Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Rhiannon for her interest in the live animal export industry. In 2011, I commissioned the first complete review of the export of Australian livestock. This review made a number of recommendations, which this government accepted. Many of those recommendations have already been acted on, such as the rollout of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System and the review of Australian standards for the export of livestock.

The new framework for exports requires evidence that animals will be processed and handled in accordance with internationally agreed standards and also enables the continuation of the highly valuable trade by placing it on a sustainable footing and by ensuring that the Australian livestock industry meets the community's expectations. The framework provides an increased level of transparency and accountability from the point of export to the point of processing, and exporters must show they have a supply-chain assurance system that delivers internationally agreed standards of control, traceability and independent auditing.

Mr Farmer, in his review, also made a recommendation that the federal government should look at the conditions for the export of breeder animals and determine if any further conditions should be placed on this trade. As part of the government's response to the Farmer review recommendations, we will review conditions for the export trade in breeder livestock. The review found that breeder animals are a different class of animal from feeder or slaughter livestock and are exported for different purposes. They are inherently more expensive animals, and they are intended to improve the productivity and genetic pool of livestock in the importing country and to maximise returns on the initial investment. (Time expired)