Albanese’s second salmon stoush: industry poised to take court action over Chilean imports

No sooner had Anthony Albanese ended one fight with the $1.46bn salmon industry, he faces another: over Chilean imports. This spat appears headed for court, while Peter Dutton demands an import freeze.

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The $1.46bn salmon industry is poised to take legal action against the Albanese government over foreign imports, creating a second major flashpoint with the sector during the federal election campaign.

Salmon farmers, whose workers are concentrated in key battleground seats in Tasmania, are determined to overturn a government decision late last year to allow Chilean product into the country.

The industry – backed by a scathing scientific report – fears the imports will bring new diseases to local fish farms, and accuses the government of relying on an out-of-date, 26-year-old risk assessment.

It has strong support from the Coalition, which told The Australian it had written to Fisheries Minister Julie Collins demanding Chilean imports be suspended pending an updated risk assessment.

The latest stoush between the industry and government comes as the Prime Minister seeks to defuse concerns over a protracted review of salmon farm approvals in Macquarie Harbour.

Legislation to guarantee ongoing fish farms in the western Tasmanian waterway will be introduced to federal parliament next week, as part of a broader crackdown on the ability of green groups to spark such reviews.

Labor MPs, including Ms Collins, whose southern Tasmanian seat of Franklin is home to hundreds of salmon workers, will be dismayed at a second damaging fight with the industry.

Tassal salmon pens in Strahan, Tasmania. Picture: NewsWire / Supplied

Salmon Tasmania confirmed to The Australian legal action to secure a judicial review of the decision to allow Chilean imports was “on the table”.

“We are pursuing this at every level and all options are on the table,” ST chief executive Luke Martin said. “As an industry, we have been deeply concerned about the new biosecurity risks for us since we first learned about the decision.

“We also understand there is a broader issue for Australian seafood when it comes to the biosecurity risks of imported seafood, and we’re just one of a number of seafood sectors concerned about this.”

The influential salmon industry in recent weeks has been battling mass mortalities caused by an endemic microbe, losing an estimated 12 per cent of stock.

Mr Martin said the less regulated Chilean industry, the subject of allegations of worker exploitation and misconduct, had diseases that would cause far worse devastation. “Just imagine what a never-before-seen super bug from Chile could do,” he said.

Industry fears a repeat of the prawn white spot virus, where warnings of the disease threat from foreign prawn imports were allegedly ignored.

This is backed by an industry-commissioned report by independent aquatic animal health and biosecurity expert Ben Diggles.

Obtained by The Australian, it is scathing of the decision to allow Chilean imports based on a 1999 import risk assessment.

“The emergence of many new pathogens (including in Chile) leaves it outdated and no longer fit for purpose in a way that has not been tolerated by other competent authorities … (eg, New Zealand),” Dr Diggles found. “The IRA should be updated urgently.

“Australia was formerly ‘the lucky country’ when it came to aquatic biosecurity, but as evidenced by the recent issues for Australian prawn industries … (it) is now relying more on luck rather than good biosecurity.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Labor Braddon candidate Anne Urquhart visit the Tassal salmon pens in Strahan, Tasmania, in December 2024. Picture: NewsWire

Coalition environment and fisheries spokesman Jonno Duniam said the importation of Chilean salmon was “an insult to Tasmania’s salmon workers and the industry”.

“The Albanese government has rushed this decision without considering its potentially serious implications,” Senator Duniam told The Australian.

“It is clear that the tests applied and assumptions made about the import of Chilean salmon are no longer fit for purpose and must urgently be updated.

“Until this happens, the Albanese government must freeze the importation of Chilean salmon products.”

Ms Collins defended the import approval. “There has been a robust process, including in-country assessments, to thoroughly examine the market access request from Chile and ensure that salmon products can be imported safely under strict conditions to manage biosecurity risks,” she told The Australian.

“This robust process is complemented by the Tasmanian government’s biosecurity protections and its regulation of salmon farming in Tasmanian waters.”

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry told Senate hearings in February the imports were subject to updated conditions on processing of imported salmon and a review of “pathogenic agents of concern for salmon”.

“It determined that the current risk management measures manage them to a level which achieves Australia’s appropriate level of protection,” an official said.