Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (14:59): Supplementary: part of the question was, where else in the world have they been successful in eradicating this disease, and why is the minister so confident that Australia can do something that nobody anywhere else in the world has done? It is almost a reflection of what happened with COVID, where Australia thought they could eradicate the virus and weren't able to do so.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, you didn't touch on overseas outcomes at all, but it is up to you. You are on your feet, if you want to answer the question.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:00): I am happy to. I think to a great extent it has already been answered, and the honourable member has implied in his supplementary question that there is nowhere else where it has been eradicated, which goes back my original answer, in which I said here in Australia we have specific conditions.

This is not politicians deciding whether or not we think that this can be eradicated. This is based on the technical advice of those who are experts in the field. However, I would note that, given that this disease hasn't been detected in Australia before, it is absolutely appropriate for us to acknowledge that we don't know everything around how this disease reacts in Australian conditions.

But what we do need to do as politicians is not make decisions simply because they appear to be simpler at the time. We need to make decisions based on the best evidence that we have. We need to take decisions based on the overall good—in this case, the implications for other tomato-growing businesses. The industry within our state and, more broadly, across the nation would be significantly impacted if we do indeed have this disease and say, 'Let it rip,' as the honourable member has, I think, indicated in the media on a number of occasions. The consequence of letting it rip while there is still considered to be a feasibility to eradicate would be devastating for our industries and would not be a responsible course of action at this time.