The Senate Economic References Committee will conduct an inquiry into the certification of halal, kosher, organic and genetically modified food, after a motion moved by Liberal senator Cory Bernardi was passed by the Senate yesterday.
The South Australian Senator introduced a motion to the Senate calling for an investigation into food certification schemes, including whether the public was given enough information about certifiers’ financial records.
According to a Guardian report, Senators voted 34 in favour to 30 against the six-month inquiry by the Senate’s economic references committee.
It passed with the support of the government along with six crossbenchers: Jacqui Lambie, Bob Day, Glenn Lazarus, David Leyonhjelm, John Madigan and Ricky Muir. The Labor party and the Greens opposed the motion.
Senator Bernardi said the inquiry would not be confined to halal alone.
“There seems to be a number of concerns about some certification schemes that are operating and in the interests of transparency and establishing the facts and being able to act in the national interest I think it’s wise for the parliament to consider all certification schemes and how they operate,” the conservative backbencher said, according to the Guardian’s report.
“I keep getting told any number of things about certification schemes and I don’t know what’s true and what’s not true, so I want to establish the facts.”
Several high-profile companies have been targeted by anti-halal campaigners. In January, the head of one of Australia’s largest certifiers launched defamation proceedings in the New South Wales supreme court after a campaigner made allegations about a financial link to terrorist organisations.
The parliamentary inquiry will be asked to examine “the extent of food certification schemes and certifiers in Australia including, but not limited to, schemes related to organic, kosher, halal and genetically-modified food and general food safety certification schemes”.
The terms of reference include labelling requirements, certification fees paid by food producers, and “whether current schemes provide enough information for Australian consumers to make informed purchasing decisions”.
Agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce, last month warned his colleagues against “picking a fight that we never needed to have” because of consequences for Australian exporters.
“Unless it’s halal certified, we can’t sell it. That means the whole processing line becomes unviable,” Joyce, the deputy leader of the Nationals, said last month.
“If we didn’t have the halal market in beef, that could really affect thousands of meat workers in Australia.”
Senator Bernadi has previously stated he is concerned about the lack of clarity around “where the facts end and the fiction begins in relation to halal certification”.
Writing on his website in March Senator Bernadi said he hadn’t been able to ascertain what the cost of the religious tax was to individual companies or the overall cost to the Australian consumer.
“No one has been able to explain why water, milk and cat food need halal certification. No one has been able to explain all the groups involved in the certification racket and where the money paid actually ends up.
“I have seen emails from purported halal certification entrepreneurs that do not inspire any confidence in the integrity or intent of such schemes.
“Earlier, I referred to this entire process as a racket. That’s because I have also heard from people who have been intimidated into paying for certification even though they didn’t want to.
“In my view, these questions are just the tip of the iceberg.”
The Senator said the matter was being clouded by a shroud of secrecy that was allowing all sorts of allegations and insinuations to be made.
“In other countries, halal certification schemes have been used to fund organisations linked to proscribed extremist organisations. We also know it has operated effectively as a religious tariff in order for Australian products to gain entry into certain markets.
“There are also concerns from a range of people who don’t like the religious slaughter of livestock or who want the option of choosing meat products that haven’t been subject to ritual slaughter.
“However, the people that hold such views often aren’t able to make an appropriate choice because even though some lamb, goat and chicken is slaughtered halal in this country, most isn’t labelled appropriately.”
“…Given the competing claims and counter claims, I believe that the best means of establishing the facts is to hold a parliamentary inquiry.”