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

It's ironic, as I rise to speak on this consideration in detail, that the only significant new money in the agriculture budget this year is the $107 million that's been allocated to shut down an agricultural industry. Sadly, for the people of O'Connor and the people of Durack—and into the electorate of Forrest—that is specifically targeted at your farm businesses and your livelihoods. It's not just restricted to those regional electorates in Western Australia. There are, of course, many people who work in the supply chain and in the feedlots on the periphery of Perth, and there are also the agribusinesses that support that trade. So it's a very sad day and a very sad budget for the agriculture sector across Western Australia.

The minister, when she delivered her second reading speech introducing the bill to shut down live sheep exports, said that the legislation would 'better align Australian export law with community expectations'. The minister cited a petition that was signed by 43,758 people last year as proof. Now, that's a lot of people, I know—and I'm not sure whether it was the RSPCA or Animals Australia who ran that petition—but seven days ago, a week ago, a group called Keep the Sheep stood up a website and set up a petition, and, as I was waiting while the wonderful member for Durack was speaking, I checked the number, and it had clicked over to 43,894 people. They have said they oppose the government's move to shut down the live sheep export trade. That's in just seven days. I might also add that on the same page there is a donation button, and the good people of Western Australia have donated $268,000 towards a campaign against this legislation. That's been growing very rapidly. I've been keeping an eye on that. There are a lot of people who are dipping into their pocket and contributing money.

To add to that, last Friday 1,700 vehicles registered for the convoy that the member for Durack mentioned—3,000 farmers. I was there, as the member for Durack was. I spoke to people in the morning at the top of Bedfordale Hill at a quarter past seven. Some people had been up at three or four in the morning to get there in time. One particular farmer said, 'I feel uplifted, because this is the first time, after years of being kicked and denigrated by the government and the animal activists, that we're actually fighting back.' That was a significant moment in this campaign, and I can tell you that the farmers of Western Australia are absolutely up and about.

The $107 million that we're discussing here is supposedly a support package, so my question to the minister is: who's this going to assist—I've had a briefing from the department, and they were a little bit vague—and how is it going to be delivered? One would assume that the Western Australian department of agriculture would have a role in delivering this assistance, but on 16 May, just after the minister made his announcement in the South Western Times, the WA agriculture minister, Jackie Jarvis, stood up in state parliament and revealed that she had sent a blistering letter to Minister Watt, highlighting the ongoing drought in WA and the state's efforts to support farmers. She said, 'I believe your announcement has added to the negative sentiment of the WA sheep industry at the worst possible time.' This is the Western Australian minister for agriculture. But, importantly, in relation to the $107 million package, she went on to say, 'Given your decision and subsequent package is not in the interest of WA, it is difficult to see how we can work collaboratively.' That is a state Labor agriculture minister referring to the $107 million package that was announced in this budget. So I'm not sure how the minister's going to deliver this assistance, given that the minister has made it very clear that her department will find it very difficult to work collaboratively.

Finally, in my last few seconds, I note that in the ABC's Insiders on Sunday the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry said of the live export industry, 'I don't think they've done enough to meet community standards.' The reason that that sends shivers of fear down the spines of Western Australian farmers is that the live export industry's animal welfare outcomes are better than those on farm, so the Western Australian farming community are thinking, 'They're coming after our farms next.'

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