Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mahatma Gandhi once said:

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

I think that's a pretty good measure of any nation, not just Australia, but of Australia particularly as a historically agricultural producing nation.

Since I've been elected to this place, there's been a lot of work done, largely in opposition, around exploring the policies necessary for the phase-out of live sheep exports. Like many of my constituents but also like many here, we have been appalled by the footage we have seen of the live sheep export trade over the years. It's a truism to say that animal welfare is a vital and important aspect of our community. It's equally important for our industry and for our trade partners. That is why the Albanese government supports strong animal welfare standards. I have been—as have many of my colleagues across the aisles, in my party and others—very vocal about live sheep exports in the party, in the parliament and in this place. I've argued for the banning of live sheep exports over the northern summer months because of the cruelty that we've seen. Even as the overall review of the trade was conducted by the former government, we were calling for those steps to be taken and, in the longer term, as we're discussing here, for the phase-out of all live sheep export within a timely manner.

As a government, we believe all animals should be treated humanely. That is the responsibility of governments at the state and federal level, and that is why the Albanese government is committed to phasing out live sheep exports. As a government, we also acknowledge that the live sheep export trade is in decline. Our plan is to work with industry and work with the Western Australian government to address this decline. This is important because in the live sheep trade we've seen time and time again the horrible and appalling footage and the breaches of those standards that we here all talk about supporting.

This government knows we need to do more to ensure animals are treated humanely. In the budget last October, the first budget, the Albanese government committed $4 million over four years to establish an independent inspector-general of animal welfare and live animal exports. This increases accountability and transparency for reporting of animal welfare breaches. While this is a significant change, the legislation being proposed today, the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Amendment (Animal Welfare) Bill 2023, will be the next important step to ensure the government can deliver on its commitment to strengthening animal welfare.

The proposed amendments to the act seek to expand the office of the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports, which will ensure animal welfare is at the centre of livestock exports. The additional functions will enable a review of the effectiveness of the activities of livestock export officials under animal welfare and live animal export legislation and standards, Commonwealth systems for the administration of livestock exports under such legislation standards, the Australian standards for the export of livestock as part of such systems, and Commonwealth reporting related to animal welfare and livestock matters. These additional functions will help increase oversight, transparency and accountability in relation to animal welfare in exported livestock. This also ensures the independency of the inspector-general and enables a legislative basis for them to operate independently, impartially and transparently. It allows our government to commit to strengthening animal welfare in a substantive way.

This is but one part of the various measures the Albanese government has committed to. In response to the community expectations and the expectations from our trading partners, to ensure animal welfare is at the forefront of what we do, the Albanese government has also committed $5 million in funding from 2023-24 in the budget to renew the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy.

The government has already started implementing its policy to phase out live sheep exports by sea, which was referred to earlier. An independent panel comprising Mr Philip Glyde, Chair; the Hon. Warren Snowdon, former member of this place; Ms Sue Middleton; and Ms Heather Neil has been formed to lead consultations and ensure that government can be provided with advice to inform our policy. The panel will engage all relevant stakeholders, including exporters, farmers, supply chain participants, trading partners, communities, animal welfare organisations, Indigenous Australians, state and territory governments, academics and other relevant parties.

The government's decision to phase out live sheep exports by sea is an election commitment, which we are meeting. Many people voted for us on the basis of that commitment, and it was endorsed by the Australian people at the ballot box. There remain significant concerns from parts of the Australian public around animal welfare and the welfare of sheep being exported, particularly by sea.

This government is making commitments to prioritising animal welfare. That's clear. It's clear in what I've discussed already today. We haven't had, frankly, any leadership on animal welfare for a very long time, and these amendments will enable this country, our community, our industries and our trading partners to take the necessary steps to ensure animal welfare is at the forefront of what we do as a country, as a government and as a nation and to ensure all animals are treated humanely. This bill is an important step in ensuring we can monitor, investigate and report on the implementation of animal welfare and live animal export legislation and standards related to the exports of livestock.

All of the oversight, all of the accountability and all of the transparency that will flow through will finally give us a more modern, sustainable and science based approach to animal welfare. A renewed strategy and the establishment of the inspector-general is a no-nonsense approach to helping Australia work towards its goal of strengthening animal welfare. It helps us as a nation get to that place that Mahatma Gandhi talked about, where we are a nation that is enlightened and is, to use the older term, civilised in the way that we treat animals, and that is a reflection on our character to as a people. I'm proud to be part of a government that is taking these steps and making these changes on live export and on phasing out the industry.

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