Latest news with #BridgetMcKenzie
SBS Australia
24-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
The Meat Import Ban lifted: Why Now, and What's Behind It?
LISTEN TO SBS Indonesian 24/07/2025 02:51 Indonesian Australia has made major concessions to the United States in its efforts to gain tariff exemptions, by lifting a ban on US beef. The ban was imposed years ago to protect local Australian industries from outbreaks of mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease, but Australian Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the move did not represent a compromise in terms of safety and biosecurity laws would remain enforced. Nationals leader David Littleproud could become deputy prime minister if Peter Dutton wins the election. Source: AAP / Russell Freeman Senator from the National Party, Bridget McKenzie, accused the Prime Minister of sacrificing the beef export industry to strengthen Australia's relationship with the US. Listen to SBS Indonesian every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 3pm. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram , and don't miss our podcasts .
Sky News AU
23-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Coalition demands answers after Albanese government lifts biosecurity restrictions on US beef imports
The Albanese government is being urged to explain its backflip on a US beef ban after the Prime Minister previously insisted Labor would not 'compromise' on biosecurity. The Australian Financial Review revealed on Thursday that Australian officials had notified their US counterparts that restrictions on the importation of US beef will be lifted following a scientific review of the biosecurity risks. Responding to the reports on Thursday, Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie said the decision could pose a risk to our beef industry. 'We need to make sure our $11 billion beef export industry is protected. Our concerns would be any watering down of those science-based protocols would lead the risk of disease, entering this country, and our farmers, being subjected to unnecessary risk,' Ms McKenzie said. Shadow finance minister James Paterson said the government needed to explain its backflip. 'The prime minister himself has said that we couldn't relax the restrictions on the importation of US beef because of serious biosecurity concerns," Mr Paterson told Sky News. "So if the government has found some way of dealing with that issue, protecting our domestic agricultural industry from the introduction of foreign diseases and pests, then they should say so they should stand up and explain that, not anonymously leak it to a newspaper. 'Full credit to the AFR for getting the story, but a major story like this affecting a major export industry of about $11 billion a year and about an $82 billion domestic industry, when you include red meat more broadly, deserves more answers than this.' The restrictions had been cited by President Donald Trump as a justification for his decision to impose a 10 per cent across the board tariff on Australian imports – as well as much larger tariffs on steel and aluminium – in violation of the existing Australia-US free trade agreement. 'Australia bans – and they're wonderful people, and wonderful everything – but they ban American beef,' President Trump said in April In response to the comments, Prime Minister Albanese emphatically declared his government 'will not change or compromise any of the issues regarding biosecurity, full stop, exclamation mark, it's simply not worth it. So it's that simple.' A blanket ban on US beef imports - imposed following a mad cow disease in 2003 - was repealed in 2019. However biosecurity rules have remained in place due to the risk of beef from countries such as Mexico and Canada being imported through the US, and no American beef has been imported under the new scheme. But a government source told the AFR on Thursday that the US Beef Imports Review had undertaken a 'rigorous science and risk-based assessment over the past decade' and the bans would be lifted. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed the report, saying in a statement that her department was "satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the US effectively manage biosecurity risks.' However Cattle Australia CEO Will Evans said he was sure the decision would not have been made unless scientific experts had the 'utmost confidence' it would not impose a risk to Australia's cattle industry. 'Context is important here. We export more than $4 billion of beef a year to the US, and this has been a multi-year assessment process undertaken by the Department of Agriculture - they're the competent authority in this, and they're required to assess this under a rules based trading system. 'What they've done is they've completed a technical scientific assessment, and they've said, look, there are the right processes in place in these countries to be able to manage these risks, and they've determined that they're going to grant access after making this assessment over many years. 'Now, the cattle industry is a $75 billion industry in Australia. I'm sure they wouldn't have made this decision unless they had the utmost confidence that the science was correct.'
Sky News AU
17-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
'Concern to our national sovereignty': Nationals Senate leader McKenzie urges Treasurer to clarify Chinese purchases around AUKUS ports
Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie has said the purchase of two commercial properties located within port precincts earmarked for AUKUS submarine bases by companies with connections to the Chinese Communist Party's foreign influence arm is of major concern to Australia's national sovereignty. Speaking on Sky News' First Edition, McKenzie admitted that Australia welcomes foreign investment when it's in the country's national interest and when it can help the economy, but states that national sovereignty of Australia has to come first. Catch up with all of the day's breaking news and live interviews from politicians and experts with a Streaming Subscription.
The Australian
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie says Kevin Rudd not 'successfully' doing his job after copper, pharma tariff threats
Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie has blamed for Australia's ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd for our 'clunky' relationship with the US. Senator McKenzie says if Mr Rudd had been 'successfully doing his job', Australia would have secured a meeting with Donald Trump by now and would not be blindsided by announcements from the White House. The comments about Mr Rudd's position in Washington comes as the US President flagged punitive 50 per cent tariffs on copper and up to 200 per cent on pharmaceuticals imports. While Australia's copper exports to the US totalled just $55m, pharmaceutical exports accounted for about 40 per cent of exports in 2024 at the value of $2bn. Although Senator McKenzie said questions about Mr Rudd's future in Washington are a 'decision for government,' she had doubts about his performance. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has said Australia's 'clunky' relationship with the US is proof Kevin Rudd is not 'successfully' doing his job as ambassador. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman 'Is he successfully doing his job would be my question, because if he was, the Prime Minister would be able to pick up the phone and we wouldn't be having to be worried about reviews in AUKUS, a $2bn export industry potentially (being) at risk but we don't really know the details because we can't just pick up the phone or get the meeting,' she told the ABC. 'We've got … issues with copper, we've got issues with steel and aluminium, and we've got calls from the US to increase defence spending that we're continually ignoring.' Senator McKenzie, who is also the Coalition's infrastructure and transport spokeswoman, said Australia was facing a 'raft' of issues on the Australian-US dynamic, and said it was Mr Rudd's job to improve communications. This comes with Mr Albanese under increasing pressure to secure a face-to-face meeting with the US leader, with the next window set for the Quad meeting slated for early September in India. 'And it is the ambassador's main job to smooth those waters, and if he was doing his job, things wouldn't be as clunky as they seem to be, where you see treasurer Chalmers this morning almost being taken by surprise from comments out of the US,' she said. Bridget McKenzie questioned why Anthony Albanese was yet to secure a meeting with Donald Trump. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Asked if this assessment 'was fair' given Mr Trump's 'erratic' leadership, Senator McKenzie said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has managed to have 'close, personal, warm relationship with President Trump'. She said this resulted Sir Starmer being given a heads up before the US launched strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities in June. 'The reality is the US remains our most important ally. The truth is, we can't afford to defend ourselves without them,' she continued. 'And the casual approach by the Albanese government post the US election has been troubling, and I think it's my job in the opposition to raise these concerns.' While Australia's current universal tariffs are expected to remain at a baseline 10 per cent, Mr Chalmers said Australia will not negotiate on weakening the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme which subsidises hundred of medicines despite Mr Trump's latest tariff threat. 'Every time this is raised, it's given us the opportunity to point out that our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is very near and dear to us, we won't be diminishing it or trading it away,' he vowed. Read related topics: The Nationals Jessica Wang NewsWire Federal Politics Reporter Jessica Wang is a federal politics reporter for NewsWire based in the Canberra Press Gallery. She previously covered NSW state politics for the Wire and has also worked at and Mamamia covering breaking news, entertainment, and lifestyle. @imjesswang_ Jessica Wang
Perth Now
09-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Big call in face of Trump tariff threat
The Coalition says the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) has 'bipartisan' backing after Donald Trump's threat to impose an eye-watering 200 per cent tariff on pharma imports. The PBS is a list of federally subsidised medicines and compels foreign drugmakers to negotiate prices with the government – a deeply unpopular requirement among American companies. Pharma lobbyists in the US have urged the Trump administration to consider using tariffs on Australia to weaken the scheme, but the Albanese government has been adamant the PBS was not on the table. Senior Coalition senator Bridget McKenzie said on Thursday it was a position the opposition shared. Senior Coalition senator Bridget McKenzie says the PBS has 'bipartisan' backing in Canberra. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 'We've got a bipartisan approach to our PBS,' Senator McKenzie told Nine's Today. 'It underpins our universal healthcare system and makes sure no matter who you are in Australia, you can access great, world-class leading drugs for your family's health.' She said the challenge was 'about getting the right deal, not undermining our PBS, but also recognising we're one of the world leaders in medical research'. However she also criticised the Albanese government's handling of the relationship with Washington, saying 'the number of things we don't get a heads up on with the US is appalling'. 'As we've been saying … for so long, over 240 days since the election in the US, our prime minister is yet to meet the President,' Senator McKenzie said. 'And that is having flow-on impacts right throughout our economy, not just the PBS with our biosecurity, the beef trade, the tariff issue, and now AUKUS.' More to come.
