Interview with Emma Rebellato, ABC News Breakfast

E&OE TRANSCRIPT 
TV INTERVIEW  
ABC NEWS BREAKFAST  
TUESDAY, 4 AUGUST 2026 

SUBJECTS: H5 bird flu; Gambling Reform. 

EMMA REBELLATO, HOST: Well, let's get more on our top story, and that of course is the bird flu outbreak. The Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins joins us now from Hobart. Minister, thanks for your time this morning.

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

REBELLATO: How bad is it going to get? What should we be bracing for?

COLLINS: Well, we've obviously had confirmation yesterday of our first mass mortality when it comes to the bird flu H5 virus in Australia. We have been very upfront with the Australian public that we cannot stop this from spreading. What we can do is be as prepared as we possibly can and work with industry and work with wildlife to protect threatened species and to make sure that we can do everything we can do to keep it out of our agricultural systems, and we have done all that. We've prepared early, we've invested early and we continue to work with experts and rely on experts in terms of the advice and the next steps that we take.

REBELLATO: What is the fear for, as you mentioned, threatened species, the native species? Could they potentially be wiped out? How serious could it be?

COLLINS: Well, at the moment we've got localised transmission in greater crested terns, and we've had now some transmission to silver gulls, so we will, you know, increase surveillance and monitor this to see where this might go. It's very difficult to predict. What we have seen overseas and what we've learnt from overseas is that it can cross over into mammals, and certainly that has been experienced overseas. So we do have and have done the work with wildlife experts in terms of making sure we can do everything we can do with threatened species, and we've done that by improving their habitat and providing support for zoos and aquariums that have captive threatened species, and we have been doing that over the past two years. And certainly we are listening to the experts about what else we may need to do.

REBELLATO: We have heard that there's no evidence of bird flu in poultry or agricultural systems. Is it inevitable though?

COLLINS: Well, obviously Australia has got a good record and very strong biosecurity, and we've obviously detected this virus earlier than many other countries when it's impacted them, so we certainly have a head start there because of the preparedness and the investment that we've undertaken. We've also learnt from previous impacts of other forms of the bird flu, the H7 bird flu, that we have managed to eradicate out of our poultry systems in Australia previously. So, we have learnt a lot, and we continue to work with industry and the sector, but we have seen spillover events in many other countries that have had this H5 bird flu virus. We do know that it is highly contagious and highly virulent compared to other strains.

REBELLATO: Yesterday we got told that there's an extra $24 million that's being released from State and Federal Governments. What exactly will that money be spent on?

COLLINS: Well, at the moment the State and Territory Governments are increasing surveillance so that we can have a better understanding of where this has become entrenched. At this stage it is on that South Australian/Victorian border, and we do have increased numbers overnight in terms of cases in that region, and certainly that's where the mass mortality event has occurred. It is important that we're able to keep up on those locations so that industries nearby and wildlife carers nearby are on high alert in those regions. So, that surveillance and monitoring is critically important, so we continue to do that. We continue to work with industry and particularly obviously poultry farms in terms of that localised impact to make sure that they've increased their biosecurity on farms, that they're making sure that all of their animals have access to clean water and clean food, and that they're able to stop interactions with native wildlife. So we continue to do that and continue to work very closely with industry and with the wildlife experts in those areas.

REBELLATO: Minister, are we talking months or years that H5 bird flu could affect wildlife here in Australia?

COLLINS: Well, as we indicated yesterday, this could be a long period of time and a very long journey. We have seen other countries have been dealing with this since 2022, this particular H5 strain, and we've certainly seen some devastating impacts overseas, particularly of birds in terms of the mass mortalities that have occurred. But as I've said, we have learnt from overseas experience. We've done everything we can, but we cannot stop a very virulent, very contagious disease in this bird flu.

REBELLATO: Minister, on another issue regarding the Government's gambling legislation, the proposed legislation, a Senate inquiry heard evidence yesterday from former NRL player Luke Bateman, he told the inquiry that gambling company executives offered him drugs as an inducement to continue gambling. What was your reaction to that? Do you think the Government needs to go tougher on this?

COLLINS: Well, my reaction to that is that is completely unacceptable. It would be against existing laws, and certainly I would not want to see anything like that happening in Australia, and it is completely unacceptable. But our existing laws do indeed cover those types of inducements. We're obviously working to strengthen BetStop. We have said that these types of inducements, or any inducements, cannot occur at all, even, you know, generally emails encouraging people to come and participate unless people have signed up to those. We've also said obviously that those people that want to self exclude should be able to self exclude, and that's why we're strengthening BetStop.

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

COLLINS: Thank you.