Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill 2024. The Greens welcome the government's decision to ban live sheep exports from 1 May 2028 and to fund a package to help farmers and communities transition out of the industry. This win belongs to the brave whistleblowers and the determined animal welfare organisations who have fought tirelessly for decades for the inherently cruel and morally bankrupt live sheep export trade to be shut down. The Greens have introduced two bills since 2011 to ban live exports and have continued to fight for an end to this practice for decades. It's good to see, many years and many deaths later, that Labor finally accepts a ban on live sheep export is necessary.

While it's great to see the government commit to an end date, 2028 is still too far away. Thousands of sheep will continue to suffer and die on sweltering, packed death ships until then. The Greens intend to introduce amendments to the bill in the Senate to ensure that the industry doesn't ramp up the cruel exports in the years leading up to the ban and to protect sheep until the ban comes into force. The Greens have stood firmly against live export for decades because animals are not mere cargo; they are living, breathing, sentient beings that deserve a dignified life, free from suffering, just as much as anyone else does. The reality is that the live export trade cannot be made safe for any animal. It is a business model built on cruelty that causes untold animal suffering. It is a business model that will always put profit above animal welfare.

Governments have facilitated this trade for decades, condemning thousands upon thousands of animals to horrific death and unimaginable suffering. Mortality is just one measure, though. So many sheep suffer in extreme heat and crammed, stressful and overcrowded, filthy containers, going hungry and thirsty. The disasters have continued even into this year. After more than 9,200 sheep and 3,700 cattle were subjected to torturous heat on the MV Bahijah for eight straight days back in 2018, in January of this year a further roughly 14,000 sheep were left sweltering through a heatwave off the coast of Western Australian on the very same ship.

The industry has long tried to hide and diminish the true extent of suffering involved in live export, and the government has enabled this. To this day, there is little transparency about the suffering on these ships. It is only thanks to the tireless and courageous efforts of animal welfare advocates and whistleblowers who, time after time, have exposed the cruelty of this industry. There have been dozens of reforms, reviews and inquiries since the industry started, but the cruelty has always continued. It is crystal clear that we cannot stop animal cruelty in live export, because animal cruelty is inherent to live export. We won't be alone in doing this either. In New Zealand there have been no shipments of live animals for slaughter purposes since 2008, and the sky did not fall in.

We also know that the community is firmly in favour of banning live sheep exports, with poll after poll showing huge support from the Australian public. In fact, in June 2023, the Greens commissioned a poll that showed 85 per cent of Australians support a phase-out of live sheep export. This is one of the reasons the live sheep export trade has already declined by over 70 per cent since 2018, accelerating a longer term decline that has been happening over two decades. This needs to end, and it needs to end as soon as possible.

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