Mr BALDWIN - 1994-11-22
Given the current contamination scare that is impacting on the Australian beef industry, how may Northern Territory beef producers may be affected by this incident?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, obviously, this is a regrettable incident that represents a major blow to the Australian beef industry. It began last Friday when United States Customs stopped clearing Australian beef shipments and Japanese supermarkets stopped sales of Australian beef. As we all know, the current scare has been linked to the feeding of trash cotton product to cattle affected by droughts in the eastern states, and the pesticide residues contained in that cotton product. The beef involved was exported from Queensland and New South Wales. I note statements by the federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy, Senator Bob Collins, that none of the beef involved was exported from the Northern Territory. Nevertheless, it presents a problem for Northern Territory beef producers in that overseas markets do not distinguish between beef from Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory. It is lumped together generically as Australian beef. The executive director of the Cattle Council of Australia, Mr David Palmer, says that the hold-up in the sale of beef is a public relations disaster, and he is only too right.
Australia has to impose more stringent measures to ensure that the quality of its export beef is maintained. The effect of this incident on Northern Territory beef production is that our producers will suffer the same market effects as every other beef producer in Australia. Northern Territory producers and, I believe, most interstate producers are responsible people. Unfortunately, in adverse circumstances, feeding inappropriate material to cattle has been a problem in the past. Hopefully. it will be addressed in the future. Although I am loath to call for further regulation of what is already an over-regulated industry, I ask Senator Collins to advise Northern Territory beef producers of the actions that his department will be taking to ensure that this does not happen again. I ask also that beef producers and operators of feedlots be more mindful that the products that they feed to their cattle must not contain pesticide residues. This happened in the past with the DDT scare and, although the levels of toxic residues contained within the beef were so low as to be almost immeasurable, it is a market perception that there is beef on the market that contains harmful substances. Unless both governments and industry are more mindful, more aware, and play a more pro-active role to ensure that it does not happen again, the Australian beef industry and our export markets will continue to be hampered in the future by such incidents.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, obviously, this is a regrettable incident that represents a major blow to the Australian beef industry. It began last Friday when United States Customs stopped clearing Australian beef shipments and Japanese supermarkets stopped sales of Australian beef. As we all know, the current scare has been linked to the feeding of trash cotton product to cattle affected by droughts in the eastern states, and the pesticide residues contained in that cotton product. The beef involved was exported from Queensland and New South Wales. I note statements by the federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy, Senator Bob Collins, that none of the beef involved was exported from the Northern Territory. Nevertheless, it presents a problem for Northern Territory beef producers in that overseas markets do not distinguish between beef from Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory. It is lumped together generically as Australian beef. The executive director of the Cattle Council of Australia, Mr David Palmer, says that the hold-up in the sale of beef is a public relations disaster, and he is only too right.
Australia has to impose more stringent measures to ensure that the quality of its export beef is maintained. The effect of this incident on Northern Territory beef production is that our producers will suffer the same market effects as every other beef producer in Australia. Northern Territory producers and, I believe, most interstate producers are responsible people. Unfortunately, in adverse circumstances, feeding inappropriate material to cattle has been a problem in the past. Hopefully. it will be addressed in the future. Although I am loath to call for further regulation of what is already an over-regulated industry, I ask Senator Collins to advise Northern Territory beef producers of the actions that his department will be taking to ensure that this does not happen again. I ask also that beef producers and operators of feedlots be more mindful that the products that they feed to their cattle must not contain pesticide residues. This happened in the past with the DDT scare and, although the levels of toxic residues contained within the beef were so low as to be almost immeasurable, it is a market perception that there is beef on the market that contains harmful substances. Unless both governments and industry are more mindful, more aware, and play a more pro-active role to ensure that it does not happen again, the Australian beef industry and our export markets will continue to be hampered in the future by such incidents.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016