Doorstop at Parliament House, Canberra

E&OE TRANSCRIPT 
DOORSTOP  
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA  
WEDNESDAY, 24 JUNE 2026 
 
SUBJECTS: H5 bird flu, South Australian legislation

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: I am pleased to be joined by the Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas and, of course, our Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Beth Cookson, who's also here with us. Following Question Time today, I've received an update from Beth Cookson on the status of the H5 bird flu testing at the CSIRO. Testing has confirmed that we have another H5 bird flu in a petrel found on a beach in South Australia. The Western Australian Government has also provided an update today indicating that it has one further suspected case of H5, which will now be transferred for testing at CSIRO. I understand that this was also from a migratory seabird reported from Quindalup. This is obviously concerning, but given the spread of H5 globally, it is not unexpected that other migratory birds may have arrived at other locations across the Australian coastline. As I've said in recent days, I do want to assure the Australians that our Government's bird flu response is still swift and coordinated and that we've enacted our biosecurity response arrangements. We've been working closely with State and Territory Governments, managing the on-ground response, including in this new detection in South Australia. Of course, we'll continue to work with the states to confirm further test results and to provide updates as results become available. The result in South Australia is another migratory bird. At this stage, there is no evidence of any mass mortalities. There is also currently no evidence of infection in poultry or in our agricultural production system, and there continues to be a low risk to human health. We're taking the detection of the H5 bird flu seriously, and we're working around the clock with our technical experts, the State and Territory Governments, industry and local communities. As I say repeatedly, we have invested over $113 million towards our H5 bird flu preparedness, as part of our $2 billion in additional biosecurity resourcing since we have come to government. I also want to end with a thanks to the Australian public for reporting the sick birds. If you see sick or dead birds or other animals, please do not touch them, avoid contact and record what you see at birdflu.gov.au. Before I hand over to Premier Malinauskas to make a few comments in relation to the South Australian case, I do want to make some brief remarks on the notification from Papua New Guinea of a suspension on our poultry meat and poultry products from Australia. We have continued to engage constructively with the Papua New Guinea Government since their notification of suspension to have these trade restrictions removed. My department has just received advice from the PNG that the suspension of poultry meat and poultry products has been lifted with some exceptions, and we'll continue to work with them on this. We appreciate PNG's willingness to work cooperatively and to remove some of these restrictions. Thanks, everyone, and I'll now hand over to Peter Malinauskas. 

PETER MALINAUSKAS, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Well, thank you very much, Minister, and I thank you for your leadership and the Federal Government's support in confronting the challenge of bird flu here in Australia. I can confirm that this afternoon the South Australian Government was in receipt of information from the CSIRO testing facility from Geelong that a migratory bird, a giant petrel, tested positive that has been located at Knights Beach, Port Elliot, in South Australia. That bird was first picked up by the Wildlife Welfare Organisation on 14 June, the bird was identified on 14 June, handed over to the care of the Wildlife Welfare Organisation. On 19 June, that organisation put a social media post up about the fact that it was caring for a giant petrel and was looking after it, and there were signs it was unwell. That immediately was   once that was drawn to the attention on 19 June, I should say, to the relevant authorities in South Australia, we responded quickly and enabled and facilitated active testing of those birds for H5 bird flu. This afternoon we received the results, and I confirm that one of those birds was negative, one of them was positive. I can also report, as has been mentioned in media, certainly in South Australia, that two birds that were identified as being unwell from Fowlers Bay have also been tested, and now we've received those results, and they have been negative, which is a good thing. In respect to the volunteers associated with that organisation who were handling the birds and others who may have come in contact with the bird that has been found to be positive, I just want to thank those volunteers for their thoughtfulness the fact that they've been proactive. Those people have actually been supported by South Australian Health. We will be in contact with them; in fact, they will already have been in contact with, all being well, and where appropriate we'll support them, including, if necessary, prescribing them with Tamiflu, which is an antiviral. Having said that, there is no indication at this stage they're showing any sign of being unwell. It's very, very important now that we have received a positive result from South Australia that people are very aware that they can report any signs of bird life that is unwell or dead. They can do that through our hotline, which is again something I'd encourage people to call if in doubt, 1800 675 888. The key message for South Australians tonight is that where they see wildlife or bird life that is unwell or looks to have passed away in unclear circumstances to avoid, record and report. We are asking South Australians where they see bird life that is unwell or deceased for unapparent reasons to avoid, report and record. They can do that through the hotline, and we'd very much appreciate it. This is something we've been preparing for; in fact, the active monitoring has seen over 760 tests conducted in South Australia since the start of this year. Through the support with the Federal Government, those 760 tests have been happening, sight unseen in South Australia, active surveillance, and only now have we received a positive result. It's also important to emphasise that this is a migratory bird; this is not a contamination or infection that has come from Western Australia to South Australia; rather, it is a migratory bird that has come from the Antarctic or sub Antarctic region and then come into South Australia. That happens from time to time with these giant petrel species. So there's no reason for concern or alarm here, but it is a clear demonstration of the importance for people to avoid, record and report if they see dead bird life. 
 
COLLINS: We're happy to take some questions, and we've got, obviously, Dr Cookson here for the technical aspects of that. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, so now that we've got an incursion into, you know, two different States, does that mean that there's   that sort of kicks or triggers an enactment of a national response plan; is there Federal funding that can be mobilised now? 

COLLINS: The response plan has already been activated, it was activated immediately upon the first positives on the Saturday, and the Committee met. The technical experts on that Committee will provide advice to government about what the next steps are, and I'm happy to hand over to Dr Cookson to explain that process. 

JOURNALIST: Has it gone to the next level now, I guess, Doctor? 

DR BETH COOKSON, AUSTRALIAN CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER: Thanks very much for the question. Under our well established emergency animal disease response arrangements, the Consultative Committee for Emergency Animal Diseases has now met twice, and we continue to consider the response plans that are required. We've only just received the advice on the South Australian detection, so we have not yet convened the Consultative Committee; we will look to do that as promptly as possible. What I would say, though, is that we are still in the investigation phase. Whilst this is a concerning development to have another confirmed case in a different jurisdiction, it is another seabird, it is a migratory species, and there is no indication that it has spread beyond those populations. So when the Consultative Committee meets, we will be considering that information, we will be considering whether it meets the criteria for moving into an active response phase, but for now, we are still in the investigation phase, and our first priority is to understand whether there has been spread to any other species within Australia. 

JOURNALIST: Is the genomic sequencing complete? Like, do we know exactly where this virus came from? 

COOKSON: We have been getting updated reports from the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness on the sequencing results that are available. The information that we were provided yesterday when the Consultative Committee met was that the analysis of the sequences for the brown skua have now been fully complete, and that those isolates were most closely related to the sub Antarctic territories and in particular the Heard Island and McDonald Islands. 

JOURNALIST: Do we know if these birds are coming from separate sources to the Western Australian birds at this stage? 

COOKSON: We are still very early in the investigation phase. I don't have information yet. What we do know, though, is that the early advice from the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness is that the two birds in Western Australia were likely to be separate introductions, so there's no indication that there was spread between those birds. We, of course, will continue to work with our experts to understand the sequence results from the third confirmed case in South Australia. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, more broadly, I guess we've now seen this in two States and obviously PNG suspending and now obviously lifting that. More broadly, is there a cause for concern for Australia's poultry industry at the moment? 

COLLINS: Well, there's no evidence of it in our poultry or agriculture systems, and as we've heard, and it's very clear at the moment, there is also no mass mortalities or any evidence that it's spreading into Australian wildlife at this stage, that these are, all of them that we are aware of, are all migratory birds and they're all sub Antarctic migratory birds. 

JOURNALIST: Your State counterpart, Jackie Jarvis, she gave reassurance for people to continue to eat eggs and chicken. Is that something you would echo? 

COLLINS: Certainly, the FSANZ advice is that chicken meat and eggs, as prepared normally is perfectly safe to eat. 

JOURNALIST: Are there any bird colonies nearby any of the positive cases? 

COLLINS: Do you want to take that one, Beth? 

COOKSON: As you're aware, there are, you know, very unique Australian native animals that we are concerned about the potential impacts on those populations. The specifics of locations around this area are best put to biodiversity experts, including the Threatened Species Commissioner. 

JOURNALIST: Just in terms of the timeline that the bird was identified on Knights Beach, so it was identified on 14 June, and then there was a five day period in which it was being cared for, is there any risk with other species that were being cared for in the same facility over the period of those five days? 

MALINAUSKAS: I haven't received any advice to suggest that at all. On 14 June, the bird was identified on the beach and picked up, the 19 June was when our Government's agencies were alerted to the social media posts, and then we kicked into action after that. But we've received no advice to suggest there is any or has been any evidence of any risk associated with any other wildlife within that organisation. 

COLLINS: Can I say that also as part of our broader response we have been working with States and Territories who have also provided some funding in terms of training, a lot of the wildlife organisations and carers, including vets as well, and certainly what we have heard in terms of the Western Australian case was that they had had the training, which is how they identified those birds and how they then isolated them and treated them appropriately. 

JOURNALIST: The Premier mentioned that there had been 760 proactive monitoring reports. What is the total number for the country? And also, there's no evidence that the virus has spread to native birds or wildlife, but what is that based on? Is that based on there not being reports of dead animals, or is that through that proactive testing? 

COLLINS: The way the national biosecurity response works is that it's managed on-ground by the States and Territories. So the national number and the national bird flu then goes out to the States and Territories, they then do a triage process and make an assessment about which ones should be tested. They then test them locally. If they get a suspected case, they then go to the CSIRO lab, or an inconclusive case would also go to the CSIRO lab. So that is the way it works. In terms of biosecurity, I've been very clear before that the strength of our biosecurity system is our people in Australia, given we're such a large island, and certainly what we have seen here is our biosecurity system working as we intended by people well trained who picked it up, who identified it, who reported it, and again, I give a shout out to the Australian public who have been incredible during this process. 

JOURNALIST: Just on PNG's suspension of Australian poultry imports, what kind of impact will that have on trade, and also are you aware of any other countries that might have followed suit? 

COLLINS: In terms of our chicken meat and our poultry products, our chicken meat - 97 per cent of Australia's chicken meat that's produced here is consumed domestically. So the proportion that is exported, I understand, is around 3 per cent. 

JOURNALIST: Are you aware of any other countries? 

COLLINS: We are not at this stage. 

JOURNALIST: Just on Dr Cookson, with the evidence that it's likely Heard Island birds that have been from Heard Island coming to Australia, is there any advice on the situation with Macquarie Island having bird flu present? Just   the reason I ask is, as you know, like Heard Island's, what, 4,000Ks away from the nearest point of the Australian mainland, and Macquarie, you know, conservatively what's that, two and a half thousand Ks away or something, closer to Adelaide than anywhere else. Do we have any advice there? I know that there's a science team down on Macquarie Island at the moment. 

COOKSON: Thank you for the question. I just want to make a clarification. When I said that the sequencing was most closely associated with Heard Island results, that doesn't necessarily mean that the birds themselves came directly from Heard Island. Obviously, there's a range of different islands sort of around   throughout the sub Antarctic region, and so all we can say is that the virus most closely matches that which was recently confirmed on Heard Island. As far as the on-the-ground sort of assessment and ongoing surveillance goes, we have got no information that suggests that Macquarie Island has been affected. As you mentioned, there is people on the ground that are able to assess the situation. We have also got very widespread surveillance networks across Australia. So this includes in Northern Australia, through our Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy and our State and Territory jurisdictions, we have, through our preparedness, worked very closely with others across Australia, including Parks Australia, the Murray Darling Basin Water Authority and others who all have the information about what to look for, how to report that, and so it is a very extensive surveillance network. We also have our National Avian Influenza Wildlife Wild Bird Surveillance Program, that's an active network that's coordinated through Wildlife Health Australia, and there are many samples that are tested and reported through that program as well. So we have good confidence in our surveillance, and the objective at the moment is to make sure that that continues. The public reporting, as the Minister has mentioned, is crucial to that, to make sure that we've got the information as early as we can, so that we can respond to that as needed. 

JOURNALIST: Can I just get Minister Malinauskas on a separate issue? You're one of the few politicians that have had to confront one nation at an election. What do you make of Pauline Hanson's suggestion that Australia cannot be a multicultural country and it should be monocultural?   

MALINAUSKAS: Well, it won't surprise you that I completely reject the idea. I reject the idea because it just doesn't accord with who modern Australia is or has ever been. I was very deliberate during the course of our election to speak about the value of multiculturalism, not just in South Australia, but Australia. More broadly, because it has underpinned not just the vibrancy of the place, but also our standard of living. Multiculturalism has actively contributed to a more vibrant and a healthier Australia economically, which has contributed to people's living standards. And to deny that is divorce oneself from reality. And I don't think anybody in this place should be in the practice of doing that, let alone someone who purports to be a candidate for the Prime Ministership of the nation. And I think it's important that we can speak about this honestly and frankly, and do so in such a way that doesn't demean anybody who would be sympathetic to supporting One Nation for whatever reason they might have. You won't get me calling every single One Nation voter a racist. Notwithstanding the fact that what Ms. Hanson was referring to in her National Press Club address was abhorrent and not consistent. With the best version of who this country is, and I think most people recognise that. I've made a bit of an effort to try and chat to as many people in South Australia who voted one nation in the most recent state election and to understand their reasons why. And almost none of them have expressed views to me that I would characterise as racist. I don't think the types of views that Ms. Hanson is projecting around multiculturalism or her opposition to it is even consistent with her own voters. And I think that's worthy of reflection. 

JOURNALIST: Just one more for Premier Malinauskas. You recently voted in the South Australian Parliament to restrict abortions or access to abortions beyond 25 weeks. Would you support Pauline Hanson's push to restrict it to beyond 20 weeks? 

MALINAUSKAS: No. Let's be clear about a couple of things that are important when we think about the nuance here and what was actually being contemplated. There was a very specific amendment to late term abortions that came up in the State Parliament last week, and all I did was voted the same way I did on this exact same question when we were decriminalising abortion in South Australia a few years ago, which is a reform that, not surprisingly, I supported. So, this was very distinct from what Ms. Hanson is advocating and hence why a distinction between the two.  

JOURNALIST: Are you still in favour of restricting access to abortions beyond 25 weeks?  

MALINAUSKAS: The way I voted on these issues when they've come into the State Parliament from time to time I think one would characterise as being pro-choice. I support a woman's autonomy to be able to make decisions, but when it comes to very late term abortions for healthy mothers and healthy children, I struggle with that issue. But I voted consistently on that specific issue in my time in the Parliament for as long as it has been.