15 November 2022
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: I rise on behalf of the Greens in support of this bill. We recognise that biosecurity is vital to protect our precious environment and our native species. The Greens believe the protection and conservation of biodiversity are essential for the wellbeing of all life, and it is crucial to protect biodiversity from threats such as diseases and pests.
Australia's natural biosecurity advantage has helped to protect our communities from many diseases and pests that can cause illness or damage our environment and our agriculture. Although current animal disease threats are mostly confined to livestock, there is the potential for diseases to spread to native species and to threaten biodiversity, and it is important that we protect our local food security as well as our local species.
In South Australia, we have an enormous range of unique ecosystems and habitats that are vulnerable to invasive species and to pests. These can cause untold damage to human health, to agriculture and to our environment. There is also a consideration here for animal welfare. The spread of infectious diseases amongst livestock can cause untold suffering of animals. We hope this bill enables swift action to be taken to ease the suffering of animals by reducing the administrative burden that is placed in dealing with these responses and dealing quickly with biosecurity threats before they become widespread. I therefore confirm the Greens will be supporting this bill.