Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, I present the committee's advisory report, incorporating a dissenting report, on its inquiry into Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill 2024, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—This bill was referred to the committee by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon. Murray Watt, on 3 June. The bill prohibits the export of live sheep by sea from Australia to all overseas markets on or after 1 May 2028. It also authorises assistance to help the sheep industry transition from the live export trade. This assistance can support sheep producers and supply chain businesses by developing greater sheepmeat-processing capacity in Australia and by exploring and developing market opportunities for Australian sheep products in domestic and international markets. The bill fulfils the government's election promise to end the live export of sheep by sea, while providing time and money for the orderly transition to new avenues of production and trade.

The committee recognises the concerns raised by sheep producers and businesses about the transition period. Nonetheless, given the limited size of the export market relative to the sheep industry, the committee is persuaded that the negative impacts resulting from transition can be successfully mitigated with targeted support. The committee welcomes the provisions of the bill to support the wellbeing of those most directly impacted and remains hopeful for continued engagement with industry to advise on additional or alternative measures to support the transition. The committee's report recommends that the bill be passed. The committee has also recommended that the government consider making additional funding available to support this transition, potentially through the 2026 stocktake of industry progress. The committee's final recommendation is that the Australian government continue to seek opportunities to work with the all important Western Australian government to refine and implement the transition support package. It is important that the Commonwealth and state governments work together to ensure the transition is successful and smooth for those affected.

The committee acknowledges the strongly held views on both sides of this policy debate. Indeed, it does run deep for most people who are involved with this and people who displayed that passion whilst we conducted this inquiry. Most of the evidence received by the committee related to the policy ban on live sheep exports rather than the detail of the bill. The evidence was collected during this inquiry. It highlights the deep concerns that many Australians have about the impact of the bill on their livelihood, on businesses and on rural communities across Western Australia. The committee was moved by the passionate testimony provided by farmers, producers and communities. We were also moved by the passionate testimony provided by animal welfare groups. However, during the inquiry, it became clear that, to meet the expectations of the broader Australian community about animal welfare, the live export of sheep by sea must end. An overwhelming majority of the contributions expressed strong support for passage of the bill. Furthermore, a majority of the committee agreed that the live export of sheep by sea presents inherent risks to animal welfare that can only be overcome by this legislation.

I would like to conclude with some words of thanks to all of those who contributed to this inquiry. The committee received over 13,000 contributions from across Australia that represented a range of perspectives. In particular, I would like to thank the individuals at the Muresk Institute in regional Western Australia for hosting the committee at the public hearing. There were close to 2,000 farmers, community members and industry stakeholders who attended the Muresk public hearing. They engaged respectfully with the committee and showed their support to those giving evidence. I would sincerely like to thank all of those people who turned out in Muresk.

Finally, I would like to thank my fellow committee members for their diligence and hard work during the inquiry and their contributions to the report. Of course, I would also like to thank our secretariat, ably led by Fran Denny. The work that they have ploughed through in the last couple of weeks has been quite remarkable, and I sincerely thank them for pulling the report together and working through all of the evidence and submissions. On behalf of the committee, I commend the report to the House.

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