Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The government's objective is, as I said, to ensure that animal welfare is maintained, that animals are treated humanely in this transport, that the livings and viability of Australian farmers—particularly in Western Australia, where most of these shipments are derived—are respected and maintained, and that our export markets are maintained. We do not want to have a repetition of the debacle that we had under the Labor Party, where the entire live cattle export business was banned and, as a consequence, farming families across the nation were facing ruin and the price of cattle crashed, from the far north of the country all the way down to Tasmania. That's the sort of recklessness the government will not be a party to. What we have put in place—along with the minister, who is absent, as I said—is a careful and considered approach based on science, and that is why the government does not support the bill.

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