Speakers: Miss Victoria Anderson

Transcript

Miss Victoria Anderson

>> I do have a brief opening statement, chair. Uh, thank you very much for this opportunity to make an opening statement. We recently tabled our 202526 annual report, which gives an overview of the breadth of work we've undertaken over the past year. I'm sure we'll be discussing much of this throughout today's proceedings, but I did want to take this opportunity to highlight some significant areas of work. Since we last appeared before the committee, the department has responded to the first detections and ongoing outbreak of H5 bird flu in Australia. The preparedness work we've undertaken over the past two years with the Commonwealth, state, and territory government colleagues and industry has positioned us well to respond. When H5 was detected in Australia, we moved quickly to activate response plans and support a coordinated response. We've engaged closely with stakeholders from government and industry as well as environmental and wildlife organizations. We've communicated carefully with the public ensuring people have adequate access to information without being unduly worried. Targeted vaccination is being used to help protect priority native species. This globally significant rollout is supported by expert scientific advice and is being delivered on the ground by states and territories and their partners. Thankfully, there's not yet been a spillover into the poultry industry, but we know from overseas experience that this is still a risk. And across governments and industry, we continue to focus on preparedness. I want to acknowledge the extraordinary effort of departmental staff working on this response. Many have been working under intense pressure for several months. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment helped us respond quickly and with authority. I also acknowledge the work of our state and territory colleagues and the many other partners that have contributed to the response. The conflict in the Middle East also continues to affect Australia's agriculture, fisheries, and forestry industries. The im immediate pressures have changed over time, but they have not disappeared. Higher input and transport costs continue to affect producers and supply chains. And of course, we're now in a period of high demand for diesel as the grain harvest is underway across the country. We continue to monitor fuel and fertilizer supply, prices, and distribution, and to work with industry and other parts of government to identify pressure points and respond to emerging issues. Our ongoing engagement with producers, exporters, suppliers, and logistics businesses has helped us understand the impacts across different industries and regions. Both H5 bird flu and the conflict in the Middle East have demonstrated the importance of preparation, partnerships, and being able to quickly bring together technical, economic, and operational expertise. The department has played an important leadership role in both responses. Thank you, chair, and we welcome the committee's questions.