Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens again make jokes as I speak about the sanctity of human life, because they have no comprehension of what life is like outside their capital city ivory tower. Certainly, you don't get crocodiles on Bondi Beach. You don't worry about them there. But you can pass judgement on those who have to live in these areas, and more importantly tourists who used to go there and enjoy the northern beaches but are scared to do so now, because of the attitude of the Greens political party, who really call the shots for the Queensland Labor government in allowing crocodiles to run wild and humans to take their chances. I'm sorry: I'm a great animal lover, but I'm one of those people who do believe in the sanctity of human life. I believe that human beings are more important than animals, and the same applies to these live animal exports.

We can do both. By regulations, as we've done in the cattle industry, we can ensure that cattle who are transhipped are transhipped in good conditions that don't impact upon their welfare. In the cattle trade we've taken that even further. We've ensured that the abattoirs and the killing arrangements in countries beyond Australia have been forced to meet Australian standards. We've done that by contract. We can't regulate in other countries where we have no jurisdiction, but by contract we can ensure that our cattle being exported live are treated humanely and are slaughtered humanely, as they are in Australia.

I know there are some people who don't believe that we should kill any animals for food, and I appreciate their philosophy and their right to do that. But most of us like a good steak, like our lamb chops, like our lamb cutlets, like our lamb roast and like our pork roasts and, of course, to get them you have to slaughter an animal.

In Australia for many, many decades we have ensured that our abattoirs are humane and that the killing of the animals is done in a way that is very humane and that the animal doesn't really even know what's happening. We have exported our standards and our humanity towards animals to those countries to which we export both live sheep and cattle. The TV program that has generated concern around the countryside, and has mobilised GetUp! to get their emails working, was disgusting. No Australian would deny that. What I was more disgusted about was that the regulations that were in place before were not properly administered, and that's something the administering authorities and those responsible should be held to account for.

As a result of that, there will be new regulations on the live export of sheep, which will ensure the welfare of those animals. At the same time, it will allow the human beings—the people who live because of that trade and those who are employed because of that trade—to continue in their way of a livelihood and a job.

The government supports farmers who rely on live export and the exporters who do the right things. I have to say, most of the exporters do fall into that category and they do the right thing. The government is committed to providing the standards of animal welfare that Australians respect. I must pay credit to Minister Littleproud for the proactive way he has handled this issue in his first few days as minister. I commend to the Senate the speech by my colleague Senator O'Sullivan, who went through this very clinically. I would suggest that Senator O'Sullivan knows the animal trade better than anyone in this chamber—perhaps not as well as Senator Williams, but Senator O'Sullivan and Senator Williams know the ins and outs of these trades.

Our farmers, the Australian community more broadly and our trading partners must be able to have confidence in our livestock export industry, and the measures the minister and the government are taking will ensure that that confidence is there and that the welfare of animals is paramount. It can be done. You can have the best of both worlds. Without being personal, those who speak in this debate from the Greens political party and the Labor Party have no idea of the contribution that the live cattle and live sheep exports make to our country. They have no idea, and they care little about the families and the people who rely on these industries and whose welfare, livelihoods and futures depend upon a continuation of these export industries.

The government will ensure that the regulations—as we've done with cattle—give paramount importance to the welfare of animals, because the way Australia does it is far better than any other exporter of live animals. If Australia were not in the business, these other exporters would have their own way without the regulations, without the concern and without the conditions imposed upon exporters of Australian animals. Those who have spoken are, perhaps, a bit nationalistic when it comes to the welfare of animals: their concern is only for the welfare of Australian animals, not the welfare of animals around the world. But Australia leading the way will promote the welfare of animals by example and by sheer foresight. By example, we will demonstrate to other shippers from other countries that this is the way it should be done. That must be a real gain for the welfare of animals across the world.

The government will continue to improve regulations to ensure the welfare of animals exported live. But we will do that while at the same time ensuring that these very, very valuable export industries for Australia and for the families and communities that rely on these exports are looked after by the Australian government. That's what the government is here to do, and that's what we will continue to do.