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

I, too, rise to make a contribution on the amendment foreshadowed by Senator McKenzie. My contribution will be a plea to those on the crossbench. This is not an abstract issue. This is not an issue of simple political games. This affects people and their livelihoods. If you don't believe me, just look at the thousands of farmers and supporters of the sheep industry who turned out in WA. These are not dumb or cruel people. These are not people who are fighting for their lives and livelihoods for the fun of it. This is not a simple issue where you can just, at the stroke of a pen, wipe out a significant part of an industry and expect there to be no consequences. This has real consequences for real people. If you read any of the expert testimony that's been provided, you would realise this is about things like flock structure, which takes eight to 12 years to restructure; seasonal feed availability in WA; and competition in the marketplace.

This will have a devastating impact on regional Western Australia, and all Senator McKenzie's foreshadowed motion is asking for is a proper hearing, because they have not had a proper hearing. The House of Representatives inquiry was truncated. A handful of farmers got to speak. Most of the submissions weren't even read, because there were so many. This was not a proper inquiry. The job of the so-called expert panel that the minister put together did not include looking at whether this was good policy; the panel only looked at how, given that there was going to be a ban, it should be done. Every regional community that expert panel went to said: 'No, there shouldn't be a ban. There can't be a ban. This will destroy our lives and livelihoods. This will destroy generational farming and the sheep industry in Western Australia.' You cannot ignore these voices. So my plea to you is to reconsider. All we're asking for here is an inquiry.