Debates Day 2 - Wednesday 23 November 1994
Parliamentary Record 6
Debates for 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997
1994-11-23
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
English
Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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https://hdl.handle.net/10070/281606
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/414128
DEBATES - Wednesday 23 November 1994 land of the fairies. O f course, the fish were present in Territory waters, but we had not even thought about producing deer meat, crocodile meat or camel meat. In fact, 10 to 15 years ago, buffalo meat was something that people normally fed to their dogs. They did not eat it themselves. I do not know why. We ate it actually and a number o f other people who recognised the value o f buffalo meat ate it, but it was not generally accepted. As for the horticultural produce in the display, a really marvellous show has been prepared by the growers and the department. It contains certain individual items o f agricultural produce that I and others have seen over the years in individual orchards or gardens and at fairs, but never previously to the extent and in the variety that is on display here. In addition to the horticultural and agricultural produce, there is a very interesting display o f floral produce. It is very interesting to see the way the heliconia market has taken off. I have a slight indirect interest in this. I do not grow heliconias myself, but I have an arrangement for the recycling o f waste paper from my electorate office. The paper is shredded and I make it available to people for a variety o f uses. Some people put it in their chook sheds, some put it in their stables and others come regularly to the office for bags o f shredded paper in which to pack their heliconias for travel to markets in the southern states. I like to think that, in this small way, I am helping these people in their endeavours to increase agricultural development in the Northern Territory even though I am not actively involved. If we are to have this viable and energetic industry, we must be very knowledgeable about diseases that can occur and do our best to prevent them. One o f the main ways to prevent disease taking over in any area, whether it is in the animal, vegetable or plant kingdom, is by having an active quarantine line around the area o f production and active quarantine inspectors. Returning to the outbreak o f citrus canker at Lambells Lagoon, I do not believe the federal officers employed by AQIS emerged bright and shining from that episode. It was quite obvious that diseased plant material had been brought into the Northern Territory from overseas by migrants. I do not know what the modern term is for people who come from another country, but migrant people brought the disease in from overseas. Obviously, their goods or their gear were not inspected properly when they reached Darwin because, if they had been inspected properly, the infected plant material would have been discovered. When dealing with many o f the government departments, my personal approach is pretty laid back. I do not particularly welcome inspectorial visits from many o f the government departments. If any o f these people did come to my place, they would not be received with enthusiasm. In fact, they would be told to clear off. However, I do observe rigidly any matter relating to plant or animal quarantine and plant diseases or animal diseases because I happen to have a particular interest in those things. On the few occasions when I have been overseas and have visited farm areas or other places where there could have been disease that could have been brought back to Australia in the dirt on my shoes, I have always been religious in my adherence to notification o f the fact that I have been to such places. The legislation before us not only gives the minister and the chief inspector greater control over the quarantining o f diseased areas, but provides also that the minister may outline clearly the manner in which the disposal o f diseased plant material is to be carried 1847