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

I actually went to Beef Week, Senator Davey. I don't think you were there. As to Senator Birmingham's question, yes, I have categorically and repeatedly ruled out phasing out or banning live cattle exports from this country, as has the Prime Minister. Our policy has only ever been in relation to live sheep exports, and that is the way it remains.

Senator McKenzie raises the issue of the outstanding class action around live cattle exports, and that is something I have said many times that I would like to see resolved. What Senator McKenzie and her National Party colleagues won't tell you is that their government ran that case to trial over several years and never put up a single dollar to settle that case. In contrast, the Albanese government has already offered over $200 million to settle that case, a significant amount of taxpayers' money and much more than the National Party or Liberal Party ever did.

The National Party are hypocrites. They want to pretend they're supporting farmers while they ran down the live sheep export trade and while they ran the live cattle export decision all the way to court, year after year after year.