Interview with Warwick Long, ABC Victoria Country Hour

E&OE TRANSCRIPT 
RADIO INTERVIEW 
ABC VICTORIAN COUNTRY HOUR 
WEDNESDAY, 3 JUNE 2026 
 
SUBJECTS: Securing more fertiliser for farmers   
 
WARWICK LONG, HOST: The Federal Government is assuring farmers there is enough fertiliser to produce the all important winter crop this season. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has given the Country Hour an update on fertiliser imports, saying more than 1 million tonnes of urea has been made available to farmers since the beginning of the war in February. Julie Collins and I spoke earlier today where she said it's important to provide confidence to Australian farmers in times of global uncertainty. Minister, welcome back to the Country Hour. 
 
JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Great to be back on, Warwick, and hello to your listeners today. 
 
LONG: You've got some data on how much fertiliser is coming into Australia during this war period. What can you tell us? 
 
COLLINS: And certainly it is good news. We have now processed more than a million tonnes of imported urea that's cleared through our biosecurity system since the war began in February. So, that does mean, obviously, that there is fertiliser here in Australia and on the water on its way. And I've been pretty upfront and said publicly that we do have enough for the winter cropping, but this is about trying to provide Australian farmers with some certainty in what is an uncertain time, with this war in the Middle East impacting globally and including here at home in Australia. 
 
LONG: And I've spoken to you a lot about the underwriting of boats in the past. I probably haven't talked a lot about the biosecurity changes. What has been done to speed up that process, and have you seen that working as you're trying to get fertiliser into Australia? 
 
COLLINS: Yeah, well, obviously we do not compromise biosecurity, but what we have done is we've streamlined the process. So, for instance, one of the things we can do is do a sample on the boat before it lands in Australia and make sure that it's tested by the time it lands. So, those sorts of things, do inspections whilst the boat is still, you know, coming into Australia, those types of things to speed up and streamline the process so that we get the fertiliser distributed much faster. 
 
LONG: And that's working, do you know? 
 
COLLINS: Yes, indeed.  I understand that that is the case. I don't know how much of the million tonnes that's come through since February has gone through that process, figure by figure. But what I can say to you is that, you know, we have made these changes working with industry and sector, but also, you know, we will not compromise on biosecurity. So, I don't want to send a message out there that we've done anything that we shouldn't be doing here. We still have an extremely strong biosecurity system. 
 
LONG: And look, according to Episode Three, the last two years, in terms of imported fertiliser, we're looking at 3.6 to 3.8 million tonnes of fertiliser for each growing season. So, despite a million incoming, you're not there yet. Is more fertiliser on the way? 
 
COLLINS: Well, obviously, the entire growing season, there's already been some prior to February coming to the country. I think if you include the entire growing season, it's a much higher figure than the million dollars. Sorry, the million. The million is clearly just since the war began in February. And we'll continue to work with industry. We've got the fertiliser working group meeting regularly. I'm still meeting with the agriculture industry and the fishing industry on a regular basis, in terms of the impacts of the Middle East, and we'll continue to do that. We're doing everything we can to shield Australian producers as much as we can do from this war. 
 
LONG: And this figure, this million tonnes, does that include any of the boats that you've underwritten or are they still to come? 
 
COLLINS: So, it's a mixture. There has been some, but as I said previously, essentially, you know, we have had in the country or on the water the fertiliser available for the winter crop. And this is about, you know, going into the future and providing some certainty to farmers for the months ahead. 
 
LONG: Can you give us some details of those boats that you have underwritten? How many has the government been involved in and is that program continuing? 
 
COLLINS: Yes, so we continue to work through Export Finance Australia, with the fertiliser companies, but also to underwrite these cargoes. We've underwritten six cargoes to date, and over 209,000 tonnes of urea has come in through that process. 
 
LONG: And nearly a third of the world's fertiliser would normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Clearly, you've had to look to other places. Do you have some insight on where some of this fertiliser has been coming from? 
 
COLLINS: Yes, some of it's been coming from some of our partners. I think one of the things that our government has been very successful at, was restoring our international trading relations and our international relations, and we've certainly been working on that. And you've seen our Prime Minister, our Foreign Minister and our Trade Minister, you know, go around some of, particularly some of the Southeast Asian countries and have conversations with them, and some of that's been fruitful and successful in terms of, you know, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia all providing us with some urea. 
 
LONG: If this war drags on, do you need to continue programs like this? Is there a concern that things will get tighter not only for Australia but internationally in the fight for fertiliser? 
 
COLLINS: Well, I don't think any of us have got any idea about how long it will go on for, but as you would expect a prudent government to do, we are planning for short, medium and long term and we're looking at all the contingencies and looking at what we might need to do. In terms of the urea, I would say, and I think I've talked about it before, we have also got an investment in the Perdaman plant that we'll be able to produce urea in Western Australia from the middle of next year as well. So, you know, we have also been working, you know, in terms of sovereign capability and a Future Made in Australia on some of those critical inputs as well. 
 
LONG: Just on the Perdaman plant and the government's involvement in it. That plant wasn't being built to supply all of Australia's urea. A lot of it was going to be for export. But have you, has your government been speaking to those builders about trying to shore up supply for the nation? 
 
COLLINS: Well, obviously it's a commercial decision for the producers of the urea, but we continue to work with the fertiliser sector in the industry to do everything we can do to make sure Australia has what we need in terms of getting the diesel and the fertiliser into Australia and shielding people as much as we possibly can. 
 
LONG: Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, thanks very much for joining us. 
 
COLLINS: Thanks very much, Warwick.