Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Amendment (Animal Welfare) Bill 2023. As many speakers have said, desire by community members to see an end to this trade has been running very strong for many years. In my community of Macquarie, in the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury, there are people of all ages, all political views and all parts of my 4,000-square-kilometre electorate who want to see an end to live trade. Many of them recognise that this is something that needs to be done in an orderly way. The commitment that we have taken to the electorate—not just in the previous election but in the one before as well, so we've taken this to the electorate twice—our policy to phase out the live sheep export trade, is a position that's very well supported in my community.

That brings us to what this bit is in that journey. And it is a journey. Right now, another part of the journey is underway, and that is the consultation on how you work with industry to phase out the sheep trade. I note that submissions to that close at 10 o'clock tonight. It's very timely that this other part of the legislation is being debated today. We have committed to phasing out live sheep exports from Australia by sea, but the phase-out will not take place during this time of the Australian parliament, because we want to allow time for individuals and businesses to adapt and prepare for the transition away from those sea exports. I think it's right.

Having come from a business background, it's very appropriate to look at the logistics of it. It's appropriate to look and seek input on how we should phase it out, what the time frame for implementation should be and how the phase-out will impact exporters, farmers and other businesses across the supply chain. It's appropriate to take the time to look at how we support and provide adjustment options for those who are impacted by the phase-out. And it's appropriate to look at what the opportunities are that this opens up in terms of expanding domestic processing and increasing sheepmeat exports overall. When we come to this part of it, one of our commitments around it was to lift the standards that exist, particularly in this interim period, right across the board on animal welfare and to have an independently established Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports that has real powers that meet the standards people expect. That's what this particular step is about. In the October budget we committed $4 million over four years to establish this independent Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports. That was the first step, and this legislation is the next step.

The proposed amendments to the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Act expand the role of the existing Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports to include additional animal welfare related objectives. One of the first things that will happen is to review the effectiveness of the activities of livestock export officials under animal welfare and live animal export legislation and standards. You do really need to thoroughly review what we have and look at what the gaps are. The additional functions will allow the review of Commonwealth systems for the administration of livestock exports. They will allow for a review of the effectiveness of the Australian standards that we have and the Commonwealth reporting relating to animal welfare and livestock export matters. These additional objects and functions will simply help increase oversight, accountability and transparency for animal welfare among exported livestock, and this is delivering on our commitment to strengthen animal welfare. As I said, these reforms are part of a suite of measures and really need to be seen in that context. They are responding to growing expectations from the community, and also from our trading partners, to prioritise animal welfare.

The inspector-general will be complemented by $5 million in funding from the 2023-24 budget to renew the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy. For too long there's simply been an absence of leadership on these matters—a total absence of leadership. I cannot imagine that those who sat on the other side of the parliament from me in the last two terms of parliament, those who were in government, weren't receiving similar emails from constituents who, whether they supported an export trade or not, wanted to see higher standards of animal welfare, but nothing was done to improve it.

The renewed strategy will cement a national approach to animal welfare, providing a vision for the welfare of all animals in Australia, while the establishment of the inspector-general signals Australia's commitment to a modern, sustainable and science based approach to animal welfare. Taking proactive steps so that we're prioritising animal welfare just makes sense. The industry acknowledge it, the community knows it and our trading partners expect it. I think this has been the real gap between community expectations and what the parliament's legislation has demanded of the industry. The industry has really, I have seen, been caught in the middle. This bill is a very sensible step to guarantee that the regulator is playing its part in ensuring that Australia meets those expectation.

I want to address one of the issues that have come up, about whether this inspector-general is independent, and say very clearly: yes, this bill makes clear that the inspector-general may operate independently and impartially and would not be subject to direction on how the inspector-general carries out their role under the act or any outcome the inspector-general may reach in the performance of their functions. That's the sort of transparency, independence and accountability that is required.

So I'm very pleased to see this as a next step in the work that we are doing and will continue to do, because this is something that will take some time to get to the point that the community wants, and that is a policy to end the export of live sheep. It is a very significant step along the way, which will have benefits in improving welfare for animals right across Australia. I commend the bill to the House.

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