QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Ms COLLINS (Franklin—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) (15:04): I do want to thank our fabulous member for Boothby for that question. I know that she, like many members in this place, is concerned about the H5 bird flu and she has been closely engaged with the situation in South Australia, as have other South Australian members right across the parliament.

I can confirm that over the weekend, in the member's home state, an adult Australian sea lion found at Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island tested positive for the H5 bird flu in South Australia's state lab. Samples have now been sent for confirmatory testing to the CSIRO lab, and we'll provide an update as soon as those results become available. If positive, this would mark the first detection of the H5 bird flu in an Australian sea lion.

Sea lions are, of course, endangered. Given this and the proximity of this detection to the nearby sea lion breeding colony at Seal Bay Conservation Park, we know that this news is concerning for locals, although we know it was not unexpected. I do want to reassure the member for Boothby and other South Australians that we are continuing to work closely with the South Australian government, and they are monitoring the sea lion population for any signs of disease.

I'm advised that, at this point in time, there are no other mortalities that have been detected in this colony, and there's currently no evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission in this population. We do recognise the importance of this colony, which is why our government has invested $1.4 million to boost the resilience of the sea lion population in South Australia.

Internationally, we also know that vaccination of wild mammals remains very limited, with only a small number of research trials having been undertaken. As part of our ongoing H5 bird flu response, our technical experts are closely monitoring the vaccine trials currently underway on juvenile monk seals in the United States. They're assessing the suitability for their use in Australia's unique marine mammals as we speak.

The detection of this suspect case does reaffirm that our strong biosecurity system is working, and that has been backed in by our government's $270 million investment to prepare for and respond to the H5 bird flu. I can also update the House that we now have 521 bird flu events nationally, with detections in all six states. We've now had over 41,000 calls to the national bird flu hotline, and I do again want to thank the Australian public for those reports.

As I've said here before, everyday Australians are our first line of defence when it comes to our biosecurity. I'd also remind people that, whether you're a pet owner, you're a wildlife lover or you have backyard chickens, it's important that you know what to do. We have a range of updated practical steps on birdflu.gov.au.

Again, a reminder—if you do see sick or dead birds or other animals, please avoid contact, report what you see and make a report through birdflu.gov.au.