WTAF?? The assistant minister spent some valuable time spruiking a GMO banana. No, we don’t get it either.
The federal assistant minister for health and aged care Ged Kearney’s communications team threw one of the year’s weirdest media releases up on to the department’s website today, baffling many.
“New banana variety 20 years in the making” said the headline, sending this correspondent reading on to see how exactly this meant anything for the health of Australians.
Congratulations to the team at the Queensland University of Technology, by the way, which has developed the genetically modified QCAV-4 variety of the Cavendish banana to counteract the effects of Panama Disease or Tropical Race 4 (TR4), a fungal disease that starves bananas of their nutrients, eventually killing the plant.
Excellent work.
Is TR4 a threat in Australia? Nope, says the release, because “our biosecurity system [is] successfully keeping Panama disease from devastating the Australian banana industry”.
What did the assistant minister for health and aged care have to say on the matter?
“Australians love bananas,” said Ms Kearney.
“Ensuring our local growers can continue to supply delicious and nutritious bananas will help Australians make healthy dietary choices and support our local economy.
“FSANZ rigorous safety assessment assures us that this banana is as safe as those already grown in Australia.”
Professor James Dale from QUT described the new variety as “a safety net for Australia’s $1.3 billion industry”.
Again, excellent.
What are we missing here? Is there a link between Ms Kearney and the banana-growing industry? Something from her ACTU past, perhaps.
Or is she a secret Minion?
Perhaps what she’s actually saying is:
“Bello! bananas nama ta idsleg da leelas johum. Yehtux cama kabrya. Sola ads mas bananas. [Hello! Bananas are the secret to good health. Forget about reform. Just eat more bananas.]”
It’s the only explanation.
