Mr PERRETT (Gympie—LNP) (6.23 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Food (Labelling of
Seafood) Amendment Bill 2021. I am a strong supporter of labelling seafood. It makes sense. It is a
practical way to back our seafood industry, the workers, the families, the operators and the communities
which are underpinned by the seafood sector. That is why the LNP had a seafood labelling policy as
part of our election platform in 2020 and also committed $1 million to develop, implement and market
Queensland seafood. Seafood labelling will encourage more Queenslanders to buy seafood caught by
Queensland’s fishing fleet. It is a non-controversial, easily adopted policy that is backed by industry. It
is a simple proactive change which can have a powerful impact on supporting our fishers and seafood
industry as well as delivering clarity and transparency for consumers.
The Queensland Seafood Industry Association, or the QSIA, said that it is the first step in
providing the Queensland seafood consumers with the right to make informed choices. It advised the
committee—
Potential resistance to this bill makes no sense to us, as Queensland and Australian consumers deserve to know the origin of
their seafood.
It is sheer pig-headedness and sheer unreasonableness that the Minister for Agricultural Industry
Development and Fisheries does not support this measure. If the government did not think of it, they
will not support it. The minister often waxes lyrical about the high quality of Queensland’s produce, so
it makes no sense to then deny Queenslanders the opportunity to guarantee they are purchasing that
same high-quality produce. Labor needs to put politics aside and work constructively to support the
industry and increase local demand.
As I said 2½ years ago, simple changes to labelling can empower consumers to make informed
choices to support local catchers, which will grow demand. It is a simple policy that makes it easier for
Queenslanders to support other Queenslanders. There are more than 1,200 commercial fishing
businesses in the catch sector alone which form part of the fabric of many regional communities and
economies. I commend the member for Traeger for taking a strong lead from the LNP’s 2020 election
commitment. Queensland seafood is among the best in the world. Queenslanders overwhelmingly tell
us they would prefer to buy local seafood. They deserve to be given the option.
This policy celebrates our local produce, provides choice and transparency for consumers,
creates greater awareness and interest in home caught products, supports our commercial fishing
industry and their communities, and ultimately benefits all Queenslanders. Labor’s refusal to support
this bill demonstrates its obsession with cynical politicking and spin over delivering good policy. It is
arrogant of this government and the agriculture minister to oppose anything that is not their own idea.
In fact, it was a Labor government which first introduced a seafood labelling policy in the Northern
Territory in 2008. Over those 14 years it has been incredibly popular, and the evidence is that the
labelling requirements have not reduced the range of seafood choices or reduced seafood’s prevalence
as a key menu item.
Minister Furner talks big about supporting the Queensland fisheries industry but he fails to back
legislation that will promote the industry he claims to represent. Not supporting this bill perpetuates a
disservice to the Queensland fishing sector and to the consumer. The system is flawed because it
currently allows unscrupulous businesses to profit by withholding information from the consumer.
Barramundi is not only an Australian fish; the same species is found and farmed overseas. Tim
Bade, Manager of Spring Creek Barramundi in North Queensland, told the committee that imported
barramundi is cheaper to produce overseas and, more importantly for the consumer, he said it is not
produced under the same environmental and regulatory standards we have here in Queensland.
Consumers deserve to know that. Col Lownds of Lownds Seafood in Townsville is a wholesale
distributor. He told the committee his distribution costs for barramundi are $30 a kilogram whereas he
can buy imported fillets for $14 or $15 and sell them for $18 to $20. Consumers deserve to know if it is
the Australian product or product from overseas.
The committee was advised that some retailers were selling Mekong delta catfish as cod. Lincoln
Kirchner of Seafood Smokery said—
… Mekong delta catfish, which is marketed in Australia as basa, whack a bit of batter on that and flog it off as cod and chips. That
is a European swing that has come into Australia. I think colloquially hoki is marketed as cod in Australia. It is a Pacific fish that
is caught by New Zealand or Australian fishers. You are really ripping the consumer off by having generally Northern Hemisphere
fish or Asian fish sold here without any definition of where it has come from.
By not supporting seafood labelling the government is allowing the consumer to be ripped off.
The Labor Party says it will not support the bill because of alleged inconsistencies in the existing food
regulatory framework, yet nowhere in the Queensland Health advice does it say that the bill is definitely
incompatible with Queensland’s obligation under the food regulation agreement. The Northern Territory
is part of that agreement. It has managed to find a solution to comply with the national arrangements.
Surely Queensland can do the same. This is simply a hollow excuse.
I recognise that there are concerns about additional administrative and regulatory costs, but that
has never stopped the minister for agriculture before. More importantly, many operators are already
compliant with this proposed legislation and will need no changes to menus or item cards if the bill
passes.
The evidence shows that surveys from the Northern Territory Seafood Council and the
Commonwealth Fisheries Research and Development Corporation found that on average venues spent
$630 to comply with a new labelling scheme. Later surveys indicated that in 70 per cent of venues the
cost had dropped to zero. They also found that consumers responded positively to labelling that gives
them the information about their purchases and that they are willing to pay a premium for local seafood.
Mark Partland of Ingham Road Seafood told the committee—
The labelling or identification of seafood in pubs, clubs, restaurants and the like should have been done years ago when it was
implemented into our retail sector.
Queenslanders should not miss out any longer. Shawn McAtamney of Independent Seafood Producers
advised the committee—
There are a lot of proponents who will say that doing this is too costly for the food service sector. They will ask who is going to
police it and so on. I have heard it for 20 years. It is nonsense and it has to stop.
This policy makes sense. It is overwhelmingly supported by industry and will give local seafood
a competitive advantage over imported products. I call on Labor members to put politics aside and
stand up for locally grown product and support the many small and family businesses behind this
product. As Shawn McAtamney said—
At the end of the day, the crux of this bill is about allowing the consumer to make the choice at the dinner plate, which is no
different to what they do at the retail counter. It is overdue. This bill is vital for Queensland.
The LNP will be supporting the private member’s bill.
