John Cobb (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Security) Share this | Hansard source

No wonder the government need to put in amendments to their own legislation.

The live exports ban is perhaps the best example which defines this government. The government's first decision was to ban live exports from the seven abattoirs where the terrible, inhumane practice took place, but the government, disappointed at being outdone by the Greens, then banned it unilaterally without even so much as talking to the Indonesian government or even contemplating the impact on industry. Just like the marine parks, it rolled out a $100 million package to solve its problems, but, as history now shows, the package did not even look at addressing the problems. This has led to the current crisis in northern Australia.

The live export ban imposed by this government and the resultant cut in live export and boxed beef quotas to Indonesia have led to a major unfolding animal welfare disaster in northern Australia. Our northern cattle farmers have carried over hundreds of thousands of extra cattle from last year, and now they have had a lean wet season and have this year's calves on the ground. Combined with a feed shortage caused by a dry autumn in the rest of Australia, this means that the whole cattle market is depressed and local abattoirs are booked out months in advance. Have we seen Labor, the Greens or Animals Australia coming out to help the animals who are starving because of the environment they created? No, we have not. In fact, we have seen the opposite.

The member for Watson has led the charge of those opposed to putting these animals into reserves as an emergency measure, even though many of the parks are former cattle stations and even though sensitive environmental areas are to be excluded. The member for Watson should be ashamed. He does not care about the humane treatment of animals; he just cares about keeping the greenies happy. The member has feebly offered the government Farm Finance package as a solution, but, even if the states signed up tomorrow, it would be months before that could take effect.

This marine park process—or lack of it—is just another in a long line of Labor disasters that shows just how much Labor has alienated its working-class base. We all remember the Prime Minister's pre-election commitment: 'There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.' We all know that this turned out to be a major—

Mr Lyons interjecting—

You are still getting sick of it, are you? It turned out to be a major broken promise, although I have heard somewhere—

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