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

I rise to speak on the same matter, and I thank Senator Roberts for taking notice of this document. It is very clear that Australia has the highest standards of animal welfare in the transportation of animals, and in other areas, in the world. It's very clearly demonstrated by the MV Bahijah incident that those animal welfare standards can be maintained even in the face of the decision, in this case, to turn around a boat and bring it back to the port of Fremantle. In fact, this is an exemplary example of the industry actually dealing with a serious issue in a way that takes into account the highest standards of animal welfare, and I congratulate those in the industry involved.

The statistics that are revealed in this particular document show that Australia's animal welfare standards are the highest in the world and that the live export industry in fact delivers outcomes that are quite extraordinarily positive and continuing to get better—and not just over a short period of time. You can take these statistics back to the 1980s, and you can see that animal welfare standards have been improving throughout that period of time.

Now, some people—in particular, the minister—want to claim that the industry is in decline, and certainly the industry did shrink on the back of successive government regulatory decisions, but that is actually not an industry in decline. In fact, we have at the moment a live export industry in sheep, predominantly from my home state of WA, which is actually growing. We've seen renewed interest from Saudi Arabia, which has now joined the ESCAS, and therefore has improved its own animal welfare system as a result.

As I've said in this place on many occasions, Australia does not merely export live animals; we export animal welfare standards. By exporting those animal welfare standards we actually improve conditions for animals that weren't just raised in Australia but raised around the world. When an abattoir improves its animal welfare handling practices, it doesn't just do it for Australian sheep and cattle; it does it for all sheep and cattle that are handled through that facility. By exporting animals, we're actually exporting the highest standards in the world to other jurisdictions, and that's something that should never be forgotten.

In this country, we see an extreme amount of disinformation and misinformation coming from the radical animal welfare groups. I've talked in this place about Animals Australia before, and I've talked about the RSPCA before. It is with a very heavy heart that I have to label the RSPCA a radical animal activist group, but that is what they've become. Their business model is now like Animals Australia's business model. They produce donations off the back of footage of animal cruelty. There is ample evidence on the public record that animal cruelty is being paid for. Large sums of money were exchanged in relation to the footage procured from the Awassi Express. The Awassi Express has been cited by this minister, the minister in this Labor government, as one of the reasons for the banning of the live-export trade. We have a direct link between Animals Australia and the procurement through large amounts of money of footage of cruelty, which is then used to raise more money. This is a business model that should not be able to be practised in this country. It is a disgrace. The fact that Animals Australia still has a privileged relationship with the department of agriculture is also a disgrace, and it should be stopped at the earliest possible opportunity. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.