another reel I saw – because that is where I get all of my information, obviously – the other day. It certainly rang true, and I really quite enjoyed it. It said: ‘Without farmers, you’d be naked, hungry and sober’.

Iwan WALTERS (Greenvale) (17:08): What an act to follow! The member for Mildura knows these issues well as a representative of one of our great farming areas – the food bowl of Australia indeed. While government can work collaboratively to address some of the impacts of climate change, the vagaries of the weather will always be with us. I am mindful of those farmers up there who are worried about thunderstorms today, looking at those fronts coming through.

Government can also work to address and mitigate risk from biosecurity issues. That is why it is such an important bill that we are considering today. There have been some great contributions to the debate so far, but I want to begin by thanking the new Minister for Agriculture and her team for the exhaustive consultation that they have undertaken with the sector, with producers themselves, with peak bodies – and of course the minister’s predecessor in the role – to ensure that the measures captured in this bill wherever possible mitigate the impact of outbreaks of disease, because we know they can have an absolutely catastrophic impact not just on farmers but on farming communities, on the downstream economies that rely upon primary production. It is such an important part of our state and indeed our country as a whole.

We are in a privileged position as a continental nation to be able to establish prudent measures and barriers at airports and at other points of entry, as the member for to Mildura alluded to – those footbaths that some people will experience when coming into the country – and it is shocking to hear that some people laugh at them and pooh-pooh their importance. They are incredibly important, as we know, because they have the practical impact of preventing the ingress of some really nasty pestilence.

We can do certain things at the border, but you cannot unfortunately restrict everything from getting in. I am minded that in 1877 phylloxera made its way into Australia via Geelong and had a catastrophic impact on vineyards across south-eastern Australia. It never got into South Australia, because they had prudent quarantine measures even then, but it speaks to the real risk of harm that can occur when there is a breach of those national quarantine standards. So it is the responsibility of Victoria and all state governments to always be vigilant and always be working with farmers and supporting our primary producers to reduce the risk wherever possible of biosecurity threats. That is exactly what this bill does: it responds to a public commitment made by the government to improve exotic disease outbreak and control capabilities. The primary purpose of course is to improve our state’s capacity to manage biosecurity risk.

In addition to thanking the minister and her team for undertaking, as I say, exhaustive consultation with bodies like Apple and Pear Australia, Australian Eggs, Australian Pork Limited, Citrus Australia, Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria – great people – the Victorian Farmers Federation, the Australian Livestock & Property Agents Association and the department’s own livestock industry consultative group, I also want to acknowledge the work of the Agriculture Victoria team in my own electorate of Greenvale for the work that they undertake at the Ag Victoria facility in Attwood, which plays a really important role in our state’s defences against these kinds of risks. The work that they do, the measures that are captured within this bill, are in my mind all about, really, pandemic preparation and response and minimising the catastrophic risk of harm when such measures are not in place.

We have all been really well aware of debates over I suppose the precautionary principle of investing in pandemic safeguards before such a pandemic can take hold because of the outbreak of COVID-19 around the world and its impact in Victoria and Australia over the last few years. Investment in precautionary risk management can sometimes be difficult to justify, because you are investing in things which do not necessarily have a visible impact, because the counterfactual is not provable, but in this instance we know about the catastrophic risk of harm. It is really not an abstract threat. As other members have alluded to, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was reported in cattle in Indonesia, spread to Bali and was there on the doorstep of Australia and obviously Victoria. Just next to my electorate of Greenvale we have Melbourne Airport, with many direct flights into and out of Indonesia every day. They are really important trade routes and people-to-people connectors so that Australians can have holidays in Bali, but they also by their very existence create a threat from a biosecurity perspective.

I was in the chamber earlier for the member for South-West Coast’s contribution, and I note that she is a former, perhaps current, dairy farmer. The risk of harm from foot-and-mouth disease is not an abstract one. Many years ago as a much younger man I lived in a rural part of the UK. The adjacent village was a place called Heddon-on-the-Wall, which is where the first reported outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 took hold, I think on a pig farm where swill was being used with infected produce that was able to get into the animal food chain. Before it was known by the ministry of agriculture and food, it had taken root. Those who have mentioned that episode in this debate will recall the enormous piles of animal carcasses, which were then burnt. There is something incredibly powerful and visceral about that, but it was not just the harm to individual farmers and their families and their livelihoods; it devastated the entire rural economy of the UK for years afterwards, with hikers prevented from walking through fields because of the risk of spreading that disease.

Once something takes hold it becomes so much harder to remove and to eradicate, so prevention is the best approach in these kinds of scenarios, which is again why these measures in the bill are so important. They support farmers, hopefully, before this kind of risk actually takes hold within farms and on the land. As we have seen in the UK and in other jurisdictions around the world, once something is there in the food chain, in the agricultural system, removing it becomes so much harder and is very difficult to do without a catastrophic impact upon agricultural economies.

In Victoria it is so important that we support our agricultural economy and our agricultural communities not just because they are incredibly special places to live and to work – and I say this as somebody who spent many years living in the Wimmera and has deep connections with family and friends in other farming areas of Victoria – but because of the economic contribution they make that underpins the work that we all do here because of the tax revenue it adds and because of the export income that it generates. It is a relatively small number of farms that are producing that income – I think 22,000 at the most recent measurement – but they create so much value in the form of export income. Our farmers are increasingly diversifying away from those classic staples of fibre and grains into really high value things like the member for Mildura talked about in the stone fruit industry and honey and of course the wine industry.

There are many members who represent some fantastic vineyards and wine areas around Victoria; the member for Ripon is not here, but I think of especially the Pyrenees and the Grampians and Great Western. As I said at the start of my contribution, phylloxera is an existential threat to our winemakers and to our vignerons – on a day where we celebrate the establishment of the Parliamentary Friends of France it seems appropriate to use that. Phylloxera represents a real and acute threat to these communities. As I say, it entered Australia in 1877, spread progressively around parts of Australia and remains there endemic today. Vinehealth in 2019 estimated the cost of phylloxera to the Yarra Valley region alone is $1 billion in the form of replanting and other mitigation measures, so keeping it out of other areas is essential to preventing economic damage of a similar scale. Those signs you see on roads like the Sunraysia Highway, the Hume Highway and others entering into very high value, really high productivity areas of our agricultural space within Victoria matter. It is really important that people respect those signs.

It is really important that we have a consistent, clear approach to biosecurity management. I am really glad that this bill also seeks to harmonise the biosecurity measures that exist across jurisdictions within Australia so that the penalties for breaches are clear but also the information base for farmers, for producers, is stronger so that – and I am sure I speak for the whole house – we can avoid seeing instances like in the UK in 2001 and other forms of biosecurity hazard breaking out here, because we all want to see our agricultural and our rural communities thriving.

Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (17:18): I am also speaking on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023 today. Obviously, biosecurity is something we should take very seriously, as many other speakers have mentioned, and it is something that I have spoken about many, many times in this chamber over my years in this place. I think one thing that we have not heard as much about today is that not only is it important to keep our agricultural industry safe from pests and outbreaks that could affect industry and jobs, cost the state millions and millions of dollars and destroy our food systems but biosecurity is also really important to protect our native plants, animals and ecosystems from pests and invasive species, which can decimate threatened species.

As other people have mentioned, we have seen some pretty scary near misses and growing threats recently, including the varroa mite, where there was an infestation just on the other side of the river in New South Wales, in Sunraysia; the looming threat of foot-and-mouth disease, which other speakers have spoken about; and one of the scary ones, the red imported fire ants. A queen was found in a Victorian nursery just this year in February, and that is a pest that would have really devastating outcomes not just for agriculture but for the environment and for human health as well; it is quite a nasty bite that that ant can give you. They are just a few examples of some of the growing threats that we are seeing and some of the outbreaks that we have seen and why it is important to have biosecurity laws and measures, and the Greens absolutely support efforts to stop outbreaks, to improve biosecurity and for all levels of government to work better together, improve communication and streamline responses – some of the things that this bill looks at.

I did want to also say that we need to go further than just those communications measures or streamlining responses. Sometimes biosecurity actually needs a greater investment than what is currently on the table. For example, Victoria is still not committing the level of funding required to contribute fairly to the national plan to eradicate fire ants. We are committing a small amount, the initial agreed amount, but not what experts say is necessary to actually deal with the problem. Victoria seems to be pushing it off to other states in a way in saying ‘Well, look, it’s a problem in Queensland currently, and so Queensland should be putting up more of the funding’, which they are, and the federal government is. But this ignores the fact that if there is an outbreak in Queensland or a problem that is not contained in Queensland, if we do not eradicate it in Queensland, inevitably it will make its way to Victoria. It is really only a matter of time, and we saw that scare back in February. We have even more recently than that, just in the last few weeks, seen an outbreak in New South Wales. Fire ants obviously do not respect state borders. We all rely on each other to contain pests, to stay safe. We saw that through COVID – the same kinds of principles apply. So Victoria needs to be doing its fair share to step up and contribute the money that is necessary to eradicate fire ants in Queensland and northern New South Wales to avoid them coming down to Victoria and becoming a huge, huge problem for us.

We have also been consulting with stakeholders on this bill, and they have told us there are a few other opportunities they would have liked to see taken up in this bill – more of a whole-of-ecosystem approach, a holistic approach that really improves the coordination across the public and private land boundaries, because we know that we cannot just deal with public land. Private land is most of Victoria, and we need to make sure that we are doing control and biosecurity on private land as well. Promoting and better resourcing agricultural conditions for livestock plays a big role, and improved protections for wildlife and threatened species play a big role as well. To its credit, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action in their briefing with us have indicated there are a range of complementary pieces to this bill at work and underway, which we are pleased to see.

One thing that I want to focus on is that we are concerned – and it is something that has happened a little bit over the last few years – that the government and the opposition, the Liberals and Nationals, often use biosecurity as an excuse or a smokescreen to crack down on people who are seeking to draw attention to what is happening in animal agriculture – that is, using biosecurity as an excuse to crack down on activists who are trying to prevent animal suffering by exposing what is happening in places like sow stalls or chicken farms or other horrific situations across Victoria.

Members interjecting.

Ellen SANDELL: I am hearing Nationals members saying it is criminal behaviour, but actually this is whistleblowing behaviour. Again, Labor has decided to crack down on activists as part of this bill. Part of this bill is doubling the maximum penalty units for a whole suite of infringements, including extreme fines for activists that are already the worst in Australia. These penalties were only introduced for animal activists last year, and now the government is saying they need to be doubled. So now unlawful entry onto agricultural property would cost individuals over $23,000 and over $100,000 for organisations.

We asked the environment department to clarify why this was and why they thought it was necessary, and they said that the change was needed, the doubling of penalties was needed, to deter people. But there has actually been no evidence presented to suggest that unlawful entry by activists or whistleblowers in Victoria onto agricultural properties has ever resulted in a disease outbreak, so I do not think that the evidence really backs it up. I understand the fear, and I do not think that we can take biosecurity lightly. It is a very real threat. It is something that we do need to take seriously. But we also need to make policy based on evidence, and there has been no evidence that that kind of going onto agricultural property has ever resulted in a disease outbreak. I think biosecurity is being used as a smokescreen or an excuse to whip up fear, but actually what is being done here is trying to squash whistleblowers from exposing what is happening in some places.

It was only 18 months ago that I stood in this chamber to oppose those initial draconian changes. That was the Livestock Management Amendment (Animal Activism) Bill 2021. Huge fines and penalties were introduced for people who are whistleblowers. Let us remember what these people are doing – they are seeking to shine a light on some really poor practices that are happening to animals that are causing a huge amount of suffering, and I think Victorians really care about that. I think Victorians really want to see animals treated fairly and well here in Victoria. It is something that people care a huge amount about. Part of why people care about it and why people know about these practices happening and why they are not happening behind closed doors anymore is because whistleblowers – people – have exposed these practices. If you look at things like live exports, that created a huge outpouring of care in the community, and the only way that that came to light was people being willing to expose that and talk about what was happening. What is happening here is the government is protecting those who are perhaps doing the wrong thing and protecting those who are causing animal suffering instead of protecting the defenceless animals that are suffering, and I do not think that is exactly what the Victorian community would expect of a government.

We do not need deterrence of this whistleblowing. What we need is an increase in industry oversight and an improvement to animal welfare standards, and if we had that improvement to animal welfare standards – if we did things like banning sow stalls and cage hens and ensuring that animals are able to live a life free of suffering – then you would not have people seeking to go in and expose that behaviour and be whistleblowers. I think that is a win–win for everyone. If we had higher standards for animal agriculture, then I do not think you would need these kinds of laws that criminalise this behaviour.

The Law Institute of Victoria pointed out at the time when we were discussing the other bill, the livestock management bill, that harsh financial penalties do very little to deter anyone seeking to expose disturbing or cruel activities taking place on farmland. All they are going to do is bankrupt whistleblowers who are trying to make a change. The thing is that, as I mentioned before, I am very sympathetic to those who want to make sure that we are not doing anything to threaten our biosecurity, but these penalties do not even make sense when you look at the evidence. We asked the government for data on the new laws and penalties and how often they have been used, and data provided by the government shows there have actually been zero official warnings and zero infringement notices issued to activists since these offences were introduced. That to me seems a little baffling – that all of a sudden we need to double the penalties for an offence that is not being committed. It does not seem to make a lot of sense. It is more of a political move, I would say.

In fact in 2022, just last year, the Liberals and Nationals Shadow Minister for Agriculture stood up and tried to introduce a plan to double the penalty units for trespass and activist-related offences. At the time Labor rejected that proposal. They said, ‘No, we don’t need them. We already have the harshest penalties against activists in this country,’ which is true but which is a problem in its own right. But at the time Labor said ‘No, we don’t need this, because we already have harsh penalties and laws – we don’t need to double them’. Now Labor has backflipped and has decided to double the penalties. So all I can see has happened is that they have caved in to the Nationals and a scare campaign from the Nationals, which I do not think is the right way to make policy. I think we want to make policy based on evidence and based on the goals that the Victorian community have rather than on a scare campaign.

Members interjecting.

Ellen SANDELL: I am hearing Nationals say things like what about the risks. I have talked about that – there have been no offences committed under these acts since those offences came in. There is a scare campaign being run by the Nationals saying that there is this huge risk to our biosecurity. It is just not backed up by the evidence. If it was backed up by the evidence then I think that Victorians would expect the government to look at that, but it is actually not backed up by the evidence whatsoever, and Victorians expect us to make policy based on evidence rather than on scare campaigns.

In terms of those elements of the bill, the Greens cannot support them. Today I will be circulating some amendments to get rid of the doubling of penalties for activists, so to omit clauses 96 to 98 from the bill. Under standing orders I wish to advise the house of these amendments to the bill and request they be circulated.

Amendments circulated under standing orders.

Ellen SANDELL: I urge all MPs to vote for these amendments, particularly the Labor MPs in this place who got up just last year and said that these penalties are not necessary. Labor was very clear last year: we already have the harshest penalties in Australia. We do not need to double the penalties. It is not backed up by evidence, it is not backed up by data. No offences have been committed. This is simply bowing down to a scare campaign by the Nationals, so I very much hope that Labor goes back to that position and votes for these amendments to remove those penalties from the bill.

I hope that we are able to have a really mature conversation about biosecurity, because I think it is something that everyone in this place can agree on. It is something that the Nationals and the Greens can agree on, that biosecurity is important. But doing something that just looks like you are doing something, that is actually whipping up fear, that is penalising activists and whistleblowers who seek only to lessen the suffering of animals that we rely on – I think that it would be much better to focus our energies on biosecurity measures that really make a tangible difference and that are so desperately needed given the growing threats and outbreaks that we are seeing rather than just bowing down to a scare campaign.

Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (17:32): I rise to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. In doing so I would like to commend Ros Spence, the new Minister for Agriculture, and her team and department for bringing this bill to the house, but also the minister at the table, the Minister for Jobs and Industry, a portfolio which this bill relates to just as strongly in terms of jobs and economic development.

Victoria is Australia’s agricultural heartland, with Victorians relying on our farmers and producers every day for their food and produce. Our state’s agricultural sector is also critical to supporting the socio-economic wellbeing of our regional communities and economies. The Victorian Labor government recognises that our farms and agribusinesses are an essential part of a thriving Victoria, particularly for our rural regions but also our suburban communities, because it is across Melbourne’s suburbs that much of Victoria’s farm produce comes to the plate and this is where much of Victoria’s agricultural produce is transported to, processed and on-sold for domestic, national and international markets to consume and enjoy. A healthy and vibrant regional Victorian agricultural sector also means healthy and vibrant local economies and local jobs across Melbourne’s suburban cafes, restaurants, food processors and manufacturers, including across the northern suburbs of Melbourne and my communities of Pascoe Vale, Coburg and Brunswick West, which I will touch on soon.

That is why the Labor government understands that we must continue to strengthen, grow and protect the agricultural sector, namely, by maintaining its world-leading reputation, health and vibrancy, including through Victoria’s internationally renowned high-quality beef cattle, dairy, sheep, horticulture, cropping, fresh fruit, vegetable and food industries. That is why this bill is so important. Protecting our agriculture sector from exotic pests, diseases and biosecurity risks is fundamental to securing the wellbeing of the sector for both our regional and suburban communities. Whilst Australia and Victoria have long had the luxury of distance and being surrounded by vast oceans when it comes to protecting us from foreign pests and disease, our increasing connectedness with the globe via trade, freight and tourism, including via Melbourne Airport as the member for Greenvale pointed out, means that we must remain ever vigilant to protect our pristine environment, which is the envy of the world, and in doing so protect our various sectors.

This bill strengthens Victoria’s capability to manage biosecurity risks, including preparing for, responding to and recovering from the detection or outbreak of an exotic animal disease, plant disease or pest. The bill supports a public commitment made by the government to improve exotic disease preparedness and response capabilities by ensuring a holistic and effective legislative framework to protect our valuable agricultural sectors. The bill seeks to achieve these outcomes via a number of measures to strengthen emergency management, traceability and enforcement measures, including through amendments to the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, amendments to the Livestock Management Act 2010 and amendments to the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010.

The amendments to the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 contain a number of measures, including significantly increasing penalties for offences for the contravention of provisions related to exotic animal diseases and livestock traceability requirements to underscore the seriousness of these offences and the potential harm that can be inflicted on the community, the environment and the economy. The reforms also clarify the emergency management provisions to enhance the efficiency of preparedness and response activities by broadening the delegation powers of the minister to declare controlled and restricted areas and the sharing of information between jurisdictions and departments.

The amendments to the Livestock Management Act 2010 also double the penalties for offences relating to non-compliance with prescribed biosecurity measures and strengthen the existing framework available to mitigate against biosecurity risks caused by unlawful entry onto agricultural premises. The amendments to the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010 confer the power to the minister to declare a control area, rather than the Governor in Council, in the event of a plant, pest or disease outbreak to help facilitate a timely response to mitigate against any potential risks. When combined, these measures will help us to continue to protect our state’s agricultural sector and natural environment from many exotic pests and diseases.

As set out in the government’s Victorian Agriculture Industry Overview of January 2023, the sector continues to play an increasingly major role in terms of economic and jobs production. The agriculture sector contributes $17.5 billion in production to the state. It contributes $17.9 billion in total food and fibre exports for the state. It is made up of 21,600 farm businesses and supports a total of 150,100 agricultural. food and beverage and manufacturing jobs across the state. Overall the sector does contribute $16.5 billion directly towards the gross state product, which makes up 3.5 per cent of our state’s gross state product. Victoria is also the number one producer in Australia of table and dried grapes, making up 70 per cent of our production; the number one producer of milk, with 5.65 billion litres or 64 per cent of our national production; the number one Australian producer for sheep meat, making up 47 per cent of national production; Australia’s number one producer for fruit and nuts, making up 35 per cent of national production; and also Australia’s number one producer for vegetables, making up 22 per cent of national production. We are proudly also the number one food and fibre exporter in Australia, making up 26 per cent of national exports, which consist of dairy products – 73 per cent of our dairy exports come from Victoria; skin and hides exports and wool – 51 per cent of national exports; animal fibre, contributing 47 per cent of national exports; horticultural exports, with 46 per cent coming from Victoria; and finally prepared foods such as prepared milk formulas and the like, making up 36 per cent of national exports.

As I said from the outset, while rural and regional Victoria may be the heartland of Australia’s agricultural sector, it is our state’s manufacturing sector which has long been the vehicle through which the value of our agricultural sector has been leveraged and maximised. Of the 150,000 jobs associated with the sector, over 82,400 jobs – more than half – are directly associated with the food and beverage manufacturing sector. With our state’s overall manufacturing sector home to 30 per cent of the nation’s manufacturing output and consisting of a $31 billion industry and more than 23,000 firms and employing 260,000 people, the health and wellbeing of agricultural food and fibre producers are playing an increasingly important role in the future prosperity of the overall manufacturing sector, particularly across the northern suburbs.

I am glad that the Minister for Jobs and Industry is at the table at the moment to hear a lot of these stats that I am about to run through. North Link is a regional economic development and business network group that was established in 1995 and has long advocated for the manufacturing sector across the north. Executive director Chris James, who I have spoken with in preparing for this contribution, has informed me that the state’s agricultural produce is increasingly playing a major role in driving manufacturing output across the north. He stated:

Melbourne’s North is fast becoming Australia’s premier food manufacturing and exporting region, with over 400 manufacturers turning over $1 million or more, nearly 10,000 of Victoria’s 34,000 food manufacturing workers plus a significant supply chain …

being located in the north.

This includes significant transport and logistics infrastructure such as Melbourne Airport, Melbourne Market, the Hume Freeway, the … Ring Road, the Calder Freeway … two proposed intermodal freight terminals at Somerton and Beveridge, two food research universities including the La Trobe University … two TAFES – the Melbourne Polytechnic and Kangan Institute, Melbourne Innovation Centre’s FoodINC kitchen …

and many, many other organisations primed and ready to support the sector to grow.

In this respect I would particularly like to highlight the work, research and development being led out of La Trobe University in Bundoora, which has over $300 million in assets specifically devoted to agriculture. The Brumby government funded the construction of the $288 million AgriBio facility, which co-houses Agriculture Victoria and La Trobe Uni researchers and students. The facility undertakes world-leading research to protect Victorians from any range of agricultural threats to this vital industry.

This year La Trobe also self-funded the establishment of the Institute of Sustainable Agriculture and Food, with the university making a $25 million strategic commitment over five years to leverage further matched funding and support. But it is the key piece, the proposed Australian food innovation centre at La Trobe University, which would see the CSIRO co-locate with the Bundoora campus and join with the significant research assets already onsite. The food innovation centre would see the farm-to-plate capacity develop, with everything located in one place and collaboration on basic research into seeds and grains all the way through to the production of food. With La Trobe’s world-leading expertise spanning from soil to seed research all the way through, again, to food manufacturing, which has a strong and long presence across Melbourne’s north, there is no better location to consider than La Trobe Uni for this future centre.

But along with these future opportunities, there are also current businesses and workers who do an amazing job across my community to value-add to the agricultural sector. On 20 November last week I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Visy’s food can manufacturing factory in Charles Street in North Coburg. Visy’s food can facility in North Coburg manufactures 1 billion – that is 1 billion – food and drink can ends each year. So when you go to the supermarket and pick up a can of Australian- or Victorian-manufactured drink or food, it is more likely than not that in your hands or in your pantry is a can that has been made – the top of it – by Visy workers in Coburg North. I really want to thank the local workers, including Andrew, Tony and Grant, who provided me with a comprehensive tour, walking the respective assembly lines, which they are very proud of, to meet with many of the 130 workers. Visy Coburg North also particularly does provide a lot of can tops for producers in Shepparton, namely.

Building off our rich cultural manufacturing history in my community, we are increasingly becoming home to or destination for more food and beverage manufacturers. Earlier this year, for example, I visited Wonder Pies in Newlands Road in North Coburg, one of the newest additions to Coburg’s growing food and culinary experience at the new Newlands Quarter. They source their incredible produce from Provenir, who are located in Gippsland and recognised as ethical producers. Wonder Pies does an amazing job of producing handcrafted, exceptional pies, employing 100 local workers, and even producing for and supplying to the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Open and other events. I commend Ray Capaldi, the chef, and Jodi Crocker, the CEO. I commend the bill to the house.

Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (17:42): I am delighted to rise to make a contribution after that fine contribution from the member for Pascoe Vale. In fact I have heard some fine contributions throughout the day from both sides of the chamber. I have heard some wonderful contributions, with everybody trying to protect biosecurity, trying to look after our farming communities – and then the Greens spoke. Now I was having a bad day. I just could not believe what the Greens were trying to say at the end of the day. They are trying to water down the trespass laws. They are trying to say let us protect whistleblowers, which is just disgraceful. Their amendments are just not worth the paper they are written on, and I do hope they will just get thrown out as quickly as they came in – make a paper plane out of them. Really this bill is about protecting farming and protecting communities and all the businesses and the flow-on effects that go with farming, and we have already heard from so many people.

The Leader of the Nationals spoke about the $50 billion it could cost Australia if we had foot-and-mouth come in. And it is not far away; it is only over in Indonesia. When we talk about these fools who are trespassers that come onto our properties, what is to say somebody does not take that into their own hands and see that the biosecurity is risked in Australia – and foot-and-mouth could come in. That is something that we have to protect ourselves against, because that would just cost us all. We saw what happened in England many years ago; others have spoken about that and the cost and the pain that that caused in England when they had foot-and-mouth disease.

Just to put it in context so you understand I am not speaking without experience here, I grew up on a dairy farm not far from the member for Frankston – just down there at Koo Wee Rup – and 20 years our family spent over there as dairy farmers. Then we moved to Cobram, and I was a dairy farmer for 25 years up there. So I reckon I can safely say I am well embedded in the dairy industry. It is a rewarding industry. And it is a tough industry, I have got to say – seven days a week, and it does not go away. You first become a grass farmer and then you become a dairy farmer, because it all comes in together.

Michael O’Brien: The Greens are grass farmers too.

Tim McCURDY: Yes, the Greens are grass farmers, but they smoke it, member for Malvern; they do not actually feed it to animals. No, they do different things. But anyway, that is an aside.

In terms of being a dairy farmer, we would milk 1300 cows, and if you look at the logistics of 1300 cows, you end up with 1300 calves. Trying to rear those calves and manage all those – the member for South-West Coast certainly understands where I am coming from because she is a large dairy farmer herself and understands the care and the knowledge that you need to have in animal welfare. Rearing animals from conception to birth, rearing the calves, managing the sickness and obviously the death – it is the full circle of life. Dairy farmers – and not just dairy farmers, but a lot of beef farmers and sheep farmers – know all about that full circle of life and how important it is to protect that. This bill is all about protecting the cattle industry – dairy and beef – and sheep and other industries, and the economic and the flow-on effect of this bill will help and certainly improve the control area and the represented provisions there. It will also amend compensation payout procedures for exotic diseases.

We have heard about varroa mite today and what damage that has done to our regions. It first came in I think in Newcastle a couple of years ago, and they thought they had it under control. But before we knew it, it spread right down to the border, and now we have got it. It has been handled well now. I mean, we have accepted that it is endemic – it is here, and we just have to deal with it. But with something like foot-and-mouth we would not be so lucky. There would be a lot of death, a lot of destruction, a lot of pain should that come across our borders. That productivity would certainly be reduced. The member for South-West Coast also spoke about suitable land around the world. We actually do not farm on that much land around the world. With the water available to us and the suitable land, the growing and harvesting of food is so important, and protecting that is absolutely paramount.

I mentioned that I wrote down the increased penalties in my notes before, and then hearing from the Greens that they think the penalties should be reduced rather than increased – it is just staggering that that is how they think. I do get frustrated when single-minded groups think that they are the fount of all knowledge when it comes to animal welfare. The member for South-West Coast said farmers are environmentalists, and they genuinely want to look after their animals, because it is self-interest; it is in their best interest to look after the animals and the environment they work in, and it is just so important that they do that. We do not need trespassers and others who think they can make decisions on someone else’s behalf. They literally are trespassers.

The bill will also improve enforcement capability for Victorian police officers. It basically puts more hands on deck in the event of a disaster. I heard the member for Lowan talk earlier, and she mentioned that there could be up to 5000 extra bodies needed in the event of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth, and that is people to help manage biosecurity – to help in all sorts of areas. That is why if you can empower the Victorian police to have other skills and other opportunities to help out in that department, it will certainly fill that void, or help fill that void, if that time was to ever come. When we say ‘ever’, I think we have to assume in this day and age, with the amount of backwards and forwards that happens across the world and around the world, at some stage something like foot-and-mouth could come into Australia and we just have to be very well prepared. It is about having good systems in place, but it is also about having the right penalties to try and send those right messages. As the member for Melton said, having worked at the airport, it is amazing how many fools do come in and do not understand how important things like biosecurity are – where you have been and where you have walked with the shoes you have got on. The bill will also strengthen traceability requirements to improve compliance and enforcement and will improve compliance processes by broadening the permit provisions in relation to the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010, which is important there.

I will expand on the power to request land information from councils, one thing I would have hoped that this bill could have gone a little bit further on. I know we are talking biosecurity, but when we talk about protecting farmers and farming communities, I have got a couple of issues up in my patch. One is at Bobinawarrah or Meadow Creek, where there is a solar farm, a solar factory going in. Again, one or two people sell off their land to an international corporate, and the other 50 that live around it say, hang on a minute, what are the risks for us? That concerns me. A whole community is at risk from what two farmers can do. The same thing is happening at Dederang. There is a lithium battery factory from Mint Renewables. They are trying to put 100 lithium batteries in. Think of 100 lithium batteries – they are as big as a shipping container – and what that will do to the environment, what that will do to that community and the risks associated with that.

To think of a risk in that circumstance, your public liability insurance – if you accidentally have a fire start in your wheat farm because your head have caught on fire, which is not good news for you, but then that fire goes into one of these solar factories or a lithium factory that is a half-a-billion-dollar project or in that vicinity, you simply do not have a public liability policy that will go that high, and you will just be walking away from the land. So they are the concerns that we have. I am moving a little bit away from the bill, I do respect that, but I am saying there is still more we can do to protect those industries.

Like nearly everyone in this chamber, I do thank all food producers and fibre producers in Victoria, whether they produce dairy, beef, sheep, goats – everything. I mean, in my electorate – I live in Cobram – we have got peaches, we have got apricots, we have got nectarines, all those stone fruits, and apples and pears, and if you move across to Yarrawonga, we have got cereals and beef, and then we have got the Kelly Brothers, who produce for the Melbourne market, and in Wangaratta and Myrtleford we have got beef and blueberries and chestnuts. So, I mean, there is nothing you cannot grow – obviously that is not tropical of course – in our region, and it is being grown.

It is a very delicate balance that we walk when we talk about protecting biosecurity, having that balance between being viable in an industry and being able to do the right thing by animal welfare but at the end of the day being able to make a profit and be reasonable about what you do. It is a delicate balance that I say that we walk. It is a tightrope that we tread, and taking risks with food and fibre is just simply not on. I am delighted to see both sides of this chamber in unison today, because my communities will be rapt to know that both sides of this chamber and nearly everybody is supporting this legislation wholeheartedly, because it is so important to our communities.

Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (17:52): Just zoning in on the actual purpose of the bill – I think there may have been a little flavour over there, the inference that somehow it is pernicious and there is penance and it is somehow here in a destructive format, which in fact is not the case. Broadly speaking there has been unity insofar as really identifying what this bill is all about, and it is about strengthening the way we manage biosecurity risks. So that is the good and proper rationale, and that is absolutely what is sought to be delivered here, because fundamentally so much is at risk were we not to advance and to continually revise and strengthen the protections in this space. We have already had many in the chamber discuss the drastic, terrible ramifications when you have a biosecurity outbreak and how devastating it can be, whether it is for the bee population or our precious livestock or otherwise or plants, native flora and fauna. So there is a really good underlying rationale for bringing about these reforms today, and that is the way that I think is right and proper that this bill should be spoken to, because that is the underlying purpose that is driving these reforms.

Fundamentally, it is also about encouraging particularly farmers to come forth – not inferring that they would not, and in fact past experience identifies that farmers have been, on the whole, very forward in terms of allowing the authorities to be able to intercept and to deal with those risks when they are identified, because I think nothing could be much more frightening to a farmer than having a devastating outbreak on their property, whether it is in crops, livestock or otherwise. So there certainly is a good imperative for our agricultural community to be on board with identifying and not in any way concealing the traceability of identified biosecurity risks, and really that is the impetus around the enhancement of the penalties that are being brought about through this bill. It is again really just encouraging in a pretty strident way, because of the ramifications if we were not to strengthen these protections, people coming forward as soon as they identify that there is a biosecurity risk.

So fundamentally, whilst we see a strengthening of penalties, it comes back to that underlying good and proper rationale of protecting our precious livestock and protecting our plants across the country. Of course this bill here is zoning in on Victoria in particular, but I say ‘across the country’ because we know that biosecurity risks, as has been stated in the chamber, do not necessarily stop at the border, so it is also upon us to do the right thing and protect our local flora and fauna to the best of our ability. You know what, I was thinking about the incredible quality of our produce. Before my first trip to Europe – that was many a moon ago, I should say – I remember I almost took for granted the quality of our lamb and dairy. It was not until I went over to Europe – and they have some beautiful produce as well – that I suddenly could see clearly the high calibre and the quality of the produce that we have here. Sometimes you need to travel for that purpose – so that, if nothing else, you realise what a great country we live in and how hard our farmers work to deliver such tremendous produce.

I want to also acknowledge, as we are speaking to this bill, their incredibly long hours. I think it has been spoken about that it is a seven-day-a-week job. We have an increasingly unstable climate. They have global pricing and other challenges that make it extremely difficult and delicate. It is a high-risk job, let us face it, and we all rely on it. I certainly am not growing my food at home. I live in an apartment, and I am very grateful for the farmers and all the hard work that they do to deliver beautiful fresh produce every day – day in, day out. That is certainly something I am extremely grateful for –and the risks that they take to be able to deliver that for the benefit of all of us.

I should say my great-aunt and great-uncle – my great-aunt is still alive today, she is in her 80s, but my great-uncle passed away a few years ago – used to own a dairy farm. They got up at about 3 am. It was pretty hard work, day in, day out, but I tell you what, it has made her resilient. To this day she still builds fences and all sorts at 80. It is incredible. It has made her incredibly resilient, and she would not think of actually hiring anyone to do the job, though we might suggest it, because although she is very resilient I do think in her 80s she could get some help. But it is that incredible resilience that perhaps many farmers have. They get used to doing everything themselves. They do not necessarily have a lot of help on hand. That gave me a bit of a better understanding about what it takes to work the land and then to deliver produce on time and to meet the calibre and quality the community have come to expect. I would like to think we do not take it for granted. I think there is a united sense of gratitude for that hard work, but at the same time I am grateful that that was able to be imparted to me as well. I will give a shout-out to my great-aunt Lois; may she live on for many a year. Bless her for her hard work. She is certainly an inspiration.

I distracted myself a little bit there, didn’t I? But coming back to the purpose of the bill, really, we are aware as a government of the importance of encouraging farmers to promptly report any suspicion of disease on their properties, as timely reporting is crucial for effective disease control and prevention.

A member interjected.

Nina TAYLOR: Yes. This is what the bill is about. It is not about attacking any one individual, to be honest, in community or otherwise. I think it should be taken in that vein and with the purpose for which it was designed, because it is in all our interests to do everything possible to mitigate the impact of any particular biosecurity outbreak and better manage any situations should they unfold at any particular point in time.

I did want to just speak a little bit to the issue of compensation. I should say the bill enables the minister to evaluate a broader range of situations when deciding to reduce or deny compensation. On that point, out on a further limb, I did want to say: it is expected that the minister deciding to reduce or deny compensation would be a rare occurrence. I think that is important because we do not want anyone to be alarmed by the particular provisions, which are just allowing for a broader range of contingencies, which is of course important when we are looking to strengthen the way that we manage biosecurity outbreaks. The reason why it has been a rare occurrence – and this comes back to a point that I was seeking to make earlier – is that livestock producers have commendably followed requirements and assisted in successful exotic disease responses in the past. They are to be commended for that; however, it is just allowing for the contingency where, in the event that a person’s compensation payment is reduced or denied, the applicant will be notified of the decision and the reasons and will be able to apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a review of that decision. I am just clarifying one of the elements that could arise but is not likely to be a common occurrence because we have such good precedent in terms of farmers actually coming forth and being open to alerting authorities and identifying where there have been biosecurity outbreaks on their properties.

We want to continue this good practice to make sure that we keep our beautiful state healthy and look after our flora and fauna as best we can, because it is in all our interests, isn’t it? At the end of the day, we all need food and we also just want to be supportive of our beautiful environment. It deserves to be protected. Certainly when we are looking at precious species, particularly things such as bees, we really cannot afford to put them in jeopardy, so these protections are very important.

Annabelle CLEELAND (Euroa) (18:02): I rise today to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023, a bill that I am happy to support. This is a bill with widespread support across the relevant sectors, including farmers, the wider agricultural and horticultural industries, police and our government departments – all bar the Greens.

In recent years the threats of emergency animal disease, pests and weeds have received increased media interest, particularly following the presence of foot-and-mouth disease, varroa mite and Japanese encephalitis, as well as lumpy skin disease in Indonesia. Victoria’s biosecurity laws have been under review for some time now by this government, and this included seeking stakeholder feedback. This piece of legislation today acts upon this feedback and makes some changes to the existing legislative framework in order to better manage the risks associated with exotic pests and disease. This will primarily be achieved through a series of amendments to current biosecurity legislation, such as the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, the Livestock Management Act 2010 and the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010. These changes are predominately based on increased penalties or creating new offences, information sharing, allocation of powers and issuing of notices and information electronically.

This legislation will also improve Victoria’s preparedness and response capability to biosecurity threats and provide further protection for Victoria’s agricultural and horticultural sectors. Biosecurity threats to our local farms and primary producers have seen an uptick in recent times. Benalla Abattoirs, a meat processor within my electorate, has been one of these producers who has been threatened and whose biosecurity protections have been significantly under threat recently. The Farm Transparency Project – which I am reluctant to mention – formerly known as Aussie Farms, has held multiple protests at this processor, disrupting animal arrivals by approaching delivery trucks and interfering with livestock. I visited Benalla Abattoirs with the Shadow Minister for Agriculture and was able to understand firsthand the massive operational toll these threats were having on both business staff and animal welfare.

Last year the Nationals proposed increased biosecurity protections and harsher penalties for trespassing activists, something rejected by the Labor government. Victoria’s maximum farm trespass fines are currently half the maximum in New South Wales. Increasing the maximum penalty would have sent a strong message to anyone considering trespassing on private property that we will not tolerate illegal invasions of strong local businesses. Due to weak laws we are seeing groups like the Farm Transparency Project feel comfortable enough to repeatedly disrupt businesses with criminal behaviour.

I was appalled by the Greens member’s earlier contribution where she called this a scare campaign by the Nationals. I have sat with Colin Sinclair and spoken to him repeatedly and understood firsthand the personal toll, the emotional toll on staff and the animal welfare risks, and you can kind of start to understand why 70 per cent of our ham and bacon is actually imported when it becomes impossible to operate in Victoria. Benalla Abattoirs contribute a significant amount to the local community, both economically and by putting food on the table for families across the electorate. Producers like them deserve to run their business without threats to the biosecurity of their product, as do all the consumers in our region. With this bill, through amendments to the Livestock Management Act 2010 within it, there are increased powers for strengthening enforcement and compliance by recognising police officers as inspectors able to exercise any power of inspections under the act, and further deterring non-compliance with the act by significantly increasing the penalties for offences related to prescribed biosecurity measure provisions. While this will not directly resolve the issues faced by businesses like the Benalla abattoir, it is pleasing to see a large focus on general threats to biosecurity and the ability of police to act upon them through this legislation.

Sadly, we are seeing biosecurity threats come from a variety of different angles, and addressing all of them does remain a difficult task. At areas like the Winton Wetlands and its surrounds, the overabundance of kangaroos is causing issues and concerns about the biosecurity of the area. The Winton Wetlands, located within my electorate, is an 8750-hectare site that features 32 distinct wetland zones and is home to a huge variety of native flora and fauna, including over 180 species of birds. With a growing population of kangaroos, threats to the wider wetlands ecosystem and its neighbours have increased. When found in excessively high numbers, like in the Winton Wetlands, kangaroos become pests, and farmers need to keep them off their properties. Under the government’s kangaroo harvesting program and authority to control wildlife, permits are given to property owners to manage this. Yet we are not seeing enough issued.

In questions to ministers, information about the number and rate of permits being issued under these plans has been hard to come by. What I am hearing from my community is regardless of how many permits have been issued and how many kangaroos have been harvested, they are still running rampant and destroying the local area. Like any traditional livestock industry, the kangaroo harvesting sector faces very similar risks of disease and pest incursions, many of which have the capability to impact entire livestock industries. It is imperative that this issue be managed effectively, yet this Labor government is failing to adequately support the Winton Wetlands and its surrounds to safely manage biosecurity threats. Funding for Winton Wetlands is set to expire at the end of this year, with no plans yet made to continue support in the new year. With this being such a massive environmental project, full government support is imperative.

Another concerning area of biosecurity for our state revolves around the capacities of our veterinarians and their ability to respond to outbreaks. Sadly, in my electorate and across many rural communities, the veterinary profession is not in a strong position. Rural private vets are short of staff and struggling to meet the needs of clients, and there has been progressive downsizing of the animal health division at the department of agriculture. This notion has been reinforced by recent inquiries into vet shortages in New South Wales. Having spoken to a local vet in Euroa, Dr Andrew Jacotine, he was able to provide me with some further information:

I think the breaking point probably happened last year.

The industry is now in contraction and has permanently changed to a new normal.

Last year we wanted staff – now I am not sure we do –we have changed from providing services over 168 hours of the week to now just 45 hours a week.

We don’t have the total workload as we did.

Another person in the industry I have spoken with recently has been the former member for Benalla who was a vet for 30 years in disease control at a state and national level, spending time in the UK during the FMD outbreak in 2001. Here is what Dr Bill Sykes said:

When we had the nervousness of the FMD in Indonesia, I asked questions about the Victorian department of agriculture’s resourcing and ability to respond in the first couple of weeks of an outbreak.

It was difficult to get objective answers and I was given repeated assurances that things were all under control.

He did not buy it, though, and instead suggested some questions were raised about how our state would handle a biosecurity threat. What is the level of preparedness and resourcing of the department’s animal health division when it comes to an outbreak as serious as FMD? Do they have contracts to employ vets and other skilled professionals at short notice? Do they have a list of suitable vets and other skilled professionals to contact? Within the government services, what training has been done for staff to be part of the massive team response that is required?

He also talks about biosecurity being a multitiered risk management exercise. Firstly, and this is primarily a federal concern, we must reduce it coming into our state from overseas.

A member interjected.

Annabelle CLEELAND: I am saying we do not have 5000 vets employed right now. This is achieved with high-security quarantine requirements for both passengers and goods.

The second tier is early detection and rapid response. This is where the state government must come in. This tier requires having livestock owners aware and willing to report as well as having capable staff at field-lab level. Farmers wear a high level of responsibility for maintaining biosecurity on their enterprises on a day-to-day basis, not just for concerns about exotic diseases. That is why we have whole-of-life identification of livestock, the protection of our properties and certification on animals that come onto our property, the same as with feed and contractors. You may have a high level of biosecurity if the risks or consequences are high, such as intensive poultry or pigs, where you have limited access and people going in to have contact with the animals. In essence, we must continue to find ways to help our farmers and protect the biosecurity of our state, and I am pleased this bill achieves this.

A quick shout-out to Toot Morgan and the Hill boys of Colbinabbin, who let me ride their header this week, as they go through harvest, which is a really wonderful time for our region. I am very proud of all of our agricultural producers, including my husband.

Paul MERCURIO (Hastings) (18:12): I rise to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. The bill makes amendments to three separate acts: the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, the Livestock Management Act 2010 and the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010. I would like to thank everyone who worked on this bill. It is not a big bill – it is only 58 pages long, with about 100 clauses – and I dare say it is not the most exciting bill that I have read. In fact it is a very dry and somewhat dense bill. However, it is an immensely important bill for the future of our state and for our children’s future. At its core, this bill is to strengthen our state’s capability to manage biosecurity risks, better prepare Victoria for outbreaks and disease, ensure that we have efficient legislative frameworks in place and mitigate any potential risk of disruptions amongst the industry due to an outbreak or a potential outbreak.

In doing research, I went onto the Agriculture Victoria website, and I found the biosecurity statement for Victoria. Part of that statement outlines its vision. It is quite a beautiful piece of writing, and I just want to read that in the chamber today:

Our vision

We look toward a future where Victoria’s communities are healthy, our farms are prosperous, and our culture and wellbeing are supported by a vibrant and whole natural environment.

A future where everyone in our state understands the threats posed by harmful pests and diseases and acts to protect and enhance their communities and the environment around them.

Where Victoria’s food and fibre industries are sending clean and safe produce around the world, setting a standard for safety, efficiency and sustainability.

Where all Victorians can align around a vision of what’s right for Victoria, and act confidently in support of that vision, informed by evidence and the knowledge of Traditional Owners.

Where we can pass Victoria along, unique and enriched, out of respect for the people who cared for it before us, and for the sake of the people, plants, and animals that will live in Victoria in the future.

I just thought that was quite a beautiful piece of writing.

Jordan Crugnale: If we could hear it.

Paul MERCURIO: If you could hear it. I will repeat it again later. But to me that writing –

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): The speaker himself is having difficulty hearing. Could we please show him the respect he deserves while he gives his contribution.

Paul MERCURIO: Thank you, Acting Speaker. As I said, I thought that was a beautiful piece of writing, and for me it encapsulates perfectly what the biosecurity legislation amendment bill of 2023 is about and what it wants to achieve, and that is a positive, prosperous and safe future for our community, for our state, for our plants and animals and for our agricultural businesses for a healthy and thriving economy.

There is far too much at stake to not do this properly, to not look after our future and to allow, maybe through laziness, inaction or apathy, diseases to sneak into Australia and indeed Victoria and infect our animals and plants and our economy. What is at stake? Agribusiness in Australia brings in revenue of over $300 billion, employs over 650,000 people across more than 180,000 businesses and pays wages of almost $30 billion. That is at stake. In Victoria agribusiness is worth over $17 billion and employs over 70,000 people across more than 21,000 agribusinesses. Victoria is Australia’s largest food and fibre exporter for value, accounting for 26 per cent of the national total, and exports to over 170 destinations around the world. That is at stake. Down my way, on the Mornington Peninsula, agribusiness is worth $1.3 billion, employs thousands of locals and drives a thriving tourism industry. That is at stake.

The bill is kind of like the invisible force field that is designed to keep Victoria safe from outside threats of animal and plant disease, and the way this invisible force field works is by focusing on three key areas: prevention and mitigation, preparedness and response, and management and control. This bill speaks to these issues through the changes made in the amendment of the three acts: the Livestock Disease Control Act, the Livestock Management Act and the Plant Biosecurity Act.

In terms of prevention and mitigation, the amendments to the Livestock Management Act create a much stronger legislative framework regarding the biosecurity risks caused by unlawful entry into agricultural premises. A lot has been said about this, and I agree with it. We have all seen on the news images and videos of protesters or individuals that trespass on farms in order to push their point of view about alleged animal cruelty or the fact that we should not be farming animals at all. Not only does this cause immense stress and anxiety to farmers, their families and their animals, but it is also a huge biosecurity risk, and therefore it puts at risk the farmers’ businesses and those surrounding businesses. To this end the Livestock Management Act has significantly increased fines for unlawful entry to a property. Additionally, on-the-spot fines have been increased for individuals and for organisations. Penalties have been increased for damaging, defacing or removing biosecurity signage that has been erected to notify people of their responsibilities before entering a biosecure property.

The bill also seeks to recognise police officers as inspectors under the Livestock Management Act and the Livestock Disease Control Act. I know that our police force do an amazing job and are overworked to some extent, but I am very glad for this change. I think it is a very positive outcome.

Coming under the preparedness and response theme, another important measure this bill introduces is the modernisation of how we notify the public about notices under the act, such as control area and restricted area orders, and facilitating the electronic service of documents. With more and more people opting to receive information electronically, this just makes sense.

Regarding management and control, this bill also removes some administrative red tape by allowing the minister or their delegate to declare a control area in the event of a plant, pest or disease outbreak rather than having to go to the Governor in Council. Any time delay can lead to further costs to businesses and industry, so this bill will allow for that important administrative change to occur.

I met earlier this year with representatives from the Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria, and I also attended their AGM, which was amazing and was held in Tyabb at Australian Growing Solutions. They do amazing work, and this is just another showcase of how important agriculture is in my electorate. This bill will ensure that places like Australian Growing Solutions and others are protected from exotic plants, pests or diseases that would severely impact their business and industry. This is done through improving the efficiency of emergency response and management provisions that are directly related to plant pests and diseases but also by significantly increasing penalties for offences. Having increased fines creates a greater deterrence for non-compliance and reinforces to the industry and broader community that biosecurity is not to be taken lightly. Increasing the fines and penalties is necessary when comparing them to the costs of a potential outbreak and the losses that could be incurred by businesses.

I would also like to take a moment to say how fantastic the Agriculture Victoria website is. It has such a massive amount of information and guidance in regard to biosecurity and other things. In some ways it is quite a frightening read to see how large the numbers of potential diseases are for animals and plants and also the large number of potential and devastating threats from introduced pests that our farmers and producers are facing every minute of every day, and again I say that is why this bill is so important. If anyone listening is interested in reading more about this issue, then jump onto the agriculture.vic.gov.au website. It is great, and the fact is we are all responsible for doing the right thing and playing our part.

In closing, while researching this debate I reflected on one of my earlier careers as a television chef travelling around Australia and some parts of the world visiting large and small farms and getting to know producers and farmers and getting a better understanding of the trials and challenges of working on the land, and I have to say that each and every farmer producer that I met loved what they were doing. They cared deeply for their land, they cared deeply for their animals and they cared deeply about producing only the best that they could. I saw firsthand what these amazing people were doing not just to make safe their animals, their land and the produce that they were growing but also to keep safe the quality of their life, their business, the Victorian economy and our food future. I thank them for their amazing work. I commend this bill to the house.

Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (18:22): I am very pleased to also rise to say a few words on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023, and I am not sure that I have or expected to ever say this, but I fully endorse the last comments there from the member for Hastings. It is about time that this chamber more often, more members in this chamber, recognised the work that our farmers do and more so – exactly the points that the member for Hastings just made – that farmers know in the main, with a small minority which is always an exclusion, that they need to treat their animals right, they need to treat their land right, they need to treat their water right and they need to treat their environment properly to hand on their farms to the future generations to make sure that we continue to feed and clothe the nation. One of the reasons, frankly, that I am in this place is to stand up here and support country people but in particular, and as part of that, our farmers, and I think we have become, unfortunately, so good at farming in this country that we are taken for granted. I look around the room on this side in particular and I see the member for South-West Coast; the member for Murray Plains, a former producer; the member for Ovens Valley as well –

Michaela Settle interjected.

Danny O’BRIEN: The member for Eureka – what does she produce?

Michaela Settle: Sheep and crops.

Danny O’BRIEN: Sheep and crops. I acknowledge the member for Eureka and the member for Euroa. But it is absolutely true, I think, that in this country we do not value our food production enough, and unfortunately, as one of the most urbanised countries in the world, we do not understand our food production enough. We see that, sadly, in the amendments and the commentary made by the Greens on this particular piece of legislation.

From my perspective, everyone will say their area is the food bowl, but what a beautiful food producing region Gippsland is, with over 9000 food and fibre businesses in Gippsland employing 16 per cent of the workforce in the region, with around three-quarters of the workers engaged on the farm and roughly 25 per cent in value-added production, much of that in Gippsland South of course, particularly in the dairy and beef industries – and I will fight the member for South-West Coast over who produces more or perhaps who produces better, because we know it is indeed Gippsland South. Gippsland is a dairy powerhouse producing 22 per cent of Australia’s dairy, including milk, milk powder, butter, cheese, yoghurt and other value-added products. And I might add, following the Nationals’ media drinks two weeks ago, where the press gallery was invited along to come and have a drink and each member of the Nationals brought a cheese from their electorate and that was then judged in a cheese tasting competition by the members of the fourth estate, it was of course the Riverine Blue from Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese in the beautiful Fish Creek area of Gippsland South that was adjudged the winner. Now, that is not really that important, and it is probably not the biggest prize that they have ever won – indeed not even close, because Barry and Cheryl from Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese were in fact named the world’s best artisan cheesemakers this year. That is not an exaggeration. They literally produce the best artisan cheese in the world.

We also produce 25 per cent of the beef in Victoria, wool and prime lamb, as well as 27 per cent of the vegetables, and that is often not understood about Gippsland. I cannot provide a source for this statistic, but I am told that nine out of 10 top salad growers in the country are in Gippsland.

A member: And good asparagus.

Danny O’BRIEN: And there is asparagus at the western end of Gippsland as well. But I highlight again that the importance of this legislation, the importance of having our biosecurity right, comes from the fact that we do need to do more to value our food producers. As I said, I got into politics because I have always thought country people get a raw deal, and one of the things that always annoyed me was the distortions in the global trade markets when it comes to food and the fact that Australian and New Zealand producers do our production with virtually no government support, with very little protection in terms of subsidies or tariffs versus many of the other countries of the world, particularly the EU, Japan and the US.

I had the pleasure of being an adviser for the trade minister. It was, until this job came along, probably my dream job. It was fantastic because it was actually going in and supporting and fighting for Australia’s farmers to get a better deal on world markets. It was in those discussions once on a particular trade negotiation that we were having a discussion with the Europeans, and one of the European delegates made a point that stuck with me forever. He said, ‘You Australians don’t understand, because you’ve never gone hungry. We went hungry after World War II and during World War II, and so we look after our farmers.’ As much as I disagree both economically and from a patriotic perspective, from an Australian perspective, with what the Europeans do – and it is ultimately self-defeating in many respects – they do value their farmers and they understand the value of food production. Unfortunately, as I said, Australian farmers I think have actually got too good at it – so good that we produce good-quality food and fibre, we do it at a good price and we largely do it with minimal impact on the environment, with some of the harshest regulations in the world in terms of the environment, chemicals and of course animal welfare. We do it very, very well, and as a result, unfortunately, it does get somewhat taken for granted.

That is why it is so important to us to have these strong laws for biosecurity in the unfortunate event of an outbreak of some sort of disease or incursion. I know the member for Euroa just talked about the former member for Euroa going back two members ago, Bill Sykes, and thankfully I have not had the experiences that Bill did when he went over as a vet to deal with the UK BSE outbreak – or mad cow disease, as it is known. Listening to Bill talk about the devastation that was wrought, not only the economic devastation and the environmental devastation but the social and mental devastation wrought on entire UK communities and particularly the farming communities of that outbreak, was just heartbreaking, and may it never happen here.

I know the news earlier this year that foot-and-mouth disease had arrived in Indonesia caused many of my farmers to be very concerned about what we are doing. Thankfully, the early panic, if you like, that ‘Oh my God, it’s on our doorstep; it’ll be with us any moment now’, has not yet eventuated, touch wood, but we must be eternally vigilant. So this legislation brings in some tweaks to the existing laws about what will happen, but it also increases penalties for breaches, which I think is very important for us to do. That is why I have a good understanding of the concerns here.

The other one that I just want to mention and touch on is varroa mite, which was a big issue when I used to work at the Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation in Canberra. That is where I first met the member for South-West Coast, actually, when she became the Rural Women’s Award winner at the time I was there. Varroa mite was a big concern in the bee industry that we had at the time. It was probably one of the first times I saw some mainstream news on biosecurity issues when 60 Minutes did a story at the time on the threat from varroa mite. Sadly, the inevitable has happened. We always said that inevitably it would come to Australia, and indeed it has.

I think it is absolutely important, though, that we also tackle the issue of farm trespass and the potential impact it has. I was not surprised to hear what the Greens have had to say about this and that they do not want to increase the penalties, because they really have no understanding of anything that happens outside the city – despite the fact that one of their MPs now apparently comes from western Victoria. Whatever they might say, they just seem to not understand anything. There is no better example of that than this week, when they circulated a proposed inquiry about food security. It is 22 lines in total, it has three main points, it has 13 subclauses – and nowhere in it does it mention farmers. Nowhere does it mention food producers. It simply talks about food production and food security. I think that highlights where the Greens are and their fellow travellers in parties like the Animal Justice Party, who have absolutely zero idea how the world works. Food apparently appears by magic in a carton in the fridge or under the plastic in the meat section. They are to be condemned for their lack of understanding and for their pathetic, misleading statements on this sector. I support this legislation. I support our farmers, and I wish them all the best.

Paul HAMER (Box Hill) (18:32): I too rise to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. As has been said, this is an important bill to enhance our biosecurity measures. One of the things I have been drawn to, listening to a number of the speakers to date, is just how much of our society, even in Australia, has been shaped by biosecurity incidents. The first one that came to mind was the potato famine in Ireland back in the 1840s, one of the causes being the potato blight. It triggered the great migration from Ireland. Many migrated to Australia, including your ancestors, Acting Speaker Addison, as you are indicating. I am sure there are many other members in this chamber who can trace their family roots back to then. It is an example of just how biosecurity impacts on plants, animals and farming in general and on our society and how society turns out.

As has been mentioned, the primary purpose of the bill is to strengthen Victoria’s capability to manage biosecurity risks, including preparing for, responding to and recovering from the detection or outbreak of an exotic animal disease, plant disease or pest. It also supports the public commitment made by the Victorian government to improving exotic disease preparedness and response capabilities. The bill ensures a holistic and effective legislative framework for exotic pests and diseases to protect Victoria’s valuable agricultural and horticultural sectors. This will mitigate the potential risk of market access and trade disruptions associated with detection or outbreak.

As has also been referenced by a number of speakers, the agricultural and horticultural industry in Victoria is incredibly valuable. Our farmers and everybody who works in food production right through the food supply chain do enormous work. It is at times a thankless task. As the member for Ovens Valley was referencing, it is a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week job. Just to identify some of the scale of the value of the agriculture sector to the Victorian economy: $17.5 billion gross value of agricultural production in 2020–2021; Australia’s second-largest agricultural producer after New South Wales, contributing about 25 per cent of the entire agricultural produce in Australia; $17.9 billion of total food and fibre exports; and of all Victorian goods exported, 55 per cent of those are accounted for by food and fibre exports. So when we think of a lot of the other jurisdictions in the country which have very large mining bases, obviously Victoria does not have that economic base to a large degree so we rely on our other natural resources which are the climate, the soil conditions and the hard work of farmers and the food production sector to generate those huge values and exports that are bringing in economic growth to the state. There are over 21,000 farming businesses and 11.4 million hectares of land which is used for agricultural production in a combination of grazing, cropping and other purposes; 67,600 people were employed in agricultural production in the 2020–21 year; and there were 82,450 jobs in food and beverage manufacturing and production in 2020–21. Of all the agricultural, forestry and fishing jobs, 75 per cent of them are located in regional Victoria. So as a culmination as an industry it is making a huge impact on the Victorian economy, which is why it is so important that we do what we can to protect the industry against biosecurity risks.

The threat of animal and exotic pests does loom large, as a number of members have referenced. Indonesia, which is obviously very proximate to Australia, officially declared foot-and-mouth disease as endemic recently, which means that our commitment to fortify our preparedness against exotic diseases has become even more critical than ever. Just this month the Indonesian government has reported uncontrollable cases of both lumpy skin disease and foot-and-mouth disease affecting more than half the provinces in the country. A number of speakers talked about both foot-and-mouth disease and also the mad cow disease outbreak that occurred in the UK, and it was not just the scenes of devastation for the individual farmers who had to have their cattle destroyed, but as the member for Gippsland South said, it was the social impact that this had. I remember that the news articles showed that shops and consumers in other European countries would refuse to stock and would refuse to buy meat sourced from the United Kingdom even if it was healthy, simply because it had the stigma attached of there having been a mad cow disease outbreak.

We are so proud in Victoria and Australia to showcase our product as clean and green and pest free, and it is a big selling point, particularly in the growing emerging markets in Asia which have a huge demand for Australian food products. Disease brings great risk, not just to the individuals and the meat or fibre or food that is affected but to the broader marketing chain and the social chain that will be impacted by a disease outbreak in Australia or in Victoria.

I also want to reference the varroa mite outbreak and just give a shout-out to our local bee industry. Obviously, being in a metropolitan seat, there is not a lot of agriculture that goes on, but there is a thriving bee industry, particularly in the suburbs of Blackburn and Surrey Hills, that uses the quite diverse array of flora that is found in that area to locate hives and have individual suburban-based honey. I want to give a shout-out to Ben Moore, who is a Blackburn South local. He runs Ben’s Bees and is quite a well-known suburban beekeeper and honey producer. Bees are big business, as has been mentioned by a number of contributors today, not only in terms of making products such as honey and beeswax but particularly for commercial pollination of many of our crops.

The top 10 most dependent horticultural industries require around 645,000 honey bee hives for successful levels of pollination, and that is estimated to grow to 867,000 hives over five years and almost 1 million hives in 10 years time. So the work that we are doing to try and protect and manage the varroa mite outbreak is going to be crucial in ensuring that this industry survives and the associated industries thrive. I commend the bill to the house.

Alison MARCHANT (Bellarine) (18:42): It is a pleasure to rise to speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023. This is the first time in this place I have been able to speak on a bill that is related to agriculture specifically, and that is quite exciting for me, with a farming background myself – it is not just that side of the house that engage in farming. I also have a long history of farmers in my family.

Before coming to Parliament, though, my main career was as a primary school teacher. But we all have careers along the way when we are studying or jobs that we first do, and my very first job as a teenager was at a berry farm. I was a strawberry picker in the hot sun in the summer, picking strawberries and working in the cafe. It was a pick-your-own type of berry situation. They had trout in the dam and they had stone fruits, and it was just a wonderful experience to see how farming and agriculture worked, horticulture particularly, and the amount of hours and hard labour that farmers did – and I was only a teenager. But my grandparents’ farm was just around the corner. They had sheep, cattle and cropping. It was good fun being a kid growing up on a farm or seeing and being part of a farm, but you did not really see all the hard yakka that goes on behind the scenes – it is 24/7. My grandparents certainly worked very hard.

I loved that job. Little did I know that I would be doing a full circle eventually – that when my kids were very little and I had not gone back to teaching full time a friend and I would start our own boutique farm. We called ourselves ‘One Goose Farm’ – and I think I was the goose in that – but we would sell garlic and berries, a little bit of stone fruit or eggs and honey. We would go to farmers markets and we would sell at the farm gate. The best experience I had was actually talking to people about where their food was coming from and the amount of work that was going on behind the scenes to create this wonderful produce that people were buying. There is a bit of education that needs to be there; people do not understand where their food may come from or the amount of hours that go on behind it. It is a great experience to do that, but it also makes you understand that food is quite expensive. People say why are your garlic or berries so expensive, but I think the question is why the food at the supermarket is so cheap. That is really the question. It was a great experience. Biosecurity was always front of mind when we were doing that. We called ourselves boutique farmers because we did not own a tractor. Everything was done by hand – shovels and blisters on the hands at the end of the day. But we thought the best way to create the most high-quality food was to literally have our hands in the dirt and make sure that we were watching it daily. Biosecurity was really important – who was coming onto the farm, who was leaving the farm, what materials, hay or mulch we were bringing into the farm – to make sure that we were creating the best produce.

But an outbreak of disease can be absolutely devastating to farmers, particularly in our agricultural sector. Having those biosecurity measures does ensure that we are producing safe food, because contaminated livestock and crops do pose a health risk, and I have heard contributions today talking to that. But it is about the environment – invasive species, disease and pests can also have that negative effect on the environment. We need to implement those biosecurity measures to help prevent the introduction of, for example, non-native species that can really disrupt the local ecosystem. There is a reason why here in Victoria we do protect our agriculture so fiercely; it is because of that clean and green agriculture that we have. We are the envy of the world. Markets across the world want to buy our produce, and we should be very proud of that, but that is the reason why we are also very protective of that.

As I have mentioned, farming and farmers really ensure that seven days a week, 365 days a year, we have healthy, locally grown food in our supermarkets, and we should be very grateful for that. Another reason why this bill is very important is that the gross value of Victorian agriculture is that $17.5 billion which has been discussed today. But farmers also manage 50 per cent of our state’s total land area, which is absolutely incredible. That is also across the nation: farmers manage 51 per cent of Australia’s landscape. Every day those farmers are creating positive environmental outcomes on behalf of Australia. They really are the caretakers. Every farmer I know wants to leave it better than they found it to pass on to the next generation.

I will talk a little bit about the bill itself. The bill does amend the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, the Livestock Management Act 2010 and the Plant Biosecurity Act 2010. It enhances Victoria’s capability to manage those biosecurity incidents, including preparing for, responding to and recovering from exotic animal disease or plant pest or disease detection or outbreak. This is a commitment that the government made to improving the management of exotic disease outbreaks and control capabilities and to enhancing our ability to respond to biosecurity incidents and improve those efficiencies within the system. The consequences can be significant, and these include economic impacts associated with eradicating a pest or disease, loss of access to national and international markets and impacts on productivity, jobs, employment and the natural environment.

I will just talk a little bit about how this relates to the Bellarine. This bill actually is very important to the electorate of Bellarine. We not only have a really strong agriculture sector but we also have a really strong and thriving aquaculture sector. Managing these biosecurity risks on the Bellarine is really fundamental to the prosperity of Bellarine farmers and residents. It is part of our history on the Bellarine. It is the social fabric of the Bellarine and will continue to be that really important part of our local economy. When you go to Bellarine markets and farmers markets on the Bellarine, they will be lined with Bellarine produce from honey, fruit and vegetables, baked goods, olive oils, wines and seafood to all those value-adding agrifood businesses and products that will be there as well. But of course there are challenges and there have been challenges on the Bellarine, mainly with housing developments really sort of aligning themselves right up against active farming and active farms. We need to ensure that we are protecting that heartland and that agricultural land on the Bellarine, and I am so pleased we have been able to do that with the distinctive area and landscape planning policy, which really did draw a line in the sand to say, ‘This is where the township boundaries will be’ and protect the agricultural land to ensure that future.

A member interjected.

Alison MARCHANT: And then they lock the gate. They do lock the gate. The best way that we can support that is to address those challenges, particularly locally on the Bellarine, of the movement of people coming in and out. I know farmers really focus on that, on who is coming in and out of farms, but a lot of people who visit the Bellarine do not realise that. They enjoy the beautiful views as they travel around, but they do not realise that they are very much active farms in the middle of the Bellarine. We can all play a role, so we should all be mindful of that.

In conclusion, this bill is really going to improve the clarity and the efficiency of emergency response management of exotic diseases and pests and does significantly increase those penalties for offences relating to exotic animal disease and livestock traceability requirements as well. It does improve that management provision to enhance efficiency and preparedness and those response activities, with the delegation of powers of the minister to declare control areas and restricted areas. We must do all that we can to protect our agriculture sector. We rely on it every day of the week. I want to see a thriving agricultural sector on the Bellarine. I support wholeheartedly our farmers, who work hard every day. I want to see Bellarine’s agricultural future continue to grow, to be celebrated and to be, going forward, part of our local economy, and I commend the bill to the house.

Dylan WIGHT (Tarneit) (18:52): It gives me great pleasure this evening to rise and speak on the Biosecurity Legislation Amendment (Incident Response) Bill 2023, and just before I begin my contribution I would like to acknowledge the member for Bellarine’s contribution just previous to mine. I remember the first time we met we were speaking about One Goose Farm, and I remember the garlic and then having conversations about that farm. I know how passionate she is about Victoria’s agriculture sector and I know how much it means to her electorate, so I just thought I would acknowledge that.

It might seem odd for somebody from one of Melbourne’s growth areas to stand up and speak about Victorian agriculture, but as a son of a wheat and sheep farmer from the New South Wales Riverina I thought that it was my duty to do so, and Mum would love me doing so. But it is not just that; my community of Tarneit and Hoppers Crossing is actually surrounded by a thriving agricultural sector, which I think a lot of people seem to forget. Whether it is vegetable growers just across the road in Werribee South growing a significant percentage and a significant portion of lettuce and broccoli and vegetables consumed by Victorians – particularly if you buy those vegetables at Coles, you have probably eaten vegetables from Fresh Select – or whether it is grain producers or graziers on the outskirts of Tarneit West, my community in Wyndham, Tarneit and Hoppers Crossing is surrounded by a thriving agricultural sector. In fact the agricultural sector in Wyndham contributes $112 million of economic activity to Victoria each and every year.

I mentioned the vegetable farmers across the road in Werribee South – they contribute 72.2 per cent of that economic activity – but we have got livestock and we have also got nurseries and cut flowers, and I will note this government’s commitment to a horticultural centre of excellence in the future. But that is just a small portion of what this sector means to Victoria. In fact this sector contributes $20.2 billion worth of economic activity each and every year and employs 150,000 Victorians. It is a sector that is so incredibly vital to Victoria’s economy, but not just Victoria’s economy; it is so incredibly vital to things like food security as well.

But there are certain things that put that economic activity and that food security at risk, and that is exactly what this bill intends to fix. Biosecurity risks like exotic animal or plant diseases and pests are a significant threat both to the Victorian economy and to Victorian food security as well. If we were to have an outbreak of something like foot-and-mouth disease, for instance, throughout our agricultural sector, we would see Victoria’s economy suffer, but we would also see Victorians suffer. There would be less food, meaning there would be higher prices, inflation would be higher, the cost of living would be higher, and Victorian lives would be worse for it. If these threats are not taken seriously, they could result in a dramatic disruption to the supply of groceries and fresh produce to Victorian families. That is why it is so important that this government is committed to enhancing Victoria’s exotic disease preparedness and response capability, and I know that those workers and those businesses in the agricultural sector out in my patch of Wyndham are incredibly supportive of this legislation. When I went and consulted with them over the last couple of weeks they told me how their livelihoods would be at risk if there was a biosecurity breach, if there was a disease that went through their farms, that went through their properties.

Just to go to the bill momentarily before I wind up, it makes amendments to the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 to strengthen emergency management, traceability and enforcement provisions. The bill will increase penalties for offences for the contravention of provisions related to exotic animal diseases and livestock traceability requirements and improve and clarify emergency management provisions. I do not want to go as far as to say that it is a big stick, but it will significantly disincentivise people from doing the wrong thing by significantly increasing the penalties – and I think it is increasing them threefold – if you are to do the wrong thing, because we understand how important this sector is to the Victorian economy and to households in general. It will do this by broadening the delegation of powers of the minister to declare control areas and restricted areas, allowing the sharing of information related to exotic diseases with other government departments and agencies and other states and territories and refining the existing exotic disease compensation framework to ensure compensation is more equitable and fairly paid.

This legislation will bring us into parity with other jurisdictions around Australia. The biosecurity legislation amendment bill represents a significant and necessary shift in the legal landscape regarding the management and control of exotic animal diseases and livestock traceability in Victoria. The inadequacy of current penalties under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 has become increasingly apparent, highlighting the need for a more robust deterrent mechanism. These penalties as they stand fail to reflect the severity of the offences and are outpaced by comparable penalties, as I said, in other jurisdictions around the country.

I have said on numerous occasions how important the agricultural sector is to Victoria’s economy and to Victoria’s households both through employment and through the delivery of secure and, we hope, cost-effective food. I note the bipartisan support that this bill has, I thank the new Minister for Agriculture and her office for putting it together and I commend it to the house.

Business interrupted under sessional orders.