Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

Prior to my contribution, I wish to add senators to this motion who've come to me since it's been lodged. In addition to National Party Senators Davey, Canavan, Nampijinpa Price, McDonald and Cadell, I'd like to add Senators Brockman, O'Sullivan, Reynolds, Cash and McGrath. I, and also on behalf of Senators Davey, McDonald, Nampijinpa Price, Canavan, Cadell, Brockman, O'Sullivan, Reynolds, Cash and McGrath, move:

That the provisions of the Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill 2024 be referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 25 November 2024.

Here we have another tick-and-flick, cheap-and-dirty attempt by the Labor Party to consult the communities they have continued to abuse for over two years after coming to power. The pathway to the Lodge for Anthony Albanese was paved through Western Australia. What has he done? East coast Labor has turned their back on the west. How have they done this? They have instigated the ban on live sheep trade forthwith.

In Senate estimates, the minister made it very clear: 'It is Senate inquiries that do the legislation inquiries, and I'm sure that will happen.' Well, Minister Watt, now it is time to stand up for the agriculture community. Now is the time to actually put your political muscle and mouth—which is always on show—to work. Give us the Senate inquiry that you promised industry and that industry, our exporters, our producers and our regional communities, particularly in Western Australia, have requested after the absolute sham process in the other place, which was an abomination and a shame on what should be good consultation.

This government, time and time again, has made decision after decision that undermines the legitimacy and the strength and the prosperity of our mighty agriculture industry. As Australia's first female agriculture minister and having had the great privilege of serving the industry and serving our country, I know firsthand what a world-class live sheep export industry we have out of the west. In terms of servicing culturally appropriate protein to the Middle East, you love to talk about cultural appropriation but not when talking about how the Middle East communities would like to receive their food and what sort of industry we have, which is absolutely world-class.

I had the great privilege to head over to Muresk, in the great state of WA, for the second of those Senate inquiries, to hear directly from primary producers, from advocacy bodies, from local champions, from those employing thousands of people in the West. And don't think this is a west coast problem. When this occurs, as is already happening, it's having a flow-on impact to the east coast industry as well. In Muresk, the Keep the Sheep campaign spokesperson, Benno, was very clear: 'The clear message we want to send today, come and look us in the eye and see the people you're hurting. Listen to our stories. Do you think you know better than us?' Thank you, Benno. It's the transport operator. It's the supply chain. It's not just the primary producers. Glenn Sterle comes in here and talks a big game backing truckies. Now is his opportunity to do that. He could actually chair the legislation inquiry that the minister has promised and that the Senate and these communities deserve.

The Keep the Sheep petition has over 44,000 signatures in a single week. It's up to 60,000 now. Log onto any of our Facebook pages if you want to show your support for this great, world-class industry. Brownie also said, 'Labor is actually wanting to take away our livelihoods and potentially our lives.' We heard from farmer Leanne Dring: 'This was a line-in-the-sand moment. I never thought that at the age of 60 I would have to fight for a social licence to feed the world.' Well, under Anthony Albanese and Murray Watt, that's exactly what you have to do. He'll come in and say, 'We had an election commitment, and we're going through with it.' At least have the decency to look these people in the eye and give them the opportunity to put their case. Over 13,000 submissions were received to the House of Representatives inquiry. They haven't even been able to be uploaded and publicly available. If that happened in one of the Greens' or the Labor Party's Senate inquiries, there would be an uproar that we were silencing the people. But, when it is an industry that underpins the regions and the seven million of us that live out there, this government doesn't care. This motion is about giving them a voice.