Kim O’KEEFFE (Shepparton) (11:37): I rise to stand and make a contribution to the Safe Food Victoria Bill 2026, and I wish to begin by acknowledging my local hardworking farmers and the many industries across my electorate. My electorate of Shepparton is known as the food bowl of Australia, a region that literally feeds the nation as well as producing global exports. Twenty-five per cent of the state’s trucks are also registered in the Shepparton region, so we have an enormous amount of transport movement. Dairy is a dominant sector in local manufacturing, making up 53 per cent of food manufacturing output in my region. The broader food and grocery manufacturing sector generates over $3 billion annually. Greater Shepparton also produces 25 per cent of Victoria’s total agriculture output and is one of Australia’s most concentrated dairy processing hubs. Dairy is the largest single contributor within the export mix.
As we stand in this place today, we know there is incredible uncertainty with the current fuel crisis impacting on our regional and rural communities. As you can imagine this is hitting our farmers and our transport companies hard, and they are crying out for assistance. When farming slows down, the whole economy slows down. Fuel uncertainty has a ripple effect on transport, machinery operators, small businesses, community and the increased costs of fuel hit at a time when households are already on their knees. Whilst we are discussing this safe food bill, we also have to be supporting those who are producing the food – the hand that feeds us. This bill is about food safety, but we also need food security to protect our food, our land and our dedicated farmers.
Regional Victoria has been through challenging times, with the impact of recent floods, fires and storm events. It seems to be relentless, and now with the impact of the increased cost of fuel, households are pushed to the limit – and we have just had another interest rate rise. Every day we hear of everyday people, hardworking families, just trying to survive. It is overwhelming, the growing level of disadvantage and many of those that are struggling have not in the past. I know many local farmers, transport industries and small business owners, and every day they get up, they show up and they just keep going. The government have a responsibility to do all that they can to help them, particularly during these challenging times.
It is important for us to raise these matters in this place so our communities know that on this side of the house their voices are heard. The regions matter, and we will call on the government to do their job. Yet during this latest fuel challenge, in this place we have been called alarmists. Like the member for Mildura and everyone on this side of the house, we find it astounding that we are accused of being alarmist while our communities and our industries are faced with this fuel crisis. We are receiving constant messages of distress. I was informed yesterday that the small township of Wunghnu ran out of fuel. The Premier needs to get out into the regions, meet with communities and see our farmers, see what they are growing, see the food we are talking about today and see our communities and what they are experiencing. Maybe then the Premier will understand why we use our voices in this place and why we may seem at times to be vocal, but do not call us alarmists. The regions matter, and the government need to do all they can to help us, as I said, particularly during this challenging time.
Coming back to the bill, this bill will establish Safe Food Victoria and provide for it to perform functions in regulating the Victorian food industry. It will abolish Dairy Food Safety Victoria and PrimeSafe; provide a legislative umbrella, with the SFV act providing overarching governance; and create a regulatory framework to support food innovation such as cell-cultured foods. The Victorian government announced its intention to create Safe Food Victoria in September 2025 as part of a broader economic growth strategy to consolidate and reduce the number of business regulators. Consumers need to have confidence and deserve to know that the food on their table is safe, high quality and regulated by the best possible standards.
Food safety regulation in Victoria is currently delivered through a combination of specialist regulators and government agencies. The structure of the state’s food safety regulatory system comprises four acts of Parliament and two responsible ministers. On top of this, the system is regulated by the Department of Health, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Dairy Food Safety Victoria, PrimeSafe and the 79 local councils. The government has argued that the existing system is fragmented and that a single regulator would improve coordination, streamline compliance and provide clearer oversight of food safety across the supply chain. The current system has generally been regarded as highly effective, particularly in maintaining Victoria’s strong reputation for food safety in export markets.
The new regulator, Safe Food Victoria, will be governed by a board with between five and seven members. The board will be appointed by the minister responsible – in this case, the Minister for Agriculture –for administering the act, and the board will report to the minister. Safe Food Victoria will come under the ag portfolio. In addition to the board, the regulator will be led by a CEO, who will be appointed by the board and who will also have the power to employ staff. The bill does not guarantee that the new regulator’s board will include representatives with expertise in dairy, meat processing, agriculture or regional food production. Without mandated expertise, the board risks becoming dominated by generalist bureaucratic appointees rather than people with direct industry knowledge. Industry stakeholders have raised their concerns that abolishing specialist regulators is not justified in the absence of evidence of systemic regulatory failure.
There is a risk that the new regulator will become a larger bureaucracy that is more distant from the industry and slower to respond to sector-specific issues. While the legislation allows the Safe Food Victoria board to establish consultative committees to inform regulatory performance, these committees have not been defined in the legislation. Such committees should include the dairy, meat and seafood industries, as well as public health, local government and regional representation. Dairy Food Safety Victoria currently operates on an industry-funded cost-recovery model and has built up financial reserves funded by dairy producers. There are concerns these funds – regulatory assets – could be absorbed into the broader operations of the new regulator rather than remaining dedicated to dairy regulation. This issue is particularly sensitive with dairy producers.
In the bill briefing the government also stated there would be a review of fees; however, there were no guarantees offered for when this would occur or that current fees and levies would not be increased. It is likely any increase in cost would be passed on to consumers in the form of an increase in food prices, increasing cost-of-living pressures.
Victoria’s dairy and meat industries rely heavily on international markets. Export partners expect stable and credible regulatory systems. Industry stakeholders have warned that restructuring food safety regulation could create uncertainty around certification and inspection regimes during the transition period. Even temporary uncertainty could create risks for export access. We need to ensure any concerns are addressed promptly.
There is a risk that the new regulator will become a large bureaucracy that is more distant from industry and slower to respond to sector-specific issues. There is no statutory review date. While this is a significant change process which could have serious consequences on our agriculture sector and particularly for our export market, there is no statutory review date included in this legislation, as I have mentioned.
The government say this is because this is only phase 1 of the implementation and that phase 2 has been promised by government, so it is not necessary. This seems a gross risk for the sake of a single clause in a bill. The government is also seeking to frame this bill around cutting red tape. However, industry stakeholders have suggested the reform may actually increase bureaucracy and compliance costs. There is no indication that this reform will deliver full benefits, but we need to be constantly making sure that our food safety regulations are strict and are compliant.
I also want to acknowledge our hospitality industry. In the Greater Shepparton region we have a huge amount of hospitality, and they provide great service to our local communities. I do have a friend that has a little wholesale food business; she is distributing food to these cafes. We have to make sure when we have small businesses that need to be supported by councils that they have a clear pathway, that they have full understanding of the requirements and also that there is not the red tape that we often hear when it comes to small business. Overall at the moment I think we in this place are all for safe food compliance. We need to make sure that we have certain standards so that people, when they do buy food, are protected, they are not getting sick and everything is there that they need to have in place. I will leave my contribution there.