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

I rise today to update the Senate briefly on the current state of the live sheep export trade, which is predominantly from my home state of Western Australia. I do so to report some positive news and some disturbing revelations that have come to light in the other place. I will start with the positive news.

Since the resumption of the trade there have been some 714,141 sheep loaded in the Fremantle port. Sheep mortality across all those 11 voyages was 1,867—that is, a 0.26 per cent sheep mortality rate. I've said many times in this place and in many other public forums that, once the sheep export trade got underway again, it could prove that it could be done in a sustainable and humane way, and that is what the industry has proved. That mortality rate is extraordinary for 714,000 sheep. I think those of us on this side of the chamber—we who know the economic importance of the trade, the importance of protein to our markets and the serious way that farmers and exporters treat animal welfare—should be extraordinarily pleased with those numbers.

Yesterday there were some revelations in the other place though from my good friend and colleague Mr Rick Wilson, the member for O'Connor, about the cash-for-cruelty scandal that is engulfing some radical activist groups, including Animals Australia. Media reports earlier this year stated the amount paid to the crew member who procured the footage that outraged so many Australians—and I absolutely acknowledge that it did outrage Australians. Media reports earlier this year claimed that some $38,000 had exchanged hands. In the other place the member for O'Connor revealed that new evidence suggests that the crew member was paid up to $175,000 to procure that footage. Absolutely damning emails between the crew member and Animals Australia have surfaced, detailing a shopping list of footage that they were willing to pay for. One email included 'key instructions' for filming:

In another leaked email, there was an offer from the crew member to disable ventilation fans on board to induce heat stress in sheep.

A payment of up to $175,000 is an extraordinary revelation, and I absolutely back up the call from my good friend and colleague from Western Australia Senator Smith, who brought this matter to the attention of the ACNC earlier this year. This is something that requires urgent investigation. It is not acceptable behaviour from an organisation with tax-deductible status to offer these kinds of sums in exchange for footage. It is an absolute disgrace to the organisation and a blot—a stain—on the charitable status of other organisations as well. It's something that must be addressed urgently.

I remind the chamber of the importance of this industry to my home state of Western Australia. Live sheep exports are worth around $1.5 billion to the Western Australian economy. There are around 5½ thousand sheep-producing businesses in Western Australia. More than 100 countries around the world export livestock. We are the only country that regulates specific animal-welfare outcomes. As I have said a number of times, in this place and in many other forums, we do not only export sheep, we export animal welfare. The interconnection between the export trade and the domestic trade is vital, and important to the ongoing capacity of the Western Australian farming community to produce the high-quality lamb and mutton and wool that this nation loves so much. Western Australia's sheep flock is around 14.6 million, which is up 2.6 per cent year on year. Now that's not surprising, because the sheep industry is undergoing somewhat of a renaissance. Following the collapse of the Wool Reserve Price Scheme, the industry underwent a long period of extraordinarily difficult structural adjustment. For the last six to eight years it's been on a very solid upward trajectory. I notice Senator Reynolds has entered the chamber, and, as a proud Western Australian, I'm sure she would support me in this. The upturn in the sheep industry in Western Australia has resulted in much more income, wealth, and activity in those small regional communities that we love so much.

This is a trade that is sustainable. It can be done in a well-regulated manner, as we have seen from the 11 ships that have departed Fremantle since November last year. We still have some challenges ahead. The industry understands that, and the industry is committed both to openness and to continuous improvement. Currently, we're on a three-month voluntary suspension, that is, a three-month voluntary moratorium, for the Northern Hemisphere summer. That was something that those on this side supported and that the industry actually brought forward. We are looking forward to seeing the trade start up again on 1 September this year. I understand the regulator is going to hand down a decision on that today—hopefully I haven't missed that announcement while I've been speaking, and hopefully it will align with 1 September. I'm certainly hopeful that that date of 1 September does see the resumption of the trade once more.

In my final few moments I wish to emphasise once again that a sum of $175,000 to collect footage—a laundry list of cruelty where the crew member has actually offered to disable ventilation fans on board—is an extraordinary accusation against an organisation in Australia with charitable status. I call on the ACNC to examine this matter thoroughly but in the most expeditious manner possible, because I do not think that that is something the Australian people would accept.