Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question; it is a reasonable one. There are two factors here—factor No. 1: the conditions in the abattoir; and factor No. 2: being able to track where Australian cattle go. So, unless we are able to track and ensure, if we say conditions are appropriate in one facility, that Australian cattle are going to that facility and that facility alone and not ending up in other facilities, then clearly we have not solved the problem. There are two things here: the inspections for the conditions of slaughter and the tracking of Australian cattle to make sure that they end up in facilities that have appropriate conditions. The government is working extensively on both in contact with the representatives of the industry.

I think what this question indicates—and it is an absolutely reasonable question—is it would assist the opposition to get an in-detail briefing from the minister on every question that needs to be answered and how the government is going about actioning and answering those questions through inspections and tracking so that we can know where animals end up and the circumstances of the facilities that they go to. That information can be made available in a very timely way to the opposition, as I indicated through my office this morning. The relevant minister, Minister Ludwig, can make himself available—I cannot speak as to his diary, but I would say almost immediately—to provide that very in-detail briefing to the opposition.

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