COMMITTEES

Mr ROB MITCHELL (McEwen) (09:35): On behalf of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources, I present the committee's report entitled Food for thought: the opportunities and challenges for Australia's food and beverage manufacturing industry, together with the minutes of proceedings. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

Mr ROB MITCHELL: by leave—Australian food and beverages are amongst the best in the world. The food and beverage manufacturers use top-quality raw products from Australian farms to make world-class goods that are prized both domestically and abroad. The inquiry complements the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture's Australian food story: feeding the nation and beyond report.

That report examined how Australia's food security could be strengthened and safeguarded, with a focus on the agricultural pre-farmgate side of food production. This inquiry looked at the next step, examining the post-farmgate manufacturing side of food production and the opportunities for expanding innovation and adding value. In response to the evidence we received throughout the inquiry, the committee developed 23 recommendations to support the Australian food and beverage manufacturing sector.

Stakeholders told the committee that the lack of national and consistent direction on food policy was a problem for the industry. The policies, regulations and plans that support Australia's food system across the country can conflict or contradict each other. The committee's first recommendation reiterates the Standing Committee on Agriculture's Australian food story: feeding the nation and beyond report's key recommendation—that is, the Australian government develop a comprehensive national food plan.

A national food plan will provide cohesion for food policies and plans across the federal, state and local governments. Increased connections for the Australian food system will strengthen our ability to make progress together on food related issues. The inquiry found many opportunities for expanding the Australian food and beverage manufacturing sector.

These include export opportunities, integrating new technologies, building on Australia's reputation and competitive advantages, and adding value to the raw products to produce high-value goods. The committee made several recommendations to take advantage of these opportunities, including a food innovation precinct, protection for native flora, the identification of skill shortages in the industry and support for automation technologies.

I'd like to thank all those who contributed to the inquiry, particularly the many businesses and organisations that hosted the committee at various sites across the country. These experiences provided valuable evidence of the realities facing the sector. For instance, the committee visited the Health and Food Sciences Precinct at Coopers Plains in Queensland.

The precinct hosts 150 scientists from Queensland's Department of Primary Industries, the CSIRO and the University of Queensland through the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation. Here, Queensland businesses that design and manufacture food and beverages can use the food pilot plant to develop and test new products that are Safe Food Queensland accredited.

Mr Perrett: It's in Moreton. Mr ROB MITCHELL: It's in Moreton, which has been very ably represented by the member for Moreton behind me, a champion bloke. The food pilot plant is a scaled-down factory built to simulate food and beverage manufacturing practices and allow manufacturing business to experiment and produce trial products under industrial conditions in batches of up to 1,000 litres.

It was absolutely fantastic to see scientists and staff at the Health and Food Sciences Precinct working with small- and medium-sized manufacturing businesses, industry associations and other research organisations to develop product prototypes, reformulate products, understand and test the market for food and beverage products and optimise processing protocols, including post-harvest handling, storage conditions, packaging and production of value added products.

The committee also visited Fonterra Oceania's manufacturing facility at Campbellfield in Victoria. Fonterra is a dairy cooperative that collects milk from Australian farmers. The milk is then distributed across eight manufacturing sites across Victoria and Tasmania, where it is turned into great dairy products that generations of Australians have grown up with, including Perfect Italiano, Mainland, Western Star and Bega.

Fonterra also sells dairy ingredients to many of the world's leading food companies and operates a dedicated sales channel for the food service industry, providing a full range of dairy products specifically designed for commercial kitchens. During the factory tour, our committee was shown many of the behind-the-scenes activities used to produce these great products, along with the multiple automation technologies incorporated through the production line.

Of note was the extremely high level of the food safety and quality standards adhered to by all staff to ensure consumers receive safe and high-quality food. I reflect on how lucky we are here in Australia with our robust food safety and quality systems. We were also invited to attend a soft opening of the Suntory Oceania facility in late August last year.

Suntory Oceania's $400 million carbon-neutral multibeverage manufacturing and distribution facility is the largest single fast moving consumer goods investment in Australia in over a decade. Once fully operational mid this year, the 17-hectare carbon-neutral site will be the manufacturing distribution hub for the company's multibeverage portfolio of over 40 brands.

The facility boasts strong sustainability credentials, with a combination of renewable energy sources, including 7,000 solar panels, state-of-the-art heating/cooling technology and on-site waste-management and water-recycling facilities. The site has the capacity to hold over 50,000 pallets of product. With the production floor boasting leading-edge fill speeds, the two canning lines combine to achieve a rate of 180,000 cans per hour, while the glass line's speed is 35,000 bottles per hour.

It was pleasing to hear that the construction of the site delivered over 450 construction jobs. Likewise, the opening of the facility created 160 new operational jobs. I also thank those that attended the committee's public hearings for their critical insight and expert knowledge which helped guide us to form the committee's recommendations for this inquiry.

I want to extend my thanks to my committee colleagues, particularly the deputy chair, the Hon. Michelle Landry MP, and her staff, who have been absolutely wonderful right throughout this. We worked extremely closely, and I think it shows in the way that we put a report together that everyone had input in and the way everyone had the ability to do it.

We actually had a pretty great time doing this. The rumour mill was that the committee secretariats were pretty jealous of what we were doing, but that was because we had a great crew together and we did work extremely hard. I also want to thank the member for Cunningham, the member for Hunter, the member for Swan, the member for Calwell, the member for Bowman and the member for O'Connor.

We have been a very strong bipartisan committee, producing two important reports during the body of this 47th parliament. I think the work that was done, as I said, was good and friendly spirited, and, again, I thank them for that. It is always important to acknowledge the people that keep us in line.

There were times when I think our secretariat might have felt like they were herding cats trying to keep us on time, and, when we were going to do some of the exciting things— Mr Perrett: Was that Michelle? Mr ROB MITCHELL: Yes, it was mainly Michelle; it wasn't me, of course! I was always on time!

I want to thank committee secretary Lynley Ducker, inquiry secretary Miona Ikeda and researcher Ben Russell, who are sitting up there in the gallery. These guys are an absolute asset to this parliament. The work they did, the professionalism with which they carry themselves and their ability to help us bring everything together in a fantastic, united front were sensational, and it has been very much an honour to have you guys as our secretariat.

I also want to again acknowledge the retirement of Lynley Ducker and thank her for her parliamentary service over many, many years. Whether it was working with the committee or having to sit up the front there during our messy days of question time and the like, she handled herself with absolute brilliance. So, with that, I just want to commend this report to the House and again say this was a wonderful report—we had lots of fun—and the recommendations give an opportunity for the next parliament to be able to work more closely and look closer into the spirits industry and the alcohol industry, which we know are growing well.

Particularly in times of change, which we see with some of our friends overseas, it's a great opportunity for us to continue to support, to buy, to consume and to manufacture Australian foods and beverages, because we have everything we need here to make great product that should be on shelves everywhere in the world.