Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment (Dairy Cattle Export Charge) Bill 2020. Live animal exports are an important part of our agricultural sector, contributing an average of $1.7 billion in export earnings annually and employing more than 13,000 people—that is, more than 13,000 Australians rely on the live animal export industry for their jobs and their livelihoods, particularly across rural and regional Australia. This is certainly the case in the Northern Territory, northern Queensland, and over in Western Australia, where our producers and live-export supply chains support South-East Asian and Middle Eastern market exports. Approximately 80 per cent of live cattle exports are sent from the north.

To reiterate the significance of this industry to rural, regional and remote northern Australia: when former Minister Joe Ludwig suspended the live cattle export trade overnight in mid-2011, our producers were in the middle of their annual muster. About 40,000 head of cattle were on trucks, in holding yards or already on their way to Indonesia. Overnight, producers suddenly couldn't sell their cattle. They kept them on, on their properties. To compound the pain of no income, many of the producers didn't even get a wet season that year. Pasture declined, and the condition of the cattle declined. They were put down or producers had to pay to ship them south to domestic abattoirs, when and if they could. In the Northern Territory alone, tens of thousands of head were shot in the paddock or died before they could be. People took their own lives. There was severe distress. That is what Labor and the Greens did, and they have no shame. They have no remorse. Although the former minister did realise the impact of his kneejerk reaction, the damage to Australian producers and their families, our regional communities and our Indonesian trading partners, was well and truly done.

I have many friends in Indonesia: I have friends that are cattle producers, I have friends that are veterinarians and I have friends that are ordinary Indonesians. Madam Deputy President Walsh, I can't stress to you enough how this impacted them. They would say to me: 'Why has Australia done this to us? What have we done to you that you are taking away our food supply? Why do you hate us?' I commend our government for not appealing the Brett Cattle Company case that came out of that decision to suspend the trade. We've chosen not to put these families through any more hurt and turmoil. They have suffered enough.

I am proud to be part of a government committed to supporting an economically and socially sustainable live-export sector which will always make decisions based on robust science, not fantasy and emotion. This government condemns cruelty to animals, as do I. We have world-class animal welfare standards in Australia, absolutely world-class. We're committed to growing the value of Australian agriculture by facilitating trade and increasing market access, including supporting a strong and sustainable livestock export industry that underpins the livelihoods of farm families—again, particularly in our rural, regional and remote areas. At the same time, this government remains strongly committed to ensuring exceptional welfare standards are maintained in this trade and across all aspects of farming and animal production in this country. The overwhelming majority of livestock export voyages are undertaken without incident; however—