Leyonhjelm: food import reforms “open to abuse”

The proposed reforms stem from concerns raised about limitations with government powers, to halt risky food imports, exposed during the controversial outbreak of hepatitis A on imported frozen berries in early 2015, which also sparked a nationwide product recall.

Public consultation on the draft legislation is open until May 4 with the final proposed rules expected to be introduced into federal parliament in mid-2017 and along with any amendments, likely to become effective during 2018.

In calling for public feedback, Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce said the comprehensive changes would be introduced to give Australian consumers greater assurance at the supermarket that imported food was safe, without burdening local importers with unnecessary red tape.

He said the changes included giving the government greater scope to hold food at the border if reasonable grounds existed, to suspect serious risk to human health.

“Under the changes, if the berries incident arose again, the Secretary of my Department could trigger a holding order for these imports at the border,” he said.

“It is a testament to the strength of our current system that, while Australia imports a wide range of food products from across the globe, there have only been a handful of incidents in recent decades.

“We consider any incident as one too many and these reforms include both legislative and non-legislative changes to comprehensively strengthen the ability to identify, respond to, and manage imported food safety risks.”

Mr Joyce said the reforms also increased the accountability of importers, taking into consideration food safety and regulatory systems in countries of origin while introducing stronger traceability requirements.

But he said the changes would not result in price increases on imported foods or a reduction in the range of product available.

“Aussie consumers must have the same level of assurance if they choose to buy imported food at local supermarkets or the corner store,” he said.

But Senator Leyonhjelm there was no guarantee the government wouldn’t use the new rules to disadvantage imported food, relative to local producers.

He also questioned whether the reforms would have been useful, to protect human health, in the case of the imported frozen berries.

“Until people started getting sick from hepatitis A nobody knew they were contaminated so there would have been no grounds for holding the berries at the border,” he said.

“I don’t know how it would have been useful in that case and it’s difficult to envision a situation where it would be useful but perhaps it might be in a rare instance.

“However the legislation is open to abuse and the potential to disadvantage food imports and advantage local producers, contrary to international treaties and free trade agreements, is substantial.”

Senator Leyonhjelm said he was also concerned about procedural fairness and natural justice issues in terms of the proposed legislation put forward by the Coalition.

“The issue is of course, if you’re an importer and your product is held at the border so to speak, is what rights of appeal do you have?” he said.

“But overall this legislation has the potential to be used as a pseudo protectionist device and it’s difficult to see how it would be of much benefit in terms of community safety.

“I can‘t see how it would have been of any benefit in the case of the frozen berries and I’m very wary that the primary purpose is to be protectionist.”

Senator Leyonhjelm said the Nationals had always been protectionist but he didn’t believe the legislative reforms necessarily implied any overall change in sentiment.

“There is a strong tradition in the National party and other sectors of society that exports are good but imports are bad and of course if every country adopted that approach, trade would grind to a halt,” he said.

Notes accompanying the proposed draft legislation say globalisation of the food supply has driven increasingly complex supply chains and this, along with the growth in the amount of food imported to Australia, raises the risks of foodborne illness from imported food.

“Foodborne illnesses are a serious and costly public health and safety issue for government and industry - border testing alone is no longer sufficient to provide assurance of a food’s safety, particularly for food intended to be eaten raw or after minimal processing,” it said.

“This has led to many countries, including Australia, to move towards preventative approaches to manage food safety risks.

“The amendments reflect the shared responsibility for the safety of imported food between governments at all levels, business, industries, trading partners and the community.”