Interview with Emma Rebellato, ABC News Breakfast

E&OE TRANSCRIPT   
TV INTERVIEW 
ABC NEWS BREAKFAST  
THURSDAY, 27 AUGUST 2026  

SUBJECTS: Flash floods; H5 bird flu; migration.  

EMMA REBELLATO, HOST: We're joined now by the Agriculture Minister, Julie Collins, in Hobart. Minister, good morning.

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Good morning to you and to your viewers this morning.

REBELLATO: Before we get to the developing bird flu situation, I'd like to ask you about the unfolding situation in Nepal. We understand that 34 Australians are missing in the landslides and the flooding. Do you have any update on that? Can you confirm those numbers for us?

COLLINS: What I can say, obviously, is that our sympathies, of course, go out to those people who've been impacted in Nepal, Tibet and China. And, obviously, the vision that we're seeing is extremely concerning. The other thing that I can say is that our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials are working around the clock urgently to ascertain the welfare of Australians that are known to be in the area. And, obviously, the 24-hour DFAT consular assistance line is up and running, so if people have family members there, they should contact that. Certainly, I can't confirm those numbers at the moment, but what I can say is that our officials are working round the clock to ascertain the welfare of any Australians that may be in the region.

REBELLATO: Given the number that we're hearing, would it be reasonable to consider that the government would be looking at potentially sending people over to that region?

COLLINS: Well, obviously, our government responds in every case like this and we certainly, you know, do everything we can do to keep Australians safe. So, our primary concern here is ascertaining the welfare of those Australians that we know are in the area and making sure that we have the welfare of every Australian in that region, you know, certified.

REBELLATO: Minister, let's talk about what's happening with bird flu. We saw with National Cabinet yesterday, the Prime Minister announced there'd be an extra $125 million in funding to fight bird flu. How will that money be spent and where?

COLLINS. So, we're working with states and territories, with the wildlife experts and with the agricultural industry, doing everything we can do to protect Australians as much as possible. But obviously, we've also been very upfront that sadly, this H5 bird flu does impact heavily. Particularly, we're expecting to see more in wildlife in Australia, because we haven't had this version of the H5 bird flu before, and we've been up front with the Australian people that sadly, we will start to see more deaths of wild birds and other animals, and we've certainly started to see that now in some marine mammals. So, it is concerning for Australians, and this funding will do everything that we can do on the ground in terms of surveillance, in terms of preparedness, and in terms of protecting habitat of wild and threatened species. Obviously part of that to date has been our vaccination program but it also now means that we will invest, as a Commonwealth government, around $270 million available to date to respond to this H5 bird flu. I know that states and territories are also putting in funds, and so that $125 million is part of our response and our long-established response framework, which means that states and territories will also be funding part of that response on top of that funding.

REBELLATO: Minister, the Invasive Species Council is calling for other measures to help wildlife survive the bird flu, in terms of, for instance, better measures to stop invasive pests like feral cats, foxes and pigs. Are you looking into that?

COLLINS: Well, obviously we've already been investing with states and territories in relation to protecting the habitat of threatened species. And part of our preparedness money has already gone to that over $40 million. And I've seen firsthand, you know, some of the preparedness and the biosecurity that we've done, particularly for threatened species in captivity that are being kept in zoos across the country and wildlife parks, to make sure that we can do everything we can to protect them. So, we've already been investing and we've also got, through Minister Watt’s portfolio, the Saving Native Species Program and as a government, we've invested over $300 million there. We also have, out of the funding yesterday, another $20 million that will specifically be targeted in terms of native species, but also of the $125 million that can also be utilised by states and territories protecting wildlife with states and territories funding. So, the amount of funding is certainly there and as a Commonwealth, you know, $270 million, and states and territories are also putting in funding on top of that. And we'll continue to work with all of the experts to make sure that as a government, we're doing everything we can do.

REBELLATO: The NSW Farmers Association president says eggs could become a luxury product if bird flu reaches commercial poultry stocks. How devastating could this be?

COLLINS: Well, what I would say to begin with is there is no evidence of any H5 bird flu in our poultry or our agricultural system, and we've been working really, really closely with the industry to do everything we can do to improve biosecurity measures, to make sure that we're doing everything we can to keep it out of our agricultural production system, and we've learnt from two H7 bird flu incursions in the last few years. So, our industry is as prepared as it possibly can be.

REBELLATO: Minister, on another issue, we're still waiting to hear the government's migration policy. But we know that when it comes to UK backpackers, the rule will stay in place where they don't need to work in regional areas. As Agriculture Minister, would you have liked to have seen that rule change and for UK backpackers to have been forced to work in the regions?

COLLINS: What I can say as Agriculture Minister, is I continue to have discussions with Minister Burke in relation to the skilled labour that is required in our agriculture industry, and he's certainly very receptive to that. And obviously, we have our Pacific Islander labour mobility program that is showing great results and is providing a lot of resource to the agriculture industry right across the country.

REBELLATO: Julie Collins, thanks for your time this morning.

COLLINS: Thank you.