Question Time

Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:08): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier provide compensation to Perfection Fresh or its employees and, if so, how much and when? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: It has been reported that 500 job losses occurred at Perfection Fresh following orders issued by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions. Under section 50 of the Plant Health Act, the government has discretion to compensate those individuals and those businesses that are forced to close because of quarantine orders.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:09): Potentially; we are seeking advice on that through the appropriate channels. Obviously, this quarantine order is in its relative infancy, given the scale of the challenge. As we have said publicly, the government obviously doesn't issue a quarantine order of this nature without a degree of caution, and also without a degree of regret. I mean, it has an impact on people, it has an impact on business owners—good people who work exceptionally hard—and then of course all of their employees, of whom there are a significant number. So the government doesn't make the judgement lightly.

At the same time, though, the duty of the government is to make sure we are protecting the industry. It is a $230 million industry, it is a significant employer within the state. Like so much of our horticultural sector, South Australia punches above its weight, which means we produce high-quality produce for the rest of the nation—not just for ourselves. So we've got to protect the industry and hence the decision has been taken.

The impact on the business is regrettable. As the Leader of the Opposition accurately points out, the act does foreshadow and facilitate the vehicle for compensation but that needs to be assessed carefully. We won't be making an off-the-cuff commitment. It needs to be analysed and we need to understand the circumstances that have led to the virus getting to the property.

This afternoon, I was hoping to have already had the chance to speak to the CEO of the company or the main company that has been affected—I will endeavour to do that later today; there has been a bit of phone tag going on—but we look forward to speaking with the CEO and starting to discuss those options. As I said, we will make a clear-eyed assessment once we have a better understanding of exactly the circumstances that led to this instance.