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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-14 Daily Xml
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Fruit Fly

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. F. Pangallo:

That this council—

1. Notes that South Australia remains Australia’s only mainland state that is fruit fly free;

2. Acknowledges that an outbreak of fruit fly in South Australia would have a significant impact on the ability of horticultural producers in South Australia, including in the Adelaide Hills, to gain access to international markets; and

3. Calls on the state government to work with the federal government to increase biosecurity measures in South Australia to protect our thriving horticultural industry.

(Continued from 4 July 2018.)

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (17:55): I rise on behalf of the opposition to indicate our support for this motion. After 16 years of Labor government I am more than happy to recognise that South Australia has effectively managed biosecurity.

In November 2016 the former Labor government officially opened South Australia's world-leading $3.8 million fruit fly facility. The National Sterile Insect Technology Facility (SIT), located in Port Augusta, provides a powerful line of defence against one of horticulture's most damaging pests. The centre produces 50 million sterile male Queensland fruit flies each week. The flies are released to mate with females, collapsing wild populations in fruit fly affected horticultural growing regions.

Fruit flies are the world's worst horticultural pest, destroying fruit and vegetables in commercial crops and home gardens, and impacting trade access. The Queensland fruit fly, or the Q-fly, is a major pest which attacks fruit and vegetable crops in Australia. South Australia is the only mainland state to be declared fruit fly free, with the former Labor state government committing about $5 million each year to fight the threat of fruit fly.

The SIT facility is supported by SITplus, a national research and development effort that now has a combined program budget of $45 million. Research undertaken at the SIT facility is a game changer for the future management of the Queensland fruit fly. The SITplus program is led by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited in partnership with: Primary Industries and Regions SA; the South Australian Research and Development Institute; the Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources; the CSIRO; Plant and Food Research Australia; the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries; and Macquarie University—all with interconnected interest in the development and uptake of science solutions for the management of Q-fly.

Two of the bodies in this partnership have received funding cuts in the Liberal's first state budget, namely Primary Industries and Regions SA and the South Australian Research and Development Institute.

It was due to the Labor government that the SIT facility helped to transform the way Q-fly is managed around Australia and helped increase global confidence in South Australia's biosecurity, product integrity and food safety standards. Under Labor, South Australia's fresh fruit and vegetables, including wine grapes and almonds, had an estimated farmgate value of $1.1 billion, and it was Labor that used every weapon possible to protect and defend South Australia's precious crops.

The SIT facility continues to reinforce South Australia's enviable status as the only mainland state in Australia which is fruit fly free. It is also helping to reduce fruit fly populations in other major horticultural regions across Australia—an excellent Labor initiative. The facility was a critical breakthrough for South Australia's horticulture industries, and further boosts South Australia's capacity to safeguard crops and the livelihoods of thousands of South Australians.

The SIT facility also contributed to the local economy, with 10 new full-time jobs created. The facility, created by the former Labor government, is one of the most progressive and advanced of its type in the world. The SIT facility is not only a win for the nation's horticulture industry, it is also a win for consumers, who stand to soon benefit from increased quality produce at markets and on shop shelves.

The fruit fly is one of the leading pests which plagues the Australian horticulture industry. Each year, the pest is estimated to cost the industry more than $300 million in lost markets and through damaged produce, both pre and post harvest. Everyone else knows that Labor took the national lead and committed $3 million in funds to build a dedicated sterile facility in Upper Spencer Gulf. Labor was the catalyst behind the development and design of the new facility.

However, on 3 April this year, the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development made comments to the media as if he and the state Liberal government had built and invested in this amazing facility. Then, in July this year, the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development took credit for providing a financial boost to help the state's oyster farmers. This was completely untrue and misleading. It was Labor that announced the funding earlier this year, whilst minister Whetstone took the credit.

In February this year, it was Labor that announced a $1.6 million fee relief package that would benefit the state's oyster businesses over the next two years. The $1.6 million was in addition to more than $1 million in financial and operational support provided by the state Labor government since the POMS outbreak. For what it is worth, I am sure the industry is appreciative that the Liberals are not scrapping this Labor-driven program.

Under Labor, the state's food and wine revenue reached record levels of $19.97 billion. Exporting food and wine to overseas markets—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS: I don't talk when you talk, so let me finish.

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Dawkins! Allow the member to give her speech in silence.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS: Exporting food and wine to overseas markets increased by $419 million. The state's outstanding reputation for being fruit fly free and phylloxera free contributed to this success. Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) is the state government department that oversees biosecurity in South Australia. SARDI is a division of PIRSA and both were cut in the state budget. Here are some examples of the work SARDI does:

SARDI's Plant Health and Biosecurity Science program provides disease management and biosecurity solutions for plant industries;

SARDI conducts work into cereal, pulse, oilseed, horticulture and viticulture;

SARDI offers these services: plant disease diagnostics, post-entry quarantine, disease and pesticide resistance screening;

SARDI provides plant health solutions through scientific expertise in mycology, nematology, molecular diagnostics and microbiology.

SARDI undertakes vital research to help make South Australia's primary industries and regions internationally competitive. This is done through programs to help increase primary producers' productivity and sustainability, while creating opportunities for market growth. There are no excuses for damaging SARDI's capacity to support our primary producers. Biosecurity in South Australia is of critical importance and government must support primary producers in managing it. For these reasons, I commend this motion to the council.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (18:03): I rise on behalf of the government to make a few comments. Before I start, for Ms Pnevmatikos' benefit, my recollection is that in 2002 Primary Industries SA had nearly 2,000 employees and, at the end of her government's time, it was down to 800. I think she needs to look at it from a whole-of-government process, not just the last little bit. That said, I move to amend the motion as follows:

Delete paragraph 3 and substitute—

3. Recognises the state government is working with the federal government to strengthen biosecurity measures in South Australia to protect our $1.25 billion horticultural industry vulnerable to fruit fly; and

4. Notes that the state government is committed to increasing measures to protect the state's horticultural industries from fruit fly, including the recent instalment of new quarantine bins and signage at key entry points into the Riverland.

The Marshall Liberal government has biosecurity as a priority, and protecting South Australia's fruit fly free status is vital. The state government spends about $5 million annually on a comprehensive strategy to protect our $1.25 billion horticulture industry against fruit fly and other pests, insects and diseases.

As part of the Marshall Liberal government's election commitment, two new quarantine bins were recently installed at key entry points into the Riverland with new signage and increased monitoring. The new bins, on the Renmark to Wentworth road at the state border and on Purnong Road near Mannum, are aimed at travellers heading into the Riverland, one of the state's major food-growing regions. The new bins bring the total number of quarantine bins located across South Australia to 18. I have a list, which I will not read out, but I seek leave to have it inserted into Hansard.

Leave granted.

Location of South Australian Quarantine Bins:

Glenelg Highway near Mount Gambier

Nelson Highway near Mount Gambier

Princes Highway near Mount Gambier

Dukes Highway near Mount Gambier

Stuart Highway at Marla

Wimmera Highway near Naracoorte

Old Wentworth Road at the State border

Purnong Road near Mannum

Goyder Highway near Morgan

Thiele Highway near Eudunda

Sturt Highway near Blanchetown

Stott Highway near Sedan

Angas Valley Road near Walker Flat

Hunter Road near Bow Hill

Browns Well Highway near Paruna

Karoonda Highway near Alawoona

Oodla Wirra (when quarantine station is closed)

Pinnaroo (when quarantine station is closed)

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: The network of bins, along with the 24/7 quarantine stations at Yamba and Ceduna and seasonal stations at Pinnaroo and Oodla Wirra, are an essential part of the state's border control activities. In addition, the state government has appointed a dedicated fruit fly coordinator. His key responsibilities include early detection and diagnosis, prevention, risk mitigation, grower and industry liaison and response preparedness.

The Riverland region is internationally recognised as a Pest Free Area by China, Indonesia, the United States, Japan and New Zealand. This enables produce from the region to be shipped to these countries without the need for costly fruit fly treatments and reduces the costs and delays for producers and exporters across the supply chain. If fruit fly were to become established in South Australia, it would be difficult for our commercial growers to access markets to export their produce.

The state government is also armed with sterile insect technology, which is a common part of fruit fly eradication responses in South Australia. I know that Ms Pnevmatikos made references to it being developed. One thing I will point out is that I do not think that at any point during the development of that facility was the then Liberal opposition opposed to anything that the government was doing. The tenor of her comments was as though the former government did it in the face of opposition from the Liberal Party, which was not the case.

Sterile fruit fly mate with wild fruit flies and any subsequently laid eggs are infertile, eradicating the wild fly population. The application of sterile fruit flies is in line with the state government's broader program to combat fruit flies and other plant pests. The national SIT facility is based in Port Augusta and is part of the national SITplus research initiative. It produces sterile Queensland fruit flies, which are used as part of the fight against the Queensland fruit fly. We need to remember that communities play a particularly important role in ensuring that South Australia's fruit fly free status remains, and we must be ever vigilant that, if people do see fruit fly, they report it to the authorities.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (18:07): I do not wish to delay the house, but I would like to add a few remarks to this motion. As someone who has spoken on fruit fly throughout my career, I learned very early, as my father would have said, to drop my jaw when I say 'fruit fly free' because it is one of those phrases that can test you out and probably annoy Hansard. I will just make a few remarks. I think that the success of the fruit fly free system in South Australia is a great tribute to the South Australian industry. The industry is largely in the Riverland but also in other parts of the state, which for a very long time have seen the great merits of us retaining our fruit fly free status.

One example is that, for a very long time, South Australia was a leader in what was the Tri-State Fruit Fly Committee, which involved growers and industry representatives from the Riverland, the Sunraysia region in Victoria and around the Wentworth area in New South Wales. I know that South Australian growers have been very supportive of that. Certainly, governments in New South Wales and Victoria did not support that as well as South Australia. There has generally been pretty good support for the fruit fly free status by governments of both flavours. However, we need to think that there may have been a little bit of reinvention of history in an earlier contribution.

I commend the Hon. Mr Pangallo for bringing this motion before us. It allows the parliament to add its support for something that is very important and that South Australia should cherish. The Hon. Mr Ridgway referred to the shrinking of PIRSA under the Labor government. When there were budget cut pressures on all departments there was constant pressure from within the Labor government, and within certain areas of the bureaucracy, to cut back on the fruit fly free effort.

I raised this matter with the Hon. Paul Holloway, who was then minister for agriculture, in the early days of the Labor government. The Liberal government, which left office in 2002, had put in place significant plans and provisions for increased random fruit fly inspections, and many of us thought it was very important to have the random inspections rather than just the ones that people knew they could deviate around if they really wanted to. That was something that was under threat. To be fair to the Hon. Paul Holloway, he saw the merit of continuing with that and he resisted the pressure from within the Labor Party to scrap it.

Later, when the Hon. Gail Gago was the minister for primary industries, there was significant pressure from within the Labor government to reduce the 24-hour scrutiny at Yamba and Ceduna. Thankfully, that was resisted, and the Hon. Gail Gago had to put up with me asking questions about that. In the end, thankfully, that did not happen and there was some reinforcement and improved facilities, particularly at Yamba.

The other matter that was pushed during the period of the Hon. Gail Gago's time as the minister for agriculture was the rather bizarre notion that the South Australian fruit fly checking point on the West Coast would be shifted to Border Village. It was going to be put at Border Village and amalgamated with what the Western Australians were doing. A whole number of people who were living and employed at Ceduna were told that if they wanted a job they would have to go and live at Border Village, or at Eucla in Western Australia. Thankfully, that did not happen. That is just a snapshot of some of the issues that I have dealt with in my time here.

With great respect to the Hon. Ms Pnevmatikos, I am sure that she took those matters very sincerely, but some of that information was not included in what she was provided. In regard to her criticisms of the minister for agriculture, he knows more about the benefits of the fruit fly free status—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: He has forgotten more than the Labor Party.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: He has forgotten more than many would ever know but, as a significant grower in the Riverland over many years, he has seen the absolute benefits to this state, to the Riverland and to the other fruit growing areas of South Australia of the continuation of the fruit fly free status. I support the comments and the amendment moved by the Hon. Mr Ridgway and also commend the Hon. Mr Pangallo for bringing this matter to our attention.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (18:14): I wish to thank honourable members for their contributions, and congratulations to all my colleagues for successfully navigating that fruit fly free tongue twister. The Hon. John Dawkins has mentioned the history of fruit fly. In some small way, I and my family actually played an insignificant but a small part in keeping the state fruit fly free, because our home was selected many years ago as a checkpoint. I remember my dad's fruit trees had traps placed there, and in fact once we actually caught them; they were caught in there. That prompted the usual alert that went out and, as a consequence, the department of agriculture moved in and was able to ensure that it did not spread.

From that young period, I became quite aware of the importance of the state having that status, and not only then but also now, how important it is today, particularly with our strong exports overseas. Now we are heading into an important stone fruit season, and the cherry season is starting. There are enormous exports going overseas, particularly to China, as we saw. They are buying our cherries. I think it is indicative of the work that has been done by successive governments. I will not just single out the Liberals; I think Labor was also involved in maintaining that status over the years. I think it is very important that we acknowledge all those sectors.

I am glad to hear that the government has heeded my call to strengthen the biosecurity measures, since I first spoke on this motion in July. Since then, the government has announced in September a suite of measures to strengthen biosecurity and quarantine measures already in place, which will protect South Australia's $1.25 billion horticultural produce, including the cherries, as I have just mentioned, coming into main production and our world-renowned wine grapes, from the devastation caused by fruit fly in other states.

I commend the government on those measures, which include the appointment of a dedicated Riverland fruit fly coordinator, who will be based at the Loxton Research Centre, to work with industry; increased random roadblocks; new quarantine bins; higher security and scrutiny at quarantine stations; and the opening of the Pinnaroo station. While these measures are important, I think more is needed. We must avail ourselves of every possible tool to combat an insidious pest and ensure that South Australia retains our enviable reputation of being fruit fly free.

Last month, my federal colleague the member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, wrote to the federal agriculture minister seeking federal government support for a fumigation and irradiation facility based in South Australia. It is important to put on the record that the current lack of such a facility in our state is seriously hampering the ability of growers to export more of their produce, especially into Asia. Such a facility would be a boon for South Australia. We must capitalise on our access to these lucrative export markets. We can only do this if we can ensure our produce is world class and pest free.

Our citrus and almond export markets in New Zealand, Germany and Japan are worth about $87 million a year alone. South Australia's total horticultural export value is $243 million each year. These are fantastic figures that we cannot risk to pests like fruit fly. I reiterate Rebekha Sharkie's call for a fumigation and irradiation facility, which is also supported by the horticulture industry. I also echo her call for more federal funding similar to support offered to Tasmania to manage their biosecurity measures.

Every one of us has a responsibility to be part of the defence against fruit fly, so over summer, when returning from road trips or having family visit from interstate, it is imperative to remind family and take personal responsibility for following our strict quarantine rules and look after our fruit farmers. With those words, and a reminder to all South Australians to buy and enjoy the wonderful fruit our state produces over the summer months, I commend the motion.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.

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