Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports Bill 2018 introduced by the shadow minister for agriculture and member for Hunter. The purpose of this bill is to re-establish an independent statutory officer to watch over the regulation of the live export sector. His or her role will be to ensure that correct animal welfare standards are maintained, and, when there is an alleged breach, that the regulator fully and properly investigates the matter, comes to the right conclusions and imposes appropriate sanctions.

When in government in 2013, Labor appointed an interim inspector-general of animal welfare and live animal exports. Unfortunately, the incoming 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. This government has been consistent in its opposition to the appointment of an inspector-general. 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 clear, and the community sentiment is clear. The northern summer live sheep trade is just not possible, because it's cruel. 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 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 will ensure a consistent national approach and continuous monitoring.

Labor supports the sustainable live export industry where acceptable animal welfare standards can be achieved. 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 many members of this House, I have received thousands of letters and emails in recent months about the live export trade. It took the horrifying Awassi Express incident to get a response from this government—a response that did nothing to fix the systemic issues with the long-haul sheep trade. They have now withdrawn even their very small token measures. It is clear the government is not willing to deal with the abuses that have occurred on its watch. This is a heartless approach. The Awassi Express incident has made it clear that the regulation isn't working. The current system is cruel. You simply cannot load 50,000 or 60,000 sheep onto a boat for four weeks and 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. As one of my constituents said, if you treated your dog like that you'd likely end up in jail.

Labor's proposed five-year transition period will give the industry time to adjust to the changes. It will be a transition to something better. In contrast to all of that, all we see from the government is inaction. In fact, those opposite failed to even list their bill to increase penalties for breaches of the animal welfare standards in the live animal export sector. The government withdrew the Export Legislation Amendment (Live-stock) Bill 2018 in June following our announced intention to move amendments to the bill, which, if successful, would have put an immediate stop to the Northern-Hemisphere-summer live sheep trade and phase out the trade within five years. In September, the government used its numbers in this House to block debate on a private member's bill on this issue that was passed by the Senate. The government seems determined to keep looking the other way while these appalling abuses continue.

But Labor will not stand by and do nothing. Many of my constituents have written to me. Christie from Wyoming said, 'It's so difficult to see no action being taken on such an important issue.' Labor will act. We won't stand by and do nothing, like this government has done on such a critical issue as animal welfare. It's time the government started listening to the community and hearing the concerns that they have voiced. I call on those opposite to support this private member's bill. Currently, as I and many others in this House have said, the system is cruel and unfair. The government should stop doing nothing. It should listen to the community's concerns and support this private member's bill.

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