Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I don't doubt for a moment the sincerity of members opposite when they speak on behalf of the farmers they represent, and I have no doubt that many of those farmers are genuinely struggling. But I would make two points in that respect. Firstly, this policy has not yet taken effect, so to argue that farmers are struggling because of an end to the live sheep export trade is absolute nonsense and, quite frankly, dishonest. The policy is one that Labor has committed to, but it has not come into effect as yet. The industry has been on a decline for a long time. Secondly, I say to members who say that we have the best standards in the world: yes, that may be so, but those standards still can't guarantee the safety of those sheep, as evidenced by MV Bahijah incident only this year. Even with the best standards in the world, for reasons beyond the control of the exporters, the sheep ended up suffering. I'll come back to that in a moment if time permits me, but I have other examples to refer to.

Back in 1980, under a liberal government, the trade to Egypt was suspended because of animal welfare concerns. As a result of that there was a Senate committee inquiry, which the member for Corangamite alluded to earlier on tonight. The committee was chaired by Queensland senator George Georges, and the committee's report said:

… if a decision were to be made on the future of the trade purely on animal welfare grounds, there is enough evidence to stop the trade.

The committee, recognising the economic implications of stopping the trade, went on to recommend that the trade be phased out and replaced by the chilled meat trade. That was back in 1985, 40 years ago, so the industry has had four decades to transition out of—

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