Thursday, 3 April 2025

Ministers statements: economy

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:07): Victorian graziers produce some of the highest quality beef you will find in any paddock on this planet. Our producers make great wine and great cheese that would hold up against any province in France, and of course our fishing industry hatch and catch some of the best seafood swimming in any river or ocean in the world. Victoria is Australia’s food bowl. We are proud of it, and I say this clearly: we will fight to protect it. We will fight for jobs, we will fight for livelihoods and we will fight for that world-class reputation that our producers have worked so hard to achieve.

What we are seeing is that Trump’s tariffs that were announced today are totally unjustifiable. They put pressure on working families around Victoria, around the country and around the globe. They risk harming our state’s hard-fought-for and important protections around our biosecurity standards and of course that worldwide reputation for world-class produce. This is why I want to make this point absolutely clear –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: They can defend Trump’s tariffs; I will not. I will fight Trump’s tariffs because my government will never lie down. We will fight against any measure or pressure that hurts Victoria’s hard-earned food and biosecurity standards.I strongly support the Prime Minister’s response in protecting our national biosecurity arrangements. We back Victoria’s producers, businesses and manufacturers. We have done it by making sure that we have local content requirements in our level crossings and of course in our trains that are running on our tracks. Those opposite wanted them made in South Korea or India; well, they are made right here in Melbourne because this government supports local businesses.