Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's very disappointing we didn't get to speak on the Animal Export Legislation Amendment (Ending Long-haul Live Sheep Exports) Bill in a second reading debate. I would have liked to have made a second reading contribution on an issue that has the potential to cost the Western Australian agricultural community an extraordinary amount of money, taken directly out of the hands of thousands of WA farming families. I think it is a great shame that we weren't able to continue the second reading debate and be able to make contributions. I know that a number of other people in this place also wished to make a contribution on this bill at the second reading stage. Instead, we've had that debate gagged and have moved into the committee stage of the bill.

I have a number of questions for the proponents of this bill, which I hope they will take the time and make an effort to answer, because they are very important questions in my home state of Western Australia, and in South Australia, where the agriculture sector also relies significantly on this industry—in fact, for the entire agriculture industry across Australia. The livestock industry—not just sheep but the entire livestock industry across Australia—would like answers to some very important questions.

I will begin by acknowledging some of the contributions of those on this side of the chamber. In particular, there was an excellent contribution at the second reading stage from Senator Smith—another great Western Australia senator who understands the importance of this industry to the agriculture sector, particularly in West Australian but also in South Australia and in the wider Australian agricultural economy. I also acknowledge the contributions from Senators Hume and Leyonhjelm, which were excellent enunciations of the importance of the industry to Western Australia as a whole.

This industry is worth $1.4 billion to the Western Australia economy. It's not just about dollars. We all understand the shocking nature of the footage that was placed on TV. The industry—and I have spoken to many farmers about this—was shocked by it. My family has been involved in agriculture in Western Australia since 1830. In fact, my family was involved in the first live export to Western Australia, in a way—that is, from England to Western Australia. My forebear sailed to Western Australia in 1829 with around 40 merino sheep and from there took up a holding of land in part of the Swan River colony and helped to start what is a great industry for this nation and for my home state of Western Australia. So, that $1.4 billion is not just dollars, and we're not just putting up dollars versus the cruelty that we saw in those shots. We've got to remember that underneath that $1.4 billion there are around 5,500 sheep-producing businesses in Western Australia. Our family farm has been in sheep for a significant part of my life. In fact, particularly when my father transitioned from cattle to sheep in the early 1980s, it's been a very big part of my agricultural life. My family, and our family farm, has sold a significant number of sheep to the live export trade.

This bill will impact directly on those families. Trying to pretend that in some way displacing this trade to the chilled trade is going to make up the difference is simply pedalling a lie and a fantasy that will not happen. Globally, around 100 countries export livestock. The major place in which livestock is exported across borders is in fact Europe. Europe sees the most significant trade of animals across national borders in the world. Western Australia has been part of the live export trade for a very long time. One of the things that our family farm exported many, many years ago was horses for the Imperial British Army, of all things. So we've got a long history in animal welfare and live export.

Farmers were shocked by that footage. Farmers were as shocked by that footage as every single person in the city who saw it and was sent one of the emails that all of us received. Farmers care about their livestock. There was no time on the farm that I enjoyed more than shearing time. Shearing time was when there would be more people around, more activity. You would see how the economics of an individual farm fed out into the community. You would have the shed hands. You would have the shearers. You would have in one place all the people who rely on a vibrant, active agricultural community in the bush for the ongoing success and viability of rural communities. Shearing time is a wonderful time. But the reality is—