Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud has accused Labor of “breathtaking hypocrisy” after a report into the governance of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) was released.
Mr Littleproud said the former Coalition Government passed a Bill for a governance board through the House of Representatives on December 3, 2019, but Labor refused to support it in the Senate for almost two years.
It wasn’t until the end of 2021 that Labor supported the Bill to put a governance board in place, after an agreement was reached with the Shadow Agriculture Minister.
“Labor is now complaining about a lack of governance into the APVMA from 2019 to 2022, despite originally being opposed to a board that would have provided governance to the APVMA,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The former Coalition Government fought for a governance board four years ago but Labor refused to get behind the idea. Their hypocrisy is shameful.”
It comes after Labor said the APVMA Strategic Review Report had found serious and systematic issues within the APVMA between the years of 2019 and 2022, which was the time the former Coalition Government was trying to make improvements.
Mr Littleproud added Agriculture Minister Murray Watt’s claims that moving the APVMA from Canberra to Armidale was problematic, was incorrect.
“The APVMA’s performance in approval times actually improved once it moved to Armidale, not declined, as Minister Watt stated.”
- Media Release
APVMA report exposes Labor’s hypocrisy
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