Interview with Thomas Oriti, ABC NewsRadio

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC NEWSRADIO
FRIDAY, 1 NOVEMBER 2024

SUBJECTS: Additional funding for H5 bird flu preparedness and the Albanese Labor Government funding for biosecurity; Qantas.

THOMAS ORITI, HOST: Julie Collins is the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, who joins us now from Hobart. Minister, good morning.

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Good morning, Thomas.

ORITI: What's the key objective? Thank you. Great to have you with us. What's the key objective of this meeting today?

COLLINS: Well, we will be having Agriculture Ministers from around the country discuss our preparedness for the H5 bird flu, but importantly about how we respond in terms of the $100 million investment that we've already got coming from the federal government. We want to talk to the states about making sure that we invest in terms of the mobile laboratories and the response trailers that are available around the country. And then we'll be having a discussion about cost sharing arrangements. We already have cost sharing arrangements in our biosecurity system for animals and plants. But given the size of this and given we remain the only continent free of it, we want to make sure we use this time appropriately and that we're prepared and that we invest in the right places. We've been listening to all the experts about making sure we're prepared and you saw from us, announced just a couple of weeks ago now, more than $100 million in our preparedness. And we've done, of course, some exercises with Exercise Volare, with the experts actually modelling an incursion and what does it look like and how do we respond. And this is tiers of government working together with industry and with community organisations.

ORITI: And we were covering that funding at the time. We were speaking to different experts who sort of seem to be of the consensus, really, that it's only a matter of time before that strain H5N1 reaches our shores. We are the only continent, Australia, not to have it so far. Do you think that's true? It's almost inevitable it will get here at some point?

COLLINS: Well, we're obviously taking experts’ advice on that. What we are doing is making sure we are prepared, being the only continent free of it at the moment. We have a strong biosecurity system. We have now invested, since we have come to office, more than a billion dollars in our biosecurity system. But this would arrive through migratory birds, and we can't stop the migratory birds. So this is about making sure that if we do have it, that we get onto it quickly and we contain it quickly, and that we don't have it flow through to devastation in wildlife that we've seen in other countries and indeed into our livestock or into our food supply.

ORITI: I mean, I mentioned that in the US, you know, a pig at an Oregon farm contracting for the first time just days ago. Is that worrying to you?

COLLINS: Oh, well, look, we've obviously got our experts monitoring what's going on around the world and we've listened to them in terms of the investments that the government needs to put in, which is why we've done that from the federal government's point of view. And today I'll be talking to my state colleagues about their preparedness and about how we work together.

ORITI: Ok. Now, this newly announced Australian Centre for Disease Control. How would that contribute to keeping the population and its agriculture sector safe from avian flu, for example? This has come out of the COVID pandemic review.

COLLINS: That's right. We announced this week the Centre for Disease Control and, again, over $250 million in investment. This is about human health and about keeping our people safe, and it's about improving outcomes right across the health spectrum for Australians. The experts we've been listening to in terms of the H5 bird flu have been wildlife experts, biosecurity experts, and of course, our chief medical officer and our health experts about making sure that we all work together in terms of one health. Because we know with some of these types of diseases that they can jump from wildlife into livestock into humans. And we want to make sure that if that occurs, that we're ready as a country to be able to deal with that.

ORITI: Okay, now that's avian flu. Any other biosecurity issues likely to be discussed today?

COLLINS: I'm sure there are. There are a few outbreaks around the country. We've got a tomato disease in South Australia. We've obviously got the varroa mite in some of our bees. You know, we are having discussions all the time at this level, and I have discussions with my state colleagues around some of these. And that's why our investments in biosecurity have been so important since we've come to office. We've obviously invested in more biosecurity detection dogs at our ports, airports and our mail centres, which are critical for stopping things from coming into the country. And why we've invested now, as I said, over a billion dollars in additional investment into our biosecurity system. And why we need long term sustainable funding for biosecurity, because Australia's produce, 70 per cent of what we produce goes overseas in terms of our agriculture product. And we need to make sure that we maintain our great standard and our biosecurity system because we benefit from that in terms of our exports.

ORITI: Ok, Minister, while we've got you the fallout from these suggestions that the Prime Minister contacted the former Qantas boss to get upgrades on personal flights. It's been big news this week. Can I ask, have you received any upgrades from Qantas in your time in government?

COLLINS: In 17 years, I've had one and it was for business, for work. That's the only one, and it was appropriately declared. But what I can say is I've been focused on things like cost of living, support for my electorate. As Agriculture Minister, I've been focused on getting ready for the bird flu and making sure that we need to do what we can do as a country to prepare for that. I think what you've seen from our government is we have delivered on in terms of cost of living and trying to provide support to those households that need it with our tax cuts, with our energy bill relief. Now we want to bring costs down for households, we want to lift up wages. And obviously we're working hard to get inflation under control. And you saw that also this week with that inflation number earlier in the week.

ORITI: Yeah, I think that's the point, right.

COLLINS: And our record shows that that's what we're focused on.

ORITI: Okay, very good diversion there. But I think it's a point, right. There's a lot of talk about cost of living that perhaps does not go down well with a lot of Australians hearing about politicians getting business class upgrades.

COLLINS: Well, I can understand, you know. We've had a lot of what I would call mud slinging this week. Let's be really blunt about it. And what I would say is the people that have been slinging the most mud are Peter Dutton and Bridget McKenzie. And I think they've got some questions to answer today, and they've had some denials and I think they've got a bit of mud stuck to them, frankly. And I don't think it helps any of us when this type of thing happens. What I would like to see is the transparency and the declarations which people have put in and for people to get on with helping Australians, because I think that’s what the Australian public expect us to do - to deal with the things that matter, things like bird flu and things like cost of living.

ORITI:  Yeah. I mean, with cost of living, your colleague, the Education Minister, Jason Clare, he told Channel 7 this morning it's actually possible that Ministerial staff request flight upgrades on behalf of their bosses. I mean, you mentioned cost of living. You have repeatedly. Is that sort of thing appropriate during a cost of living crisis?

COLLINS: Well I wouldn't know, that's certainly not something that, you know, that I have done. I'm focused on cost of living, and I'm focus on delivering in my portfolios as Small Business Minister and as Agriculture Minister, because I think the Australian public expect us to get on and do our jobs that they're paying us for.

ORITI: Are you worried about the lasting impact, as you said, mudslinging - a lot of people have sort of described it that way. But are you worried about the lasting impact of something like this with the federal election here not too far away?

COLLINS: What I'm worried about is that it stops good people from running for public office, and people that do the right thing and declare everything appropriately and transparently, as most of us do. I think the one or two people that do the wrong thing really is not a good look for people entering Parliament in the first place. And we need good people in the federal Parliament, and I'm concerned about that in the future.

ORITI: So, who's done the wrong thing? The Prime Minister?

COLLINS: Absolutely not. No. He's declared everything.

ORITI: Okay. But you're of the view that there are some people who are doing the wrong thing about that?

COLLINS: I'm talking about historically and from time to time, there are people that do things that they shouldn't do.

ORITI: Okay. Right. Okay.

COLLINS: Politicians generally. I was talking more generally about politicians. And, you know, I don't think that this helps in terms of the public perception.

ORITI: Okay. I appreciate the clarification, Minister. Thank you for your time. I hope the summit goes well today. Thanks so much.

COLLINS: Thanks very much.

ORITI: Julie Collins, federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.