Doorstop at Tea Tree

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
TEA TREE
FRIDAY, 8 AUGUST 2025

Subjects: Strengthened protection and preparedness against bird flu; Tasmanian Parliament; US beef imports; Middle East conflict; Type 2 diabetes.

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: It’s terrific to be here at Hobart Zoo & Aquarium. We’ve had an important discussion here today about protecting and preparation for bird flu. The bird flu strain, H5, we know is not in Australia. We’re the only continent that is free from this strain of bird flu, but we also know how devastating it can be. How it can impact wildlife, threatened species, marine animals and eventually get into livestock, as we’ve seen in some overseas countries. We know it’s costing overseas countries a lot of money, which is why our government has invested early with $100 million, including some small grants for organisations like Hobart Zoo and Aquarium here where they’re doing some important work to protect threatened species. This is one 23 grants nationwide that is being announced today, and I’ve already seen firsthand the start of the work on that grant funding and what it is doing to protect some of our threatened species from the bird flu. It is part of the around $2 billion that our government has invested in biosecurity since we came to office. I’ll hand over to Stuart to talk about what the funding is actually doing here at Hobart Zoo & Aquarium.

STUART WEBSTER, HOBART ZOO & AQUARIUM: As a continent, Australia is the only place in the world that hasn’t had bird flu. And because of this federal funding we’ve been able to dedicate – we’ve been able to make spaces safe for animals. Our quolls, our swift parrots and our Tasmanian devils are all getting their enclosures enhanced. Our quolls, just to our right, we’ve built new airlocks for them, we’ve made a larger capacity to stop the rainfall, and the bird flu is transmitted by birds travelling above. In our vet room, we’ve created a space where we’ve got a dedicated space where we’ve put in funding, received funding, for an air-conditioning unit to go in there so we can circulate the air internally and make it a completely sealed space. We’re very excited. We’re on a space of 360 acres, and just behind us we have a nature reserve which we’ve dedicated, and we have wild quolls; kookaburras, Tasmanian devils in that space now and they’re free of bird flu. We want to maintain that, and we can with this federal government funding.

JOURNALIST: We know that the strain hasn’t arrived in Australia, but do you know when it’s likely that it could?

WEBSTER: We don’t know when it’s likely, but we do know it’s gone around the world by migratory birds and it’s in the Antarctic now, and the Antarctic is on our doorstep.

JOURNALIST: And just how concerned are you as someone that works at a zoo?

WEBSTER: I’m highly concerned because it’s not just about the bird flu coming to us, it’s the ramifications for industry surrounded by us. The dairy industry, the poultry industry. As a zoo, from this funding we’re going to be okay. We genuinely will be. We can protect our spaces. We’re putting covers over our food stations for all our animals. It’s very unlikely that we’re going to have an outbreak of bird flu within the zoo. But it’s very likely that, in time, it will get to Australia and it will affect our poultry and dairy industries. So that’s why we’re working on vaccines. Our native animals, which are incredibly vulnerable and very small populations, if it gets into them, we have a real problem. That’s why we’re doing these dedicated spaces – to protect these species and have secure populations.

JOURNALIST: When it does eventually arrive, just how quickly can it spread, and how does it spread?

WEBSTER: It can spread after an incubation period of as small as 14 days and it transmits by saliva context, by faeces context through the enclosure. But a more complicated answer would come from Mandy.

MANDY PRESTAGE, HOBART ZOO & AQUARIUM: I am general manager of Hobart Zoo and Aquarium.

JOURNALIST: How does it spread?

PRESTAGE: The H5 strain of avian influenza is highly contagious and, as Stuart said, it does actually spread through direct contact with birds, through saliva, through faeces in water bowls. Unfortunately, it can also spread through scavenger animals, so animals like our quolls and our Tasmanian devils can actually pick up dead animals that are infected with the disease and they can spread them and they can actually get the disease themselves and further contaminate other animals. It is a highly contagious disease and it can spread incredibly quickly.

JOURNALIST: And what would the impact be on our wildlife here in Tasmania if it reached here?

PRESTAGE: Look, it could decimate the Tasmanian wildlife. We actually house many species here that are found only in Tasmania – the Tasmanian devils, for example, the eastern quolls, there is nowhere else in the world those animals are found. We also have the critically endangered swift parrot that comes to Tasmania, migrates down here. There is thought to be maybe 700, if we’re lucky, left in the wild. They already face extinction. If they are to be hit with his disease, we are likely to see extinction rates happening very quickly.

JOURNALIST: Do you think more needs to be done to protect the wildlife itself? Obviously we’re looking at animals in captivity here today. But, I mean, what’s the impact with the wildlife, and can that then trickle into these animals?

PRESTAGE: Absolutely. Look, protecting the local wildlife – because that is where the biggest spread is going to be – so the best thing we can actually do is be prepared. So for us as an intuition we’re putting things in place to protect our colonies and our populations. However, we can educate the public and educate the people on a wider scape. Then they can actually help and they can avoid picking up – avoid picking up – sort of dead birds and things like that. They can report, they can just try and get it out there so they’re spreading the word as well and helping to stop that spread.

JOURNALIST: Stuart touched on it a little bit earlier, but could you take us through the exact sort of works that are going to be taking place here at the zoo and how that’s going to help?

PRESTAGE: Absolutely. We’re incredibly lucky to receive some of that funding. That will be spread across the zoo. So as we’ve already stated, that will be airlocks for certain species so we can actually double mesh and protect those species from activity from wild birds. We’re also stocking our vet room with dedicated PPE equipment, so that’s gowns, gloves, masks, goggles, everything like that, so that we can actually start to put biosecurity and quarantine measures in place for certain animals and certain species to stop that spread. We’re also making sure that all of our staff are fully equipped with all of information and knowledge that they need. So part of that funding will go to educating the staff, and then we’re going to be having dedicated spaces to educate the public and guests as they come in. One guest leaving with the education and the knowledge of how it’s spread and what they can do to help is actually a link in stopping the spread out there.

JOURNALIST: What would some of the key messages to the public be from you?

PRESTAGE: Definitely be prepared. So keep an eye out and know what they’re looking for, and that’s something that we definitely want to educate. Unfortunately, some animals are going to spread this without actually having any symptoms. So they can be asymptomatic – we don’t know that there’s anything wrong, and they’re spreading it. So know what to look for. Don’t touch. So avoid touching. If you do find a dead bird, report it and record it. And then know what to do with their birds at home as well. Unfortunately people do have birds at home that they will go in and out of the house. So know what to look for and know the signs.

JOURNALIST: And what are some of those key signs we should be looking for?

PRESTAGE: So avian influenza is very much a respiratory disease, so you’re going to find similar symptoms like a cold or flu but with birds, so they may have excess saliva and mucous coming out of their nostrils and area. They may be wheezing, they may be breathless. There’ll be weight loss and sometimes, unfortunately, sudden death as well.

JOURNALIST: So what’s the likelihood that – what do you think the likelihood is that we see an outbreak here in Australia?

COLLINS: We’re getting prepared and that’s the point. We’ve now invested around $100 million just in the H5 bird flu preparation. Some of that funding has gone to states and territories. Some of it has gone out for testing equipment to be mobile. Some of it has gone to Wildlife Health Australia to be able to protect more of our wildlife across the country. This is about all of us working together. We’ve also done Exercise Volare, which was an exercise with the two tiers of government together but also industry and the experts to look at if there was an outbreak. We did scenarios on a couple of different places of outbreak – what we would all be doing and how we would get on top of it as quickly as possible. We’re getting prepared. We’re the only continent that’s currently free from this H5 strain of bird flu, and we know it could be devastating, so we need to prepare. We can’t stop it from coming to Australia, but what we can do is prepare.

JOURNALIST: And if the virus were to reach Australia, what areas and animals would be at the biggest risk?

COLLINS: They will come via migratory birds, as we’ve heard, often from droppings of those birds. I’d say to people, please don’t pick up dead birds, if you see them. Go to birdflu.gov.au and find the information online. Make sure that you do report it, and we can then test animals – better to be safe than sorry when it comes to bird flu. What we also know is when we get bird flu in Australia, we’ve had a H7 impact for a recent couple of years, we’ve got on it quickly. We’ve been able to eradicate it by putting in biosecurity measures and by dealing with it through our usual processes, and agreements we have with industry and with other state governments.

JOURNALIST: Is it just the Hobart Zoo and Aquarium at this point that’s benefitting from the funding or will other parts of Australia also get it?

COLLINS: There’s four in Tasmania that are getting the funding. Across the state there’s the Cradle Mountain facility, there’s one at Trowunna down south at Mole Creek. There are various organisations where we have threatened species here in Tasmania that will be getting the funding. There’s 23 nationwide that are getting part of this funding. It’s just part of the funding that’s also going to Wildlife Health Australia, and we’re also providing funding to state and territory governments so that they can also do more on the ground in terms of all of us working together.

JOURNALIST: The Invasive Species Council has come out today welcoming the funding but also calling for the same level of urgency for protecting species in the wild. What’s the government’s response for our wildlife in you touched on it earlier, but can you expand?

COLLINS: We’re investing around $100 million. Of that around $7 million is going to Wildlife Health Australia so that they can work to prepare us for an outbreak in the wild, in our wildlife in Australia. This funding that we’re talking about today is obviously focused on threatened species, but we’re working right across the spectrum on One Health. All Federal Government agencies are working with a whole range of state government agencies but, importantly also, industry and conservation organisations so that we’re all working together, all heading in the same direction. We all know what we’re doing in terms of preparing but, importantly, we also know what we’re going to do if there is an outbreak.

JOURNALIST: You’ve mentioned that we can’t necessarily stop the outbreak from reaching Australia. When do you think it’s likely that we see that occurring?

COLLINS: What we know is spring is a higher danger period because of the migratory birds. We will continue to do our preparedness. As a Commonwealth Government, we’re doing everything we can do to prepare. The $100 million dollars is a significant investment in preparedness and is part of an additional $2 billion that our government has spent on biosecurity since we came to office.

JOURNALIST: You’ve mentioned that we were successful in eradicating another strain. What was successful about that particular approach and what are you bringing forward into this?

COLLINS: Earlier in the year we were successful in eradicating a H7 strain that was an outbreak in Victoria. We were able to contain it to just a few farms in Victoria. We were able to get on top of that very quickly working with the Victorian Government and with industry. Essentially it is, sadly, the culling of some of our laying stock across – the laying flock across Australia. So we do have to euthanise some of the birds.

JOURNALIST: Does Federal Labor support Tasmanian Labor forming government with support from the Greens?

COLLINS: The Tasmanian electorate has just elected a Parliament. It’s up to the Tasmanian Parliament to provide stability for the Tasmanian people. What I want to do is see the Parliament last as long as possible, up to the four years. Tasmanians have put their faith in the people they’ve elected, and it’s up to those elected representatives now to form some sort of stable government.

JOURNALIST: Do you think it would reflect the will of the people if Tasmanian Labor formed government with only 10 seats?

COLLINS: Any people that the Parliament decides are going to govern Tasmania is the will of the people, because it’s been decided by the Parliamentarians elected by Tasmanians. What we want to see is a stable government, and we’ll work with whomever is governing Tasmania in Tasmania’s best interests. You’ve seen that in the last week where we have done investments such as approval of Marinus Link, such as our investment in Nyrstar to secure jobs in Tasmania. Our Hobart Airport runway upgrade, again, Federal Labor Government supporting the Tasmanian economy. We do that all the time in the best interests of Tasmania regardless of the government. We’ll work with the government elected by the people.

JOURNALIST: Has Australia imported any American beef since restrictions on the US market were lifted?

COLLINS: Not that I’m aware of.

JOURNALIST: And how much American beef do you anticipate will be imported, and when do you expect that to start?

COLLINS: That will be a commercial decision for importers. They’ll make that decision. What we know, of course, is that our assessment was based on the science, it was rigorous and robust and has taken quite some time. As I have said previously, the review has been over 10 years and, indeed, over the last five for the expanded access for US beef to Australia. We know that the United States Government changed and improved its traceability system last year and we have since done a rigorous assessment of that. We are confident that we have the parameters right.

JOURNALIST: Benjamin Netanyahu has told Fox News that Israel intends to take full control of Gaza. What’s your position on that?

COLLINS: The Prime Minister and Minister Wong have been pretty clear about our position on Gaza. What we want to see is a ceasefire. What we want to see is humanitarian aid get to people that desperately need it.

JOURNALIST: On diabetes, a Hobart woman, is calling for more support for type 2 diabetes from the Federal Government. What support is currently available for type 2?

COLLINS: We’ve obviously made changes to the Medicare Benefit Schedule to allow better support in terms of chronic disease support for people living with type 2 diabetes. As a Government, we’ve also provided a lot of additional support for people living with type 1 diabetes. We’ll continue to work with advocates for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes to provide supports that are necessary. We’ve listed additional medications on the PBS. We’ve changed some of the Medicare Benefits schedule that we continue to work our way through. I understand that there is a parliamentary report on type 2 diabetes with some recommendations, and our government will look at those closely.

JOURNALIST: You mentioned before that there’s been quite a bit of support for type 1 – I understand $50 million. Why hasn’t the same been offered for type 2?

COLLINS: We’re obviously supporting people with a range of measures. We’re investing more in changes to the Medicare benefits schedule for chronic disease management. We are investing in our healthcare system with urgent care clinics. We’re investing with additional bulk billing to allow people better access to health services. We have invested more in terms of listing more medications on the PBS – the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. We’ll continue to look at what we can do, and we’ll have a look at the recommendations from that inquiry.

JOURNALIST: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thanks, everyone.