WAFarmers grains section boss flags concerns over paraquat restrictions with Ag Minister Julie Collins

Proposed restrictions on the herbicide paraquat were top of the agenda for WAFarmers grains section president Mark Fowler during a visit to his farm by the Federal Government’s agriculture minister. Mr Fowler, who farms at Williams and Harrismith in the Wheatbelt, met with Agriculture Minister Julie Collins last Tuesday as she embarked on a three-day tour of WA. He said the pair had a 45-minute “one-on-one conversation” in which he stressed to Ms Collins — who was in WA primarily for meetings on Labor’s sheep shipping ban — the importance of paraquat. “As a grains representative, what I wanted to speak up about — which is every bit as significant for the grains industry — is paraquat: an absolutely critical pillar of our farming system,” Mr Fowler told Countryman. “It was really good that she turned up and she didn’t stuff around with small talk or anything. She was straight down to business; it felt like she wants to hear what we had to say.” The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is currently conducting a review into paraquat and diquat to potentially restrict high applications of the substances. A potential ban on the use of paraquat and diquat in automated spot-spraying systems is also part of the review. “Even though this is a matter for the APVMA to determine, it’s very important the minister understands the significance of it to Australian grain growers,” Mr Fowler said. “We have been concerned that in the recent past the previous minister (Murray Watt) was overstepping that boundary and interfering with the independence of the APVMA. “We just wanted to reiterate that it’s really important that Government stays out of chemical regulation, allowing (APVMA) to remain 100 per cent focused on science and making decisions independent of both industry and government.” Mr Fowler said the meeting was a “big improvement” after previous talks with Senator Watt. “The last time I met with Murray Watt, it was a half-hour meeting in St George’s Terrace, so it was much more limited,” he said. “And despite saying they respected the independence of the APVMA, he then went away and instructed the APVMA to accelerate their reviews in relation to, among other things, paraquat.” Paraquat is banned in European Union countries and is classed as a schedule seven poison, which means a licence is needed to purchase it. A recent report by ABC Landline drew the ire of farmers — including Mr Fowler — after it linked the commonly used herbicide to Parkinson’s disease. When questioned by ABC Landline, APVMA chief executive Scott Hansen said there was no evidence that showed paraquat caused undue risk if it was used in accordance with warning labels. The APVMA review is not related to any concerns regarding connections to neurological diseases.