PM looks for increased jail time as strawberry sabotage crisis widens
Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants the penalty for the crime of food contamination increased from 10 to 15 years in response to a growing number of food tampering incidents over the last week.
What started as a seemingly isolated case of sabotage at one strawberry farm in Queensland has escalated to a nationwide crisis as copycats insert sewing needles in fresh fruits across the nation.
Morrison said it was important to send a "very clear message" to would-be offenders, who he described as “grubs”.
The government is also looking to create a second set of food contamination laws that match the existing offences but with a lower requirement that the person was "reckless", rather than needing to prove an intention to cause damage.
The government will also expand the definition of the crime of "sabotage" - usually referring to sabotage of key national infrastructure - to include the sabotage of food for human consumption.
The strawberry growing industry has been brought to its knees by the recent crimes, prompting the federal government to announce $1 million in funding to help strawberry growers through the crisis, matching a commitment from the Queensland state government.
"We are announcing $1 million to assist in this issue around the food safety contamination of strawberries," said Federal Minister for Regional Services Bridget McKenzie.
"We are wanting to see more food safety officials on the ground to work with our state and territory counterparts to make sure when they request a recall, that we fast-track that and that we're absolutely investing in increased methods of detection."
Sheridan Randall, 20th September 2018
