Interview with Sally Sara, ABC RN Breakfast

Minister, welcome back to Breakfast. MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: G'day Sally, good to be with you. SALLY SARA: You were giving warnings yesterday of what is to come.

What does the Government expect will happen in the coming weeks and months? Are more deaths of large numbers of wild birds expected? MURRAY WATT: The short answer is yes, Sally.

We did cross a path in the last few days seeing the first mass mortality in Australia. That is something that we have seen a lot overseas, and now that we've had that occur here in Australia, we're likely to see more mass mortalities. I'm sorry to have such grim news at this hour of the morning, but it's best to be honest with people.

As you know, Australia is the last continent on Earth to have this strain of bird flu come to our shores. It was inevitable that it would come here at some point, but the fact that it has taken a bit of time means that we are well prepared as a country, in terms of preparedness plans put together with different levels of governments and the broader community.

But the reality is that we are going to see increased numbers of birds die as a result of this virus. And of course, it can potentially get into mammals as well. So grim news ahead, but as I say, we are as well prepared as we possibly can be for this.

SALLY SARA: So we know that we can't stop it, how will we manage it? For example, are the dead birds, are they infectious even after they've died? MURRAY WATT: Yeah they are, for a period of time, Sally.

And that’ why it’s also a threat not only to birds but to scavenging animals like the Tasmanian devil and some quolls. That's why we have seen this virus spread to mammal species in other parts of the world, and it's likely to happen here in Australia as well. The key focus that our Government has had to protect our native species from this virus is by investing in the resilience of those species.

Over the last couple of years, we've invested over $47 million to build up the populations of some of our threatened species, in anticipation that this virus would come here. What that's done, for example, is remove feral cats, feral pigs from different parts of the country which do scavenge and eat those threatened species. If we can be removing those feral animals and undertaking other activities that build up the resilience of those populations, it means that even if we do lose some of those species to bird flu, we still have a viable population left to rebuild into the future.

SALLY SARA: Does the Government have any role to play in mandating changes to operations at poultry farms as the bird flu spreads, or is it solely the responsibility of state and territory governments? MURRAY WATT: That sort of thing would be more led directly by state and territory governments. But, of course, as the federal government, we're very much involved in coordinating that activity.

There's been a huge amount of work led by my colleague Julie Collins, the Agriculture Minister, with her state and counterparts and the poultry industry over the last couple of years to be, again, as well prepared as we can be. Many poultry operations have enhanced their biosecurity arrangements over the last couple of years, and of course that's increased even more since we've had bird flu come to Australia.

But yeah, the work on the ground would be led by state and territory governments, but certainly we are playing that coordination role. SALLY SARA: Minister, you're talking about how dead birds can be infectious and also talking about the poultry industry. There have been conflicting reports about what these birds, dead or alive, mean for domestic pets, of which there are millions across the country, particularly cats and dogs.

What's the Government's advice there? MURRAY WATT: Our advice to all households with pets is, of course, to be certainly vigilant in watching for any changes in behaviour, changes in the health of their domestic pets. It's always a good idea to keep cats, for example, away from birds.

We know that they can be very destructive to birds in wildlife generally. And this is another reason for people, where possible, to keep their dogs and cats well under control and within their premises. When it comes to backyard chickens, I know there’s a lot of concern about that.

And again, we'd be encouraging people with backyard chickens to do what they can to keep their chickens away from wild birds. There's no reports of that kind of thing happening at this point. There is a low risk of dogs and cats contracting bird flu, but it is possible.

So there's plenty of good information available if people want more detail on our website, which is birdflu.gov.au. But in general, the more that people can be doing to keep their backyard chooks away from wild birds, keeping their cats and dogs away from those kind of things, that's a good thing to do. SALLY SARA: You're listening to Radio National Breakfast.

My guest is the Minister for the Environment Murray Watt. Earlier on the program on a separate issue, on gambling, we heard from former NRL player Luke Bateman. He alleged at the Senate inquiry that gambling company employees offered him illicit drugs as an inducement, and I asked him why he thought it was important to give evidence.

This is what he had to say… LUKE BATEMAN: It's killing young men, plain and simple. These are the lives of young people across Australia that are- it is destroying families, it is destroying relationships and it is killing people within our communities. It'd be very easy for me to- I've sort of dealt with my gambling addiction, put that long behind me, I'm far into recovery now.

It'd be very easy for me to move on with my life, but I just cannot allow the lives of other young men to be destroyed and to be taken by addiction that is being encouraged and developed by harmful, harmful behaviours and predatory behaviours. [End of excerpt] SALLY SARA: That's Luke Bateman speaking on Breakfast earlier this morning. Is the Government open to amending its legislation on gambling, particularly to potentially introduce a ban on inducements for problem gamblers?

MURRAY WATT: Well first, Sally, can I say that that was obviously very distressing evidence given by Mr Bateman yesterday. You know, we all feel for him and the circumstances that he went through, and for anyone to be offering illegal drugs as an inducement, or for any other reason, is obviously a crime. It should not be committed and people should pay a price if they're engaging in that kind of criminal behaviour.

From the perspective of the legislation, this is the strongest package of gambling reform that any government has ever put to the Australian Parliament. Obviously much more strict restrictions around advertising and other aspects. And in particular, what we're trying to do here is to strengthen BetStop, which is the national register that allows people who don't want to place a bet or get inducements to opt out.

There's even the option for people to opt out on a permanent basis. So our view is that the legislation as it currently stands does include much stronger restrictions on a range of aspects to do with gambling, and that's why we're seeking the support of the Coalition and the Greens to back it in. SALLY SARA: We know from evidence that sometimes when people are in the depths of addiction with things like gambling, they don't have the insight to be able to trigger things like BetStop.

What’s the benefit to society or the economy of allowing gambling companies to continue to offer inducements to problem gamblers? MURRAY WATT: Well I think it's also important to remember, Sally, that even under the current laws that we have put in place, there are restrictions on gambling companies for a range of inducements. And that includes for things like direct marketing that can only be sent to customers who've provided their consent to receive them.

So it's not as if we're talking about a system where there are no restrictions on inducements, there are some there already. And as I say, we want to put forward even stronger protections for people through these laws, including by strengthening that BetStop regime. SALLY SARA: Last month, delegates at Labor's National Conference voted to include a commitment to tackle inducements in the party's policy platform.

Is it the right time to listen to Labor Party members on this and take further action? MURRAY WATT: Well, as you would know, Sally, it's always the realm of the parliamentary party to determine when it takes up platform amendments that have been put forward by the party. But again, I just repeat the point that our existing legislation has bans and restrictions on gambling companies for inducements.

And of course, the laws that we're seeking to pass seek to strengthen those regimes even more. SALLY SARA: Finally, the Federal Government has proposed expanding marine parks around Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, which would mean 30 percent of Australia's oceans are highly protected. What's the significance of this proposal?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, this is a really big proposal and adds to this Government's environmental legacy, Sally. I think all Australians know that we're an island nation and our ocean is central to our identity and our environment. And what we're proposing to do here is to dramatically expand the Commonwealth Marine Park around those two islands, Lord Howe and Norfolk Island.

What it would mean is that it would all up mean that we have over 3 million square kilometres of Australia's ocean highly protected, and that's an area bigger than Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria combined. What it means in practical terms, apart from increasing the size of the protected area, by designating it as ‘highly protected’ means that there can be no fishing, no seabed mining, no wind farms, no gas, no resource activity.

And that, of course, is really important for preserving the biodiversity of those oceans. But it's also really important for the ongoing sustainability of our fishing industry, our tourism industry, and all of the jobs that depend on that as well. SALLY SARA: Minister, thank you for joining me this morning.

MURRAY WATT: Thanks, Sally. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.