David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Given Labor's rationale for banning live sheep exports is based on animal welfare, can the Prime Minister name one country that has higher animal welfare standards for live exports than Australia?

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Riverina will cease interjecting. Members on my left, the time to interject is not before a minister or the Prime Minister speaks. Trust me.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the National Party for his question, and I thank him for his engagement up there at beef week in Rocky last week. Of course, he could have a chat to the person just sitting next to him, I reckon, to get an answer for this, because in 2018 the member for Farrer introduced a private member's bill to ban the live export of sheep: live sheep export prohibition bill 2018. If he doesn't want to trust the member for Farrer, he could wander down to the member for La Trobe, because good old Jase down there was on board—not a lot of sheep in La Trobe.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Prime Minister will pause. The Prime Minister will refer to members by their correct titles.

Opposition members interjecting—

Order! Members on my right will cease interjecting so I can hear from the Leader of the Nationals on a point of order.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My point of order is on relevance, Mr Speaker. The question was very tight: I asked the Prime Minister to name one country—one country—that has higher animal welfare standards than Australia.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order, the Leader of the House?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The first part of the question referred to the rationale for the policy, and it's completely in order to talk about those on the opposition benches who have called for that rationale and have called for that ban.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order. The Speaker cannot direct the form that an answer must have. Standing orders do not provide for that. I understand that the Leader of the Nationals would like a specific answer—in this case, about a country. Sometimes it's a yes/no answer; I understand that—yes, I understand that. The standing orders, which he knows and which every single member is aware of—and which I have explained to many members could be changed, if they wish, and also the process for doing that; no-one has taken me up on that offer from either side of the parliament!—at the moment are that the Prime Minister has to be directly relevant, if he were talking about another topic. I'm going to allow him to give some context at the beginning. He's had less than one minute into the question. He can't make his answer all about the opposition or what they have done, but I'm going to allow him now to return to the question.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I couldn't put it better than by saying that ending live sheep exports can be 'a win for both animal welfare and business'. That was the title of the member for Farrer's opinion piece back there, arguing the case.

One of the things that the member knows in asking this question is that, to quote another person, Senator Henderson—and it appears you could have all of this discussion in shadow cabinet:

If any person in Australia crammed sheep into a transport vehicle for 25 days—

An honourable member interjecting—

For 25 days!

… for 25 days in the searing heat with limited access to food and water, standing in their own excrement, that person would be charged with animal cruelty.

An honourable member interjecting—

He's very angry at his fellow shadow cabinet members. The fact is that what we have done is that we went to an election and committed to this, we went to another election and committed to this, and we were elected. We then had a review with appropriate recommendations. We have provided over $100 million for transition to support the industry—to support the changes that will be required for a clear transition, with time over the next four years in which to transition.