QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Ms COLLINS (Franklin—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) (15:00): I do want to thank the member for Makin for that question. The member for Makin and many members in this place have come to me privately in relation to the H5 bird flu detections in their local electorates. I know that many members are very concerned that over recent days we have now sadly started to see more mass mortalities around the country, particularly in South Australia, Victoria and even in Tasmania now.

I know that this is very concerning for all Australians and I know for local members dealing with their constituents it's particularly difficult. We also know it's really difficult for those people who have a close connection to our land, to our wildlife and that includes, of course, our First Nations people. We are starting to see more dead birds and mass mortalities.

We know that while this is incredibly distressing for some, it is not unexpected. As we have said, the expert advice from our technical people is that the H5 bird flu will continue to spread across the country. We have also been very upfront that, whilst we cannot stop the spread of the H5 bird flu, we are doing everything we can do with industry, with wildlife experts and with states and territories to prepare and to respond.

Our advice to Australians remains the same: please avoid touching sick or dead birds. Record what you see and make a report through our national bird flu hotline at birdflu.gov.au. Importantly, through that hotline, more information will be provided to you from the states and territories, which are leading that on-ground response.

You will be advised about the appropriate next steps for dealing with some of these dead birds. I know, as I said, that this is distressing, but please do not touch them, please report it and please take the advice of the experts on that phone line. Again, I do want to recognise the really critical role that everyday Australians have played in this H5 bird flu since late June.

We've now had over 23,000 calls to our national bird flu hotline and we now have across the country over 270 H5 bird flu events. We know that everyday Australians are our first line of response when it comes to biosecurity but we also know that biosecurity remains our strongest line of defence when it comes to the H5 bird flu. We have helped to strengthen our biosecurity, particularly in wildlife facilities across the country that are home to some of Australia's most treasured and endangered bird species.

We've backed years of work from our scientists at the CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, particularly in relation to the testing of the bird flu vaccine. Of course the vaccine rollout is being led by states and territories who are prioritising native species and that is now under way across the country. We know that this is an important step, but, as I've been clear, it is just one part of our response.

Again, I do want to reiterate to the Australian public that there is no detection in our poultry or our agricultural systems at this point in time, and that the risk to human health remains low. As we start to see more of these mass mortalities across the country, I want to assure people that our government understands, and I know the parliament understands, that this can be concerning.

But be assured that we are working around the clock and our response will be to continue to provide regular updates as they become available and as we get step changes in this response.