19 July 2013
© Commonwealth of Australia 2013
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Senator the Hon. John Hogg
President of the Senate
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Mr President,
In 2012, the Senate referred several inquiries regarding the importation of fresh produce to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee. The details of which are as follows:
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Inquiry
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Date Referred
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Previous Interim Report/s
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Inquiry into the effect on Australian pineapple growers of importing fresh pineapples from Malaysia
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20 June 2012
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October 2012
March 2013
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Inquiry into the effect on Australian ginger growers of importing fresh ginger from Fiji
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19 September 2012
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March 2013
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Inquiry into the proposed importation of potatoes from New Zealand
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12 September 2012
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March 2013
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Submissions received to each inquiry from pineapple, ginger and potato stakeholder groups raised issues relevant to their specific industry. Whilst the three inquiries were all referred within a three‑month period, and shared similar reporting dates, the committee resolved to conduct hearings for each of the inquiries separately.
As noted in the committee's previous interim report dated March 2013, following the completion of the evidence gathering part of these three inquiries, the committee made the decision to amalgamate the three reports and table them together as a single report. The committee noted that this approach would enable the recurring theme common to each of these inquiries (the operation of DAFF Biosecurity's Risk Estimation Matrix (REM)) to be a central focus, whilst at the same time allowing for detailed consideration of the significant and specific issues relevant to each separate inquiry.
In order to give further consideration to the evidence provided and conclude its deliberations, the committee is requesting an extension to the reporting date until 5 September 2013.
Yours sincerely,
Senator the Hon. Bill Heffernan
Chair
19 July 2013