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ABC Transcript 1
Tasmania accuses Federal Government of salmon cave-in
AM - Tuesday, March 21, 2000 8:00
COMPERE: First, though, the Tasmanian Government has accused the Federal Government of surrender at the World Trade Organisation. Trade Minister Mark Vaile has announced that Australia will not appeal against the WTO ruling permitting Canadian salmon into Australia.
Tasmania, fearing the threat of disease, says it will defy the ruling, upholding Canada’s right to export raw salmon to Australia.
Mr Vaile has told Mark Willacy in Canberra, Australia could face retaliatory action if Tasmania doesn't lift its ban on Canadian salmon.
MARK VAILE: On balance, and looking at the decision, we now have a decision that justifies having the strictest quarantine approach of any WTO member for salmon and trout. Ten out of eleven measures that we've put forward are in excess of the international standard, have passed WTO scrutiny.
The one outstanding one is the size of the consumer-ready pack.
MARK WILLACY: But you still haven't convinced Tasmanian salmon growers. They're saying all they're trying to do is protect the State's disease-free status. Is there any risk of disease?
MARK VAILE: Well, the thing is that we don't believe there is. That we've put this through a scientifically based process with AQIS. In this decision the disease-free status of Australia and our island continent existence being well and truly recognised by the WTO approving a higher than international standard, which includes head off, gilled and gutted fish. Which includes the ISA standards, as far as quarantining farms that may have ISA, which is one of the critical diseases that the industry is concerned about.
This decision could have gone a lot worse. And on balance, we've decided that an appeal would open up the decision to cross-appeal from Canada and we may lose some of the conditions that we've now won.
MARK WILLACY: What about the impact on sales in terms of Tasmanian salmon? What impact will it have purely in commercial - in a commercial sense on the Tasmanian industry?
MARK VAILE: Well, that remains to be seen. My advice to date, and remember that the original decision that came out released by AQIS was in about July of last year, my advice to date is that there hasn't
been any Canadian salmon coming to Australia in that time. Not one kilo. And so that remains to be seen as to the commercial aspect of it.
But as far as, you know, our Tasmanian salmon industry is the most efficient, the most competitive, and the highest quality in the world. And I mean in the commercial marketplace they're almost going to be
impossible to beat.
MARK WILLACY: You mentioned trade implications if you'd gone ahead and appealed. What had Canada marked out in terms of some sort of trade backlash if we'd gone ahead with the appeal?
MARK VAILE: Well, in the original decision the Canadians had flagged publicly a number of areas including beef and sugar, and our exports for seafood to them, that they may target. But in this latter decision, and even last night I'm advised in Geneva there was no mention of retaliation. There was no mention of targeted products.
COMPERE: Trade Minister Mark Vaile.
Tasmania accuses Federal Government of
salmon cave-in 
© 2000 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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