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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-11-29 Daily Xml
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Seafood Labelling Scheme

The Hon. C. BONAROS (15:46): There is nothing fishy about the motion that I am about to share with members, but it is a good story for South Australia because we know that South Australia is a globally renowned destination for our iconic seafood produce. Indeed, we are the seafood destination of Australia, and consumers are a huge part of that. They have become increasingly attuned to what they eat and how it is sourced. They, and I, want and deserve to know where their seafood, my seafood, has come from, both when I shop and when I dine out, particularly when you consider that around 62 per cent of seafood consumed in Australia is actually imported.

Consumers deserve to know when they are purchasing or eating an inferior product, which is why I am particularly pleased to be speaking about a big development in the two decades long campaign for country-of-origin labelling laws on seafood in all hospitality and retail outlets. I am immensely pleased to have been a part of that journey. It is a huge win for both consumers and our seafood industry that the state government formally committed to country-of-origin labelling laws.

It is a huge win that last Friday all state and federal consumer affairs ministers, including our minister, voted to implement a mandatory labelling scheme from 2025, meaning that we will see nationally consistent transparency laws for all our eatery outlets.

There were two options available in terms of that mandatory scheme, but the one supported means that labelling systems on menus will be coded with 'A' for Australian, 'I' for imported, and 'M' for mixed. It has been a two decades long journey, navigating through a Senate inquiry in 2009, Nick Xenophon's attempt at truth in labelling laws in 2012, another inquiry in 2016, and tireless advocacy at both state and federal levels since that time.

Who says patience and persistence does not pay off? Certainly not me. The seafood industry's national peak body, Seafood Industry Australia, needs to be commended because they have played an integral role, a huge role, in publicly campaigning on this issue for some 15 years. It has been a long and winding road and, as much as she will not like this, I will take this opportunity to thank the association's chief executive officer, Veronica Papacosta, because she is one of the many stakeholders who has worked tirelessly to secure the outcome of these changes, and her tenacity needs to be recognised.

This is not, of course, just a win for the seafood industry, it is a win for consumers because, like I said, I for one am very much looking forward to knowing that the seafood I order at my local has come from our healthy oceans. Many Australians remain none the wiser that they have been paying Australian seafood prices for inferior, unsustainably sourced seafood from overseas, from waters that are far from pristine.

I foreshadow that in the new year I will be moving a motion in this place recognising the sustainability of our seafood sector in South Australia and also for the safeguarding of our oceans for future generations. Seafood is the third largest protein source consumed in Australia. It is also the most sustainability sourced protein in Australia. It has the smallest carbon footprint of all other forms of protein sourced in Australia. It is exceptionally important that we recognise that and keep adding to the good reputation of our globally renowned seafood sector that our rural and regional townships rely on for their survival.

We know that cheap imported seafood has meant that the industry has had to adapt to the influx of that product, but this single measure will go a long way towards ensuring more availability of Australian seafood for local consumers and, ultimately, better prices for those products.

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