Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be read a second time.

It is barely two weeks since I introduced this bill into the House. Government and industry media announce­ments during these two short weeks have made it clear that Australia is not in the position of being able to provide any reasonable oversight and supervision of the welfare of cattle sent to Indonesia, and indeed to other countries, in any reasonable period of time. Not even Meat and Livestock Australia, spinning as hard as they can, are willing to make the claim that we can resume an animal export industry in the near future with animal welfare standards at a level acceptable to Australians. They cannot make that claim, because Australians, who have now been exposed to the extent of the systemic abuse and absence of sufficient oversight of animal welfare , understand that these problems are not minor and will not just be solved in the space of a few weeks—which, incidentally, is the government's naive timeline for resuming the trade to Indonesia.

The fact is that this industry has never been and will never be ethically viable, and there are far too many years of systemic abuse behind it to argue otherwise. Recent announcements in the media by the government and industry will not amount to solutions: the truth is that, to the likes of Meat and Livestock Australia, animal welfare issues are predominately a matter of perception management rather than matters to invest resources in. The last thing we need is yet another quick fix where the perception of action is prioritised higher than actual investment in raising animal welfare standards. The bottom line is that the industry will, as any does, fight to remain profitable, and it will do so despite the associated ethically indefensible consequ­ences. Just as thousands of constituents and citizens across the country have requested of me in recent weeks, including many graziers, it is time for parliamentarians to put an end to this cruelty. Thousands of cattle, sheep and goats in overseas feedlots, storage yards and slaughterhouses are being abused tonight out of sight of the Australian public. Millions will be exported and mistreated over the next three years alone. It is time for the government to step in and say enough is enough. Minister Ludwig must start listening to the Australian public, who want strong protections against cruelty. Only the Greens' bill will deliver that strong action and provide for an immediate and complete ban on live animal exports for slaughter. I listened earlier this evening to the member for Calare speaking about the tropical climes that animals enjoy on their trips up to Indonesia. I listened for a good nine minutes before I heard the phrase 'animal welfare' mentioned. I stand to be corrected on that by the Hansard but it is clear from those who oppose taking measures that animal welfare is not their No. 1 priority. As anyone who has been associated with the industry would know, live animal exports are shiploads of misery.

Mr Haase interjecting—

This is something that we Greens have known for a while, and that is why it has been our longstanding policy that we took to the election. I pay tribute to those many campaigners around the country who over many years have worked tirelessly. The recent exposes were not something that happened overnight. I pay particular tribute to the RSPCA and Animals Australia and Lyn White.

There is an alternative. As I have advocated for in this place previously, the government can easily commit to improving and increasing the process of slaughter in Australia to support local producers and jobs. The community benefits of processing meat in Australia have been underestimated for too long and are being talked down by the live export industry. No doubt the member for Durack, who has been interjecting, will again reiterate the industry talking points, but those who oppose measures and those who want to continue this ethically unsustainable trade need to explain why they are against jobs. A 2010 report commissioned by Australia's leading processors found that live cattle exports compete with and undermine Australia's domestic beef industry, leading to lost processing opportunities here. The domestic animal welfare standards here are anything but perfect, but they are an improvement on what will always be uncontrollable international standards. And so I call on the government, particularly those among its backbench members who have done good work in advancing the argument that an ethically viable live export industry is a fictional concept, to join the Greens' longstanding call for the cessation of the live export industry. I implore members to act ethically and support the immediate cessation of live exports for slaughter, and I commend the bill to the House.

John Murphy (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Barry Haase (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a wonderful opportunity it is to bring back a sense of rationality to this House. This proposition, put to us by the member for Melbourne, would have us believe that all animals bred for food production should somehow be kept alive because Australians will be appalled to know that they are slaughtered before they are eaten. There is so much ill-informed nonsense being spruiked by this member that it is difficult to contain one's incredulity. There is simply no basis for the statements he makes, unless one concedes that we should not eat animals. If that is the argument, why doesn't the member come to this place and declare that he is vegan and wants all Australians to be vegan and for there not to be a livestock production industry.

There is no way that one can espouse a point of view in this House that says that we should breed animals for slaughter but that they should not be slaughtered. What this member does not realise is that the majority of viewing Australians, were they to sight videos of abattoirs in Australia, would be horrified. They did not realise that meat did not come from a packaging factory called Coles and Woolworths. They thought that it was somehow mysteriously presented to their refrigerator without it ever having been alive. They were suddenly reminded five weeks ago that those things that we eat were once alive. It came as a great shock.

Can I bring a great shock to the member for Melbourne? There are whole families, whole communities and whole industries around the world dependent upon live animal exports from Australia. If we are going to be part of livestock production, we first need to face up to the fact that those animals are being produced as a food source for Australians and for the world. To suggest that the actions of the likes of the RSPCA, Animals Australia, Pew, PETA and other high-flying organisations, whose institutions depend on donations from the public, are not self-interested in receiving those donations to maximise their executive salaries is to be blind to reality.

I am talking about hard-working Australians, who have created their livelihoods in inhospitable circumstances to develop an industry, paying an umbrella group to develop a marketing system with our nearest relation, Indonesia, over a period of 15 years or more to the point where Australian northern pastoral regions now have a purpose. They can breed Bos indicus cattle well, which are not suited to southern climes. Bos taurus are not suited to export to Indonesia, quite frankly, because they do not sweat. We now have a purpose for those pastoral lands. There is no other purpose as they are not able to be cleared for agriculture. The only thing that can be done is the raising of Bos indicus cattle for export. If we cannot do that, on the basis that those cattle are going to be killed for consumption, for that reason alone it is just an absolute nonsense. It is the sort of stuff you would expect from wet-behind-the-ears schoolboys. If we are going to come into this House and have the livelihood of thousands of Australians and the economy affected by the loss of billions of dollars because of some fanciful minority group having sway in this place, then it is a sad day for democracy. Australians, and hardworking Australians especially in my patch of Durack, deserve better treatment than that.

Until such time as this government realises what they have done most recently to attempt to destroy this industry permanently and the Prime Minister, in league with Kevin Rudd if necessary, goes to Indonesia with cap in hand, tugs the forelock and says, 'We are sorry we insulted your nation intern­ationally,' and gives a genuine apology, we will not see the recommencement of this industry, and we will continue to see real hardworking Australians suffer unnecess­arily.

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

The depth of community outrage over the cruel treatment of cattle in Indonesian abattoirs exposed on the Four Corners program on 30 May cannot be overstated. MPs have been flooded with letters, phone calls and emails. As well, hundreds of thousands of people have to date signed petitions or written to newspapers and other media outlets.

In my own electorate residents of the Tea Tree Gardens Retirement Village, in a spontaneous response to the film footage, organised their own petition calling for a stop to the cruelty and asked me to present it to this parliament. The petition was signed by 76 residents of the retirement village and would have been signed by more if there had been more time. These are decent, respons­ible adults with considerable life experience who were not prepared to turn a blind eye to what they saw or to remain indifferent. The petition does not meet the relevant require­ments of the House for petitions so I seek leave to table a copy of the document.

Leave granted.

I thank the House. The government made the correct decision in suspending the live cattle exports to Indonesia until we can be assured that cattle sent to Indonesia will not be treated cruelly and that a reliable tracking system is in place. I also welcome the decision by the minister to have an independent investigation into the Australian live animal export trade. It was the right thing to do; it was the responsible thing to do. Not surprisingly, the coalition and some within the industry have said the government has overreacted. Others have said that the government has not gone far enough. That suggests to me that the government has got it about right. The government has responsibility for all Australians, including the cattle growers, rural communities, transport operators and other livestock associated industries.

Our concern for animal welfare should not be confined solely to Australian-grown animals. It should be for all animals—home-grown or otherwise. It should therefore be our objective to change bad practices wherever they occur. It we do not, animals will continue to suffer because it is not only Australian livestock that is killed in Indonesia and in other markets of concern.

It is also clear that Meat and Livestock Australia and LiveCorp both have a major responsibility relating to this issue. They both have much to answer for and need to be held to account. It was a failure to ensure the cattle's welfare by both the MLA and LiveCorp that led to the government's intervention. It is now up to the Australian and Indonesian governments and the industry sectors in both countries to resolve the deadlock.

Both Australian and Indonesian liveli­hoods are at stake and families will suffer if the industry is immediately shut down. Indonesia is a developing country. Providing food and employment opportunities in Indonesia is important for that country, but no jobs in Australia or in Indonesia justify continuing to allow the cruelty we saw on the Four Corners program.

I want to quote my colleague the member for Wills, who is here in the chamber tonight, in what he said when he spoke on this matter on 20 June:

We should not seek to make a profit on the back of the torture, misery and suffering of powerless animals.

I think that quote sums it up perfectly. The priority, however, should be to resolve the immediate issues related to the Indonesian live cattle trade. The issues can be resolved without any party being adversely affected. It can be a win-win for all parties. Stunning cattle is possible and already occurs at some abattoirs in Indonesia. It is the standard in Australia and should be the standard elsewhere.

Tracking Australian cattle once exported is also possible. It was a coalition govern­ment that suspended that practice. In fact, I understand that tracking cattle was intro­duced by the coalition in around 2003 or 2004 and that it was in direct response to the current trade that they suspended that practice. Had tracking been in place it is very likely that cattle exports could have resumed to those abattoirs in Indonesia that currently carry out the stunning practice. I understand that there are several abattoirs in Indonesia that do that and that there are several abattoirs in Indonesia that would be ready to go if they had the clearance to receive the cattle. The issue is that exporting the cattle from Australia to Indonesia does not guarantee which abattoirs they will end up in until we have the tracking system in place.

The viability of establishing additional abattoirs in Northern Australia should also be assessed. I have heard people reject that but it should also be assessed, as should assisting Indonesia to establish additional commercial refrigeration facilities. (Time expired)

Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the bill introduced by the member for Melbourne. I cannot believe that we are actually debating this bill. I could understand when it was first introduced by the member but times have changed. Surely in the last few weeks we have seen the folly of this legislation and the effect it has had on the cattle industry in Northern Australia. I would like to say once again that I cannot believe that, in this place, everyone wants to go on a crusade with someone else's livelihood. I would just like the member for Melbourne or the member for Makin or the member for Wills to introduce a motion or a bill in this House that, for once, will have some effect on the livelihoods of the people that they represent. I do not think we are going to see that any time soon.

Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You should have seen the tariff cuts in the 1980s, and the cuts to the clothing, footwear and textiles in my electorate.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is my 10c here, member for Wills. The member for Makin said that this is some sort of win-win situation. We are way past ever having a win-win situation on this. We are way past not having some sort of permanent effect. The truth of the matter is that the cattle that are leaving Australia now will not be killed for three months. That is ample time to sort out the issue with where they will be killed at the other end. These are store cattle that have a limited window in which to be mustered, put on a boat and sent to Indonesia. A short break is not possible; the whole season has gone. Those cattle will not be suitable next year, so where are they going to go? Where are they going to end up?

This is an intolerable situation. I am not justifying cruelty to animals. What we saw on Four Cornerswas horrific, but I want to know why Four Corners did not go to the larger abattoirs that are processing a large percentage of the cattle that are in Indonesia at the moment. Why did they not show footage of what is being done there on a humane basis? Why did they not put the other side of the story, that there are companies now that have traceability, have full control in the feedlots and have full control in the abattoirs and have cattle going there?

The initial response from the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Ludwig, was appropriate to ban trade with the abattoirs that were not up to scratch.

Opposition members interjecting—

Exactly. The member for Makin touched on it: they were spooked by the emails. I got hundreds of emails. I do not know whether the member for Makin read his but mine were all remarkably similar. As a matter of fact I think that most of my emails were written by two people, and I think that they came through at three o'clock or four o'clock in the morning. I am yet to do some research but I would suspect that a lot of them were generated from a central base.

Are we going to run this country by mass emails from fringe political groups or are we going to look at people's livelihoods, what is good for the national economy and what is good for the cattle industry of Northern Australia? Are we going to look at what is good for the Aboriginal communities of Northern Australia that have finally got some way of having a respectable job that they can take some pride in and that they are doing well, a job that has been cut out from under them? I cannot believe that on this day, after all this time, we are still debating this motion. I would have thought the honourable thing for the member for Melbourne to do would have been to withdraw this motion when he saw what devastation had been created because of the ill-conceived and ill-timed way the situation was handled.

Did anyone from the government go to Indonesia and speak to the government there? Is this how we govern the country? We see a TV show and then we make an announcement! What happened to internat­ional diplomacy? Why couldn't the world's greatest Minister for Foreign Affairs have gone to Indonesia, spoken to his counterpart and tried to sort this matter out? The Indonesians have been slighted by this and we are going to see a kickback not only in the cattle trade but in other trades that we do with their country.

This issue might be burning hot in the retirement homes of the electorate of the member for Makin, but I can tell you that it is burning red hot in the electorate of Parkes. People cannot believe that a government could be so incompetent. I have to say that I do not believe that it is all members of the government. I believe that this side of the House has been hijacked by the loopy left.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.