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

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. The live animal export industry is systemically cruel, not in Australia's economic self-interest and lacks popular support. But here we are again with yet another expose on television of serious animal abuse, this time involving more sheep in the Middle East. Why will you not shut this vile trade down? And if you will not, will you change the sign on your door to read 'Minister for Animal Cruelty'?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. Regarding the live animal trade, Australia is a leader in the ESCAS system. Australia is a leader. There is no other country in the world that has the ESCAS system, and there are over 100 countries in the world that participate in live animal exports.

It might also be noted that we did an audit in the last year, for which there was over 99 per cent compliance on the over eight million animals that have been exported. It is also incredibly important that people get a fair price at the farm gate, and what the live animal export trade allows is another buyer on the rails, another participator, so that we get fairness and transparency in pricing and make sure that we do not have just the major processors solely dominating the Australian market. It is only a small part of our exports—it is less than eight per cent of our beef exports, so it is not put processing workers at threat; it actually complements them.

I might also say that even today I have had people from the Indigenous community—or some might call it the Aboriginal community—in my office saying how vitally important the live export trade is to them, because it brings real social dignity back into their communities in a form that allows them to be part of the economy in the areas in which they choose to live.

As for monitoring the process, we are always doing that. If people are not abiding by the rules, then we always reserve the right to cancel their licences. We have continual conversations with them. I personally ring up the live exporters to make sure that they are abiding by the rules and, if there are concerns, to make sure that they explain them to me.

But I will say that we do not intend to cease live animal exports. We do not intend to once more go down that disastrous road that broke relationships with our nearest neighbours and which absolutely confounded people who were relying on us to be part of their food equation. We supply protein to the streets of Jakarta, Bogor and Yogyakarta and make sure that those people in the Middle East feel that they have a connection to our capacity to deliver food to their tables for their families. We are never going to be as conceited as the honourable member desires.