Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

It is correct to identify that I have been working with industry on this very issue since at least as early as January, when I wrote to the industry. I understand that letter is in the public domain. They did come back with a plan. I am certain Senator Macdonald can obtain the plan from them. I indicate that I did not endorse that plan. As I have continuously said, the plan itself did not go far enough and the timelines it contained were too short to warrant its endorsement. What the industry failed to realise in particular was that the action plan that they provided to my office was not sufficient to provide me with any confidence that they were going to address this issue in the short and near term. As a consequence, I have now had to suspend the live animal export industry to ensure that we can quickly move to a situation where animal welfare is dealt with appropriately and where we can then resume the trade with a supply chain assurance in place—that is, ensuring that we can track and trace animals from the point of departure to the point of slaughter. Without both of those systems in place, there is no confidence that the industry will be able to restart the trade shortly—not until and unless they address those two requirements. Failure to reform this industry will mean that, in areas of the Northern Territory and Western Australia, unemployment is likely and, certainly, the industry will be under stress. (Time expired)