00:00This budget continues to deliver on what we committed to in last year's budget.
00:05So, just a favour of sort of clarity around where we are with the biosecurity offices,
00:09an additional 100 that we promised.
00:12We have 44 of those in place, with 7 under active recruitment.
00:18We'll have those in place, there's other separate areas soon.
00:22We're committed to another 25 over the next 12 months, as we said we would.
00:27So, this budget continues the funding, the important funding for biosecurity.
00:34And I guess, from my perspective, given the ongoing challenges that we have around so many areas of biosecurity,
00:43particularly now with H5, AV, influenza detection in this nation,
00:49the work that we do in that space can't be underestimated.
00:52And I guess, it bats the email.
00:55The level of importance that we've placed the government biosecurity and our ongoing commitment,
00:59even in this budget, to continue to fund new positions.
01:02That's critical.
01:03The other component is, obviously, the $30 million of the Sow & Seeds Farming Innovation Fund.
01:10It had significant interest, so we launched that not so long back.
01:13And obviously, the funding will start to flow in this new financial year.
01:17Yeah.
01:18And I hope to have some announcements.
01:19But the interest in that $30 million of new funding has been significant.
01:26The response has been good.
01:27And sort of demonstrates, I think, the interest across the industry in working with government to be able to do
01:35that.
01:35So, that's good.
01:36So, I just want to reinforce that.
01:38The TIC FIBA Research Centre, absolutely.
01:41While, as you correctly identified, not a large, not a very important one,
01:45to make certain that we keep the upgrades of that facility current,
01:50and that's what that funding will be up.
01:52I've heard loud and clear from industry leaders and organisations,
01:58particularly in the brief catchments from the north of the state to the southern areas,
02:04that they want us to continue to support the programs and extension work from the department
02:09into these producers and in and around best management practice.
02:14I continually hear that, and we've made it very clear that we want industry to lead that.
02:19So, while there's other funding in the budget for other natural resource management programs,
02:24and that will continue, and obviously some of that's under the Minister's last,
02:28this is specifically the work with those producers in those catchment areas
02:32to get, you know, better property management outcomes.
02:36And I've heard directly from them that the results are there.
02:40These are the front-line officers.
02:41So, the people that deliver these programs out of the Department of Foreign Ministries are front-line.
02:46They weren't funded into the forward budget, so they're what we call limited-life funding.
02:5273 re-forward quality positions that are in that program,
02:58and the bulk of those are the front-line people that work directly in Clean Knowledge.
03:03We've locked it in not only just for the next four months, but into the forwards as well.
03:07The other thing too, what I just mentioned, which is a pretty big continuum, is in around finance.
03:13So, it's a commitment of additional funding of 7.2 million in suppression funding.
03:18Now, it's one of the greatest challenges we have, of course, that we have in the biosecurity space.
03:24It's a national eradication program, so 50% funding from the feds, cost shared amongst the other states.
03:30But we committed new money for suppression.
03:34It's worked really well, so we've committed some additional funding this year.
03:39And these issues are not just state-specific, but we call for match funding in the federal government,
03:45which was denied, which we were extremely disappointed.
03:50And it wasn't just me as a government, but we had the South East Queensland Council of Mears,
03:54we had the Heighton Government Association, Basial Species Council,
03:57or industry organisations like our, of course, and QF calling on the federal government.
04:00There's a current review underway of the program through 2027 and 2032.
04:08And what we're calling on the federal government, in the first instance, is again to match our funding,
04:14because we know that suppression work aims the eradication effort,
04:21but we want to be included as part of the eradication.
04:24Currently, the suppression work is not included as part of the eradication work.
04:29So, effectively, there's work on the outer boundary.
04:31Yes, we've got them spreading, and to bring the boundaries in,
04:34and we'll have some announcements on that shortly.
04:36The suppression work backs in our primary producers,
04:41I heard of land and clear, turf growers, nursery, hay growers, amongst others,
04:47that were challenged by that.
04:49So, I would just emphasise that exactly,
04:52because we've committed additional funding to the suppression work that continued on,
04:58but call on the federal government to match it,
05:01but also include it in the broader considerations of the eradication program.
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