Sometimes I can be a bit cynical. For example, I tell people that the reason bananas can be expensive in Australia—especially after a cyclone Northern Queensland—is because of Bob Katter, aka “Father of the House”.
Why Katter? Because his family has occupied the federal seat of Kennedy since 1966, a seat that’s almost a textbook case of rent-seeking. It’s where Bob “pioneered protests against imported bananas”:
“Independent MP Bob Katter has wheeled a barrow full of bananas into Parliament House as a way of highlighting the threat imports pose to the local industry.
The stunt was a belated attempt to draw attention to the government’s decision to allow banana imports from the Philippines - a decision that was made in March.
According to the Australian Banana Growers Council, Filipino exporters have yet to take up the offer because of stringent quarantine restrictions.
But it didn’t stop the outspoken Mr Katter from denouncing the potential loss of 10,000 jobs in the banana industry and presenting an open petition signed by 1,000 people.
Opposition frontbencher Sharman Stone was particularly unimpressed as Mr Katter’s staff, dressed as bananas, danced and howled in the background as she spoke to reporters.”
Bob won out: Australian banana growers, almost entirely located in the seat of Kennedy, are still protected from imports. In 2018, researchers estimated this protectionism costs consumers “over A$150 million per year, implying a yearly subsidy of more than a quarter of a million dollars per banana grower”.
Nice gig if you can get it—protected by regulation, subsidised by consumers, and propped up by political theatre. There are fewer than 1,000 banana farmers in Australia imposing this cost on the rest of us, and for what? Biosecurity? Please: while it’s true that Australia is free of nasties like Panama disease, bunchy top virus, and various pests that chow down on bananas, other parts of the world manage those just fine—and presumably at a cost well below $150 million annually!
Anyway, that brings me to another bugbear of mine: beef. Australia also bans imports of beef from various countries such as the UK and US on biosecurity grounds—mostly because of mad cow and foot and mouth disease. While that’s a valid concern (the former poses a direct risk to humans, so is more legit than the banana ban), it’s also one that modern supply chains and testing protocols can handle.
And it seems the Albanese government agrees:
“The federal government has lifted a ban on beef imports from the United States, expanding access to products sourced from Canada and Mexico. It’s a move some experts say risks Australia’s biosecurity and may be politically motivated.
Although the US has been able to send beef to Australia since 2019, any cattle raised in Canada or Mexico before being slaughtered and processed in the US was previously barred due to biosecurity concerns.
Now, following a decade-long science-based review, that restriction is gone, and will expand access to include beef sourced from cattle born in Canada or Mexico, which is legally imported and slaughtered in the US.”
I’m not sure how much this will matter for Australian consumers. We can be quite nationalistic about our produce, so presumably “Australian beef” will continue to sell well, even if it’s slightly more expensive than North American beef. For those who are indifferent, it could save them a few bucks on their weekly shop.
But what I do know is Australia’s previous approach, which was akin to a de facto zero-risk threshold, would fail any reasonable cost benefit analysis: North America is free of foot and mouth disease, and mad cow disease only pops up very rarely. Other countries—including our neighbours in Japan, South Korea, and China—have successfully imported American beef for decades with labelling and inspection requirements.
So, bravo to the Albanese government. It’s rare to see a decision that puts consumer interests ahead of industry lobbying these days—and rarer still when that industry has deep roots in electorates like Bob Katter’s Kennedy.
Next up, bananas!