Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens oppose this referral, and that should come as no surprise to anyone in this chamber. The Nationals just can't deal with the fact that this is it. This is it! This is the end of the cruel live export industry which lost its social licence decades ago, and for good reason. It is a barbaric trade that results in the suffering of animals as they are crammed into overcrowded, filthy containers and forced to endure long and gruelling journeys, subjected to extreme temperatures, thirst and hunger, and thousands upon thousands have actually died. There is no need for another inquiry. Everyone knows why this trade must end. The research has been done. Extensive and lengthy stakeholder engagement has been undertaken. The independent panel appointed to investigate a ban on live sheep export has received 800 submissions and over 3,000 survey responses. They met with over 2,000 people and held 96 stakeholder meetings. The 225-page report recommended the phase-out of live sheep export, although of course the Greens would like it to be in 2026 rather than in 2028.

Live exports, we all know, have been in long-term structural decline for decades, and there is now a generous package to transition to the chilled meat trade to provide some sustainability and security. The community knows that sheep are not cargo. Here's why it needs to end. They are not a commodity or a cargo. They are living, breathing, sentient beings, and the horrors inflicted upon them, all for the industry to make profits, are an affront to anything decent and humane. This cruel trade must end, and this cruel trade will end, no matter how many motions the coalition brings into this chamber.

Eighty per cent of submissions to the independent panel supported the end of live export. Eighty-five per cent of submissions to the recent House inquiry supported the end of live sheep export. In 2023, 71 per cent of Western Australians supported the phase-out, including 69 per cent of people in rural and regional areas. In 2022, polling showed that nationally 78 per cent of people support the phase-out of live sheep export. Back in October 2018, I tabled a petition against live sheep exports in the Senate, and it was signed by 238,000 people. That's about 10,000 pages long.

So all the hard work done by the community, animal welfare advocates and activists, whistleblowers and the Greens has finally forced Labor to end live sheep exports, and we're not going to let you undo this historic decision. The motion does nothing other than delay the inevitable. The Nationals are not interested in inquiring into the bill; they just want animal cruelty to continue, and they will not be successful.

I have said this many times, and I will say it again: until this cruel trade ends, live export will remain incompatible with animal welfare, because animal cruelty is at the absolute core of the industry's business model. The coalition would have you believe that animal cruelty is a problem of the past, but that's just plain wrong. In fact, with summer temperatures rising unbearably because of global warming, these ships of misery will get even worse for animals, and no set of standards will make live export ships safe for the sheep. They will still remain ships of misery for the sheep. This cruel trade is irredeemable, and the only option is to shut it down. It was really good to see the bill to end live sheep export pass the House today, and I am looking forward to it coming to the Senate and passing as well, because it is way past time to end live sheep export, and the bill to ensure that must pass immediately.