Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion, and I am pleased to speak on this private member's bill proposed by the shadow minister for agriculture, which will establish an Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports. The Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports Bill 2018 creates an independent statutory officer who will have oversight of the Commonwealth regulator in animal welfare matters.

In government in 2013, Labor appointed an interim Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports. Unfortunately, the then new coalition government did not proceed with the legislation necessary to make the position permanent. That was the wrong decision, which has proven to be devastating for animal protection. The Turnbull government has, shamefully, been consistent in its opposition to the appointment of an inspector-general. Like the Inspector-General of Biosecurity, an Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports will deliver the robust regulatory oversight which the community is demanding and that the Productivity Commission has backed. These actions are needed, along with a suite of measures.

We've made it clear that a Shorten Labor government will, at the first opportunity, put an end to the northern summer live sheep trade. The evidence on this is very clear, and the community sentiment is very clear too. The northern summer live sheep trade is just not possible, because it is cruel and it is extremely harmful for those animals.

We've stated that, during the necessary transition period, we'll put regulations in place that will ensure the highest standards, proper oversight and appropriate sanctions for breaches, including the establishment of the inspector-general as an independent statutory position. The inspector-general will be responsible for advising on the protection of animals in all Commonwealth-regulated activities and will report directly to the minister on issues like live animal exports, animal welfare standards and other required guidelines.

The inspector will also work with the states and territories to establish an independent office of animal welfare to oversee animal protection and welfare activities nationally. This re-establishment of state and territory cooperation on animal welfare matters—abolished by the Abbott-Turnbull government—will ensure a consistent national approach and continuous monitoring.

In government, Labor will conduct a thorough review of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System to ensure that it works as effectively and efficiently as possible. This plays a very critical role in reassuring Australia's agricultural producers, their customers and the broader community that animal welfare is being protected at every stage.

Overall, in government, Labor will provide more transparency and accountability around the live export trade. For a long time, Labor has been calling for these changes—as have many in the community. Like everyone in this House, I have received thousands of items of correspondence over the years about the live export trade. This is an issue that the other side just cannot ignore.

It took the horrifying Awassi Express incident to get any response at all from the Turnbull government—a response that did nothing to fix the systemic issues with the long-haul sheep trade, because this is a government beset by party division, whose own members threaten to cross the floor on this issue. They've now withdrawn even their very small, token measures. It's clear the Prime Minister is not willing to deal with the abuses that have occurred on his watch. This is a truly heartless approach, and it is a stain on Australia's reputation as a world-class food exporter of clean green food of the highest quality.

The long-haul sheep trade has been in decline for two decades. It has been consistently mired in criticism, reviews and suspensions. The Awassi Express incident has made it blatantly clear: the regulation isn't working. The current system is cruel. You simply cannot pack 50,000 or 60,000 sheep onto a boat for four weeks and then sail them through some of the hottest and most humid climates in the world and expect animal welfare expectations to be upheld. That is the reality.

Labor's proposed five-year transition period will give the industry time to adjust to the changes. It'll be a transition to something better. In contrast to all of that, all we see from the Turnbull government is inaction. In fact, they failed to even list their bill to increase penalties for breaches of the animal welfare standards in the live animal sector. The government has withdrawn the Export Legislation Amendment (Live-stock) Bill 2018 in this sitting week, and they did that following our announcement to move amendments to the bill which, if successful, would have put an immediate stop to the Northern Hemisphere summer live sheep trade and phased out the trade within five years. Yet the government has withdrawn that.

Following the McCarthy review, the government did spruik the fact there were going to be increased penalties as a key response to ongoing breaches of animal welfare standards, yet they have done nothing—just those token efforts—and they've now withdrawn the bill. But Labor stands ready. We stand ready to support increased penalties. We have made that very clear. But what is also very clear is that the evidence is clear. The science is clear and the community sentiment is overwhelmingly clear time and time again: the northern summer live sheep trade must end. And Labor has made that very clear.

The community wants action on this matter. It's time the government started listening to the community and the concerns that they have, and I call on them to support this private members' bill. Currently, the system is cruel. It is unfair, and the government members must listen and support this private members' bill.

Debate adjourned.

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