Ms ANDERSON - 2014-10-28
Can you enlighten the House as to what kind of impact banana freckle will have on families and the Northern Territory’s economy? You said the impact of the live cattle trade ban on the Northern Territory was huge.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. There is no doubt, as the member for Namatjira alluded to, there was a huge impact on the Northern Territory as a result of the 2011 live cattle suspension. It was a decision made by a government. In contrast to where we are at with banana freckle – banana freckle is a fungus that has been found within the Northern Territory; it certainly was not visited on the Northern Territory economy by a government. I take up some comments the opposition spokesman made last week, comparing the live cattle ban with banana freckle. Nothing could be further from the truth; the member for Barkly needs to understand the live cattle ban came as a result of a decision made by a government. It is not something that just happened.
Going to the nub of the question from the member for Namatjira, our banana industry here is worth around about $10m. It is, in the scheme of things, a small part of the greater industry throughout Australia, but we note the impact this will have across the Northern Territory economy.
The farms that fall within the eradication zones – I specifically refer to the Darwin banana farm – have quite a number of employees, and those people will, upon eradication of those plants, find themselves, unfortunately, out of work. Many of those people, however, are backpackers and people who visit the Northern Territory. It is very difficult to get Australians to do those kind of very heavy, hard menial tasks associated with the banana industry, and that is why backpackers are a good labour source for those areas. The impacts will run deeper than that, of course.
The local economy will be affected; we have not been able to yet quantify what the local impacts will be in terms of a dollar amount, but we are working very closely with industry to help them through this crisis. Fortunately, the Darwin banana farm is part of an industry that has signed up to the plant health deed, so it will be eligible for what are called owner reimbursement costs. At least their business will be supported by the governments of Australia, plus the greater banana industry. It is a concern we have this disease here. The department and this government are doing everything we can to eradicate banana freckle because we see a future for a banana industry in the Territory, but not with this disease.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. There is no doubt, as the member for Namatjira alluded to, there was a huge impact on the Northern Territory as a result of the 2011 live cattle suspension. It was a decision made by a government. In contrast to where we are at with banana freckle – banana freckle is a fungus that has been found within the Northern Territory; it certainly was not visited on the Northern Territory economy by a government. I take up some comments the opposition spokesman made last week, comparing the live cattle ban with banana freckle. Nothing could be further from the truth; the member for Barkly needs to understand the live cattle ban came as a result of a decision made by a government. It is not something that just happened.
Going to the nub of the question from the member for Namatjira, our banana industry here is worth around about $10m. It is, in the scheme of things, a small part of the greater industry throughout Australia, but we note the impact this will have across the Northern Territory economy.
The farms that fall within the eradication zones – I specifically refer to the Darwin banana farm – have quite a number of employees, and those people will, upon eradication of those plants, find themselves, unfortunately, out of work. Many of those people, however, are backpackers and people who visit the Northern Territory. It is very difficult to get Australians to do those kind of very heavy, hard menial tasks associated with the banana industry, and that is why backpackers are a good labour source for those areas. The impacts will run deeper than that, of course.
The local economy will be affected; we have not been able to yet quantify what the local impacts will be in terms of a dollar amount, but we are working very closely with industry to help them through this crisis. Fortunately, the Darwin banana farm is part of an industry that has signed up to the plant health deed, so it will be eligible for what are called owner reimbursement costs. At least their business will be supported by the governments of Australia, plus the greater banana industry. It is a concern we have this disease here. The department and this government are doing everything we can to eradicate banana freckle because we see a future for a banana industry in the Territory, but not with this disease.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016