Associate Professor Wesley Thevathasan

What are farmers and families telling you at those meetings?

There's been a fair bit of pushback from the Australian Farmers Federation, which says Paraquat is essential, particularly because of its suitability to Australian conditions.

What would removing this product do to their livelihoods, Wesley?

Coming up, the vested interests benefiting from a never-ending Paraquat review.

Wesley, the chemical regulator here, the APVMA, they've been looking into this since 1997 and there still isn't a final decision on whether to ban this herbicide.

Why has that been going on for so long?

I mean, if you were to have a think about who does benefit from this delay, Wesley, who would you surmise does?

And as a part of that, there's been a lot of industry resistance and pushback to regulation, has there not?

There has been.

As late as 2024, the regulator's position was basically that the evidence still isn't strong enough to prove Paraquat is causing Parkinson's in people who use it at work.

Are you saying that assessment is wrong?

Yes.

Straight up and down?

Do you have any faith that the regulator will ban Paraquat at some point?

We've reached out to the regulator for comment.

The APVMA says it acknowledges the reporting on concerns about a possible association between paracord exposure and Parkinson's disease, but says it cannot pre-empt the findings of its final regulatory decision, which remains due in mid-2026.

It says agricultural chemicals are assessed through an ongoing monitoring, scientific review and statutory safety criteria, and that approved products must be used according to strict label instructions.

Also in the news, the US and Iran say an interim agreement to stop military action and reopen the Strait of Hormuz is now in effect.

The deal includes a 60-day window for a final agreement, Iranian commitments not to develop or acquire a nuclear weapon, and US moves to ease sanctions, release frozen Iranian assets, and support a reported reconstruction fund.

However, despite Israel's inclusion in the agreement, Israeli forces have continued military operations in southern Lebanon.