Debate resumed, on motion by Mr Haase:

That the House:

(1)

recognises that the Australian live export industry:

(a)

employs 13,000 Australians nationally across 30 separate business types;

(b)

contributes AUD$1.8 billion each year to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product;

(c)

pays AUD$987 million a year in wages and salaries; and

(d)

contributes AUD$830 million to regional economies and underpins the economic and social wellbeing of large slices of rural and remote Australia, particularly in Western Australia;

(2)

notes that:

(a)

Australia is regarded as the world leader in livestock export regulation and management;

(b)

if Australia stopped live export, the trade would go to less scrupulous countries than ours and put severe supply pressure on already struggling third world countries;

(c)

it would cost the Australian economy AUD$1 billion to phase out live trade;

(d)

the cessation of live export would have a severe impact on domestic markets, particularly in the regions;

(e)

many pastoralists in the electoral division of Kalgoorlie do not have the option to crop as an alternative industry as suggested by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) commissioned ACIL Tasman report; and

(f)

the RSPCA and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) should focus on real and relevant animal cruelty issues; and

(3)

considers that the Australian Government should commit to a campaign countering RSPCA and PETA misinformation.

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