Interview with Leon Compton, ABC Tasmania Statewide Mornings

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC TASMANIA STATEWIDE MORNINGS
WEDNESDAY, 12 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: H5 bird flu; Bell Bay Aluminum.

LEON COMPTON, HOST: So, let's move on to other matters. Story going around this morning about the opportunities, maybe, to vaccinate birds in the face of the impending arrival of bird flu. So, it's everywhere in the country, it's likely here, but we haven't tested it yet positively, but it's coming, according to the health experts we talked to. So, what opportunities are there with vaccination for endangered birds to protect species from extinction? Julie Collins is the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and member for Franklin in Tasmania. Julie Collins, good morning to you.

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Good morning, Leon, and your listeners this morning.

COMPTON: Minister, what are the opportunities for vaccination of birds in Tasmania from bird flu?

COLLINS: Yes, well, as a Federal Government, we've been working on this for some time, since 2024 indeed. We have secured some vaccines and we've undertaken trials and pilot studies through the CSIRO labs, testing on various species of birds. And yesterday we announced that the first vaccines in Australian birds are likely to roll out in the coming days. And this is agreed on a national approach, and it'll be targeting with priority native bird species. So, states and territories will be able to commence vaccinations, and they will identify, essentially, those native species that are priority for them, and it'll be based on vulnerability to H5 bird flu, plus the potential conservation impact. Obviously, biosecurity is our first line of defence, and we've been investing heavily in that, working with the states and territories as well vaccination is just another option.

COMPTON: There's an inevitability of it coming here, and what sounds like a limited number of vaccines that will be available around the country. How many vaccines will Tasmania be given?

COLLINS: Well, we are obviously in a position federally where we have secured those vaccines that I talked about yesterday. We've invested around $2 million in the vaccines and the trials and the pilot studies, and we're able to secure additional vaccines if they're required. But this is about working with the states and territories and identifying those priority species that states and territories may want to vaccinate, in addition to the other work that we are doing in terms of protecting vulnerable species. In Tasmania, for instance, we've funded things like Raptor Refuge, the aquariums and zoos in terms of some of the wonderful species that they have there, in terms of being able to protect them, in terms of biosecurity and protect them from native birds and wild birds.

COMPTON: And so, so--

COLLINS: We can't stop it spreading--

COMPTON: No.

COLLINS: -- and it's going to turn up, but what we can do is try and work to protect our threatened species as much as possible, and also obviously to keep it out of our agricultural production system, which we're also working hard to do.

COMPTON: Will it be possible to vaccinate, like, at scale? So, will poultry producers, for example, who might have tens or hundreds of thousands of birds either for eggs or meat? Like, is there a prospect that they will be able to vaccinate across a full flock?

COLLINS: Well, we're certainly working with the industry and talking to them about whether or not that would work. And we're working on expert advice. We're talking to the experts in the analysis of the trials and the pilots. One of the things we do know is the vaccines, like in humans, can mask symptoms, and sometimes that can be an issue, particularly in large poultry production, because you may have birds that have it but we don't know they have it, and then all of a sudden all your other birds are dead. So, we are working our way through that expert advice about what is feasible and viable and working with the industry on that. As I've said, we have secured these vaccines, and we've invested in that and the pilots and the trials, and we're able to secure more vaccines if that becomes necessary. But certainly this is world-leading. Australia will be one of the first countries in terms of, you know, vaccinating our wild birds.

COMPTON: Are we going to vaccinate our orange-bellied parrots? I've got visions of a doctor or a nurse sort of climbing a ladder, sticking themselves into a hollow and then sort of giving a little needle in the shoulder of an orange-bellied parrot or more. Like, how does it actually work--

COLLINS: Yeah, so--

COMPTON: --and will our OBPs be impacted.

COLLINS: -- the vaccines, they actually require two shots, Leon, to make it even more complicated. So, obviously those in wildlife trying to catch the same bird twice would be difficult, but we can do it in captive threatened species and we can do it in some managed populations where we know that the birds return and they're monitored. So, they have a regular pattern of behaviour. So, it may be possible in those types of wild birds. So, we are working very closely with the experts, and we have obviously trialed them in our CSIRO lab in terms of various different types of birds here in Australia to make sure that they're suitable. So, we continue to work with the states and territories on identifying what populations.

COMPTON: Okay, we've talked about birds a lot and what is the risk for animals, particularly like the Tassie devil, that feast on carrion as its primary source of food? Like, will there be vaccinations for mammals, for things like devils in captivity?

COLLINS: Well, there's no commercially available vaccine globally for mammals. But we do continue to work with our international partners and there are - is some work being done in terms of a possible vaccine for mammals overseas, particularly in the U.S. So, our chief vet yesterday, she's at the forefront of all this, and she did talk to the media about that international relationships that we do have and we are learning from other countries, because obviously they have had it for much longer than we have had. But certainly in terms of the vaccinations, Australia is globally leading in terms of what we have trialed and tested with our wild native birds.

COMPTON: Before we leave you this morning, Julie Collins, I think by most measures Tasmania's most senior Labor representative in Federal Parliament. Are Tasmania's federal Labor representatives fully engaged in the dispute over Rio Tinto's new power deal and trying to save 550-plus jobs in the north of the state?

COLLINS: Well, certainly I know that our federal Member for Bass, Jess Teesdale, has been very heavily engaged, and certainly she spoke to all the Tasmanian federal members yesterday about just how engaged she has been, and I know that certainly Minister Tim Ayres has also been engaged, and we are very concerned in terms of Bell Bay. What we want to do is obviously continue to work with the Tasmanian State Government, but the power deal is the responsibility of the Tasmanian State Government.

COMPTON: It looks like the Federal Government getting quite heavily involved, though, when it comes to Tomago in the Hunter Valley. Like, can we expect similar federal engagement if push comes to shove over --

COLLINS: Well, what you've seen from us --

COMPTON: -- over a deal had with our federal reps.

COLLINS: Yeah. What you've seen from us, Leon, and I think our engagement with other major industrials in Tasmania shows the results. You've seen it with us in terms of Nyrstar. You've seen it with us in terms of what's been happening at Boyer. You've seen it with us in terms of Liberty Bell Bay and we continue to be involved in terms of industrial jobs in Tasmania.

COMPTON: Appreciate you talking with us. Thank you.