Harsher penalties for strawberry needle ‘cowards’

THE “cowards” and “grubs” behind the strawberry contamination crisis gripping Australia will face 15-year jail terms, as the Federal Government toughens its stance on food tampering.

PM Scott Morrison with the Attorney-General Christian Porter holding a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

THE “cowards” and “grubs” behind the strawberry contamination crisis gripping Australia will face 15-year jail terms, as the Federal Government toughens its stance on food tampering.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison this afternoon announced the new penalties, which he wants to become law before Parliament rises tomorrow.

The Government has also announced $1 million to help fast-track increased food safety regulations. That follows $1 million announced by the Queensland Government yesterday to directly help strawberry farmers hit by the crisis.

Demand for strawberries has fallen dramatically since the first sewing needles were found in strawberry punnets sold in supermarkets across the country, with prices plummeting at least 50 per cent.

Investigations into the sabotage is continuing.

“Any idiot who thinks they can go out into a shopping centre and start sticking pins in fruit and thinks this is some sort of lark... it’s not a joke,” Mr Morrison said.

“If you do that sort of thing in this country we will come after you and we will throw the book at you.

“You are scaring children. And you are a coward and you are grub.”

The new federal laws for food contamination or other goods will include:

INCREASING the existing penalties from 10 years jail to 15 years; and

CREATING new offences for recklessness, which will carry a 10-year penalty.

The new laws are being drafted today, and are expected to be introduced in Parliament tomorrow morning, with the Government wanting them passed by the end of the day.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said he would speak with the Opposition on the new Bill as soon as it was drafted, to seek its support.

“The reason we are doing so quickly is that we do think there is a need to strengthen and improve the law and this sends a massive deterrents message to anyone out there who would further cripple this industry,” he said.

Mr Porter said the new recklessness would punish people who acted with “callous and criminal stupidity”, and not just those acting with a clear intent to cause harm - a burden of proof the existing laws require.

Mr Morrison urged people to keep buying strawberries, with 120 growers in Queensland alone already struggling due to the fall in demand.

“Just go back to buying strawberries like you used to and take the precautions that you should because this is an industry that can right itself more quickly than others if that demand returns,” he said.

Earlier today, former agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce suggested a reward to help track down the culprits.

The Department of Agriculture yesterday announced stricter regulation for the export of strawberries, including a metal detector screening process before export.