Speakers: Speaker 12, Speaker 21

Transcript

Speaker 21

>> So I did ask this question last night. I want to know who will be responsible and accountable for ensuring that food security, food sovereignty and regional comm community communities um are not being adversely impacted by the current EPBC implementation.

Speaker 12

So, it's it's a it's a good question, Senator, and goes to, I guess, the broader um the the broader policy work that we're doing around the food security strategy. Um, and I think probably it's important to acknowledge kind of right up front that um food security is a policy imperative that sits amongst a number of policy imperatives at um a whole of government level. I think for us um

Speaker 21

>> I I will interrupt you. I'm sorry. Absolutely. But food security like we've been blessed with an abundance of food, but I would have thought that food security in an increasingly populated world would be something that we would prioritize very highly. And uh you're about to give me a list of other priorities I think but I want to be assured that food security is something that we're going to measure and uh and productivity and profitability is something that we are guarding against any reduction. Um yes,

Speaker 12

I can assure you that food security is absolutely um an important policy imperative of both the government and this portfolio and it's um it's um one of my top priorities as as a deputy in the department senator um and and simply I was acknowledging is that from for the work that we do it's about how we optimize food security acknowledge your points around productivity and resilience of the sector as well as being really important drivers food security for our nation. Um but we're going to be taking a broad view of food security as well, supply chains, um international markets, um a consumer consumer I guess interests as well as we look at this work.