Interview with Emma Rebellato, ABC News Breakfast

E&OE TRANSCRIPT 
TV INTERVIEW  
ABC NEWS BREAKFAST  
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2026 

SUBJECTS: H5 bird flu

EMMA REBELLATO, HOST: Authorities are awaiting more bird flu test results after the second confirmed case of the deadly H5 strain in Western Australia. Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins joins us now from Canberra. Minister, thanks for your time this morning. 

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, FORESTRY: Good morning to you. 

REBELLATO: I think it's fair to say a lot of Australians are pretty worried right now. What should they be bracing for? 

COLLINS: Well, what I would say is that we're well prepared. This is obviously concerning, but not unexpected. We have invested well over $100 million in our preparedness in terms of getting ready for the H5 bird flu should it arrive in Australia. We've always known we could not stop it because it would arrive by migratory birds. What we're talking about now is two confirmed cases of migratory birds that have been found on an isolated area on a beach in Western Australia. So, what I would say is we're still in the investigation stage. We're still determining whether or not this is widespread in Australian wildlife or whether it is just a few isolated cases at this point in time from migratory birds. 

REBELLATO: Poultry producer Inghams, among others, has locked down its WA operations. What impact could the H5 strain have on that industry and that sector? 

COLLINS: Well, what I would say and reiterate early on is that there is no evidence of this H5 bird flu in our poultry system, nor in our agricultural system. We're not even sure yet whether it's established in wildlife in Australia. As I've said, it's two isolated migratory birds. We are working on the ground in Western Australia. The Western Australian government is leading that in terms of determining that it's been coordinated at a national level. What I would say is that industry has been developing plans, as have farmers right across the country, in terms of biosecurity and what they would need to do should it become established in Australia. But I would reiterate that at this stage, there is no evidence in our poultry or our agricultural systems. 

REBELLATO: As you said, it's not established yet, but it could become that way. Given what we've seen in other countries, the United States, for instance. Is it then inevitable if it does become more widespread, that we could see things like egg prices go up, chicken prices, supermarket prices will rise? 

COLLINS: Well, we're obviously doing everything that we can do as a government, working with experts, working with state and territory governments, but importantly, as I've indicated, also working with industry. We have learned a lot from the two incursions of the H7 bird flu that we've managed to eradicate from Australia over the last few years. We've also obviously been learning from what we have seen overseas and some of the devastation that has occurred in terms of wildlife, particularly overseas. But what I would say is that we're still in the investigation stage and reiterate that it's not in our poultry or agricultural systems at this point in time. 

REBELLATO: Minister, obviously a lot of surveillance is happening now, testing is happening at the moment, but what's next? Do you look at things like, is vaccinations a possibility? How do you then prevent this spread? 

COLLINS: Well, what we have learnt from overseas is that we cannot prevent it from spreading, and we've been very clear about that. And we cannot stop it arriving, it would come via migratory birds and get into wildlife. But what we can do, obviously, is have preparations and plans in place to try and mitigate some of that. Experts will decide whether or not it's eradicable or whether or not we manage the disease here in Australia. And that decision will be undertaken and made by experts as part of our National Biosecurity Response Plan. That plan has been activated. They have met a few times and I'm getting daily briefings in terms of where we are with this incursion at the moment. But what I would say is that Australians should be rest assured that we are very well prepared. We have been testing vaccines in terms of particularly birds, about some threatened species, about whether or not that is possible, and CSIRO has been leading that work. When it comes to human health, there are very low risks when it comes to human health, but there are human vaccines and we do have some. So, we have been working as a government right across, whether it be the environment portfolio, my agriculture portfolio or the health portfolio. And we are well prepared for what is coming, should it arrive in Australia. 

REBELLATO: The Greens have been calling for a $200 million emergency response fund to be set up. Is that something the government has been looking at, or might have to look at? 

COLLINS: Well, we've already been working, as I said, and we have already invested early. When we spoke on Saturday, the Threatened Species Commissioner indicated that we already actually have plans for endangered Australian native animals, and those plans are well worked up. We have looked at what is the threat to them in terms of the suspected bird flu and what we have learnt from overseas. So, we are already incredibly well prepared. We also have seen more funding in the last budget in terms of native species, on top of the preparedness money that we have for the bird flu. And since we've come to government, we've of course spent more than $2 billion in additional resources to strengthen Australia's biosecurity system. So, we have invested and we've invested early, and we're as well prepared as anybody can for a possible incursion should that occur. 

REBELLATO: Minister, we know that dozens of dead birds are now being tested for the H5 strain in WA, and more people are reporting when they come across these dead animals. But what's next in terms of surveillance, government action, both at federal and state levels? 

COLLINS: Well, I do want to thank the public. The public have been very, very diligent, and they are our first line of response when it comes to biosecurity in terms of reporting any of the dead birds. And I'd reiterate, please don't touch them, but record them. Record your location and report it to birdflu.gov .au. So, I first want to thank the public for that. The Western Australian government will then triage those calls on the ground. They'll make decisions and samples will be taken, and some samples will be tested according to whether or not it indicates that they should be tested. Obviously, birds die for a whole range of reasons, so not all of these are likely suspects in terms of bird flu. But we are testing some of them, and the Western Australian lab will test those. And then if there's any suspected positives, they then go off to the CSIRO lab for a second testing. And what we will know within sort of a few days to a couple of weeks is whether or not this is embedded in Australian wildlife or whether these are isolated cases. So, we hope to have a handle on that, and the experts will determine that in the coming weeks. 

REBELLATO: Ok. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, thanks for your time. 

COLLINS: Thanks very much for having me.