Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I'll begin my response to the member for Clark's motion by quoting from the industry body, the Australian Livestock Exporters Council:

Further to our statement of 1 February, we continue to be genuinely disappointed that activist groups, in particular the RSPCA, and some politicians spread misinformation and untruths about conditions onboard the vessel. In many instances, it was deliberately misleading, and we would expect much better from groups such as the RSPCA and our elected parliamentarians.

I'll put on the record the conditions on that particular vessel. Yes, the vessel left Fremantle on 5 January. It sailed for 10 days, until the owners of the vessel deemed it unsafe to continue through the Red Sea. The vessel was turned around and returned to Fremantle, where it has been parked in Gage Roads, out near Rottnest, for the last seven days. The members talked about the intolerable heat. Well, the member for Fremantle would know that many people transit through Fremantle on their way to Rottnest on those very warm days—

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