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

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Watt. The National Farmers Federation has warned that the government shutdown of live sheep exports legitimises extreme animal activism at the expense of farmers and their families, demonstrating that no agricultural industry is truly safe from ideology driven policies if it means scoring political points. Given the live sheep trade has increased by more than 40 per cent since 2021-22, who in the WA farming community did you consult with about the timing of your announcement, and will you now concede that your government's decision to ban the trade is simply the ideological agenda of animal activists?

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

Thank you, Senator McKenzie, for giving me an opportunity to talk about the facts regarding the Albanese government's policy to phase out live sheep exports and to phase in more value-adding to Australian livestock products. What we're about in the country, in this government, is actually about more value-adding and delivering more jobs in agriculture, in manufacturing and in every other industry. Unfortunately, the National Party are yet to come to that point—that they actually support creating jobs onshore in Australia through more value-adding.

There are a number of subquestions in what Senator McKenzie was asking.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Minister Watt, please continue.

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

There are so many things this is apparently about! What this is about is delivering an election commitment. What this is about is delivering an election commitment that we took to the last two elections—to phase out a trade that collapsed under the National Party leadership of the agricultural portfolio. That's what happened with this trade. We know that Senator McKenzie, Mr Littleproud and all the Nats are working themselves up about this policy. What they haven't told the farmers of Western Australia is that, over the decades the Liberals and Nationals were in government, live sheep exports by sea decreased by 1.5 million head, amounting to $144 million. If you want to talk about getting rid of the trade of live exports of sheep, maybe have a look at your own record. You reduced the exports of live sheep by 1.5 million over your decade in office, valued at $144 million.

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

I have a point of order on relevance. I actually asked: who in the WA farming community did he consult with when he decided to shut this trade down?

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You did indeed, Senator McKenzie. And there was also an introductory paragraph that went to a whole range of matters, and the minister is being directly relevant. Please continue, Minister.

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

I'm happy to specifically answer that point from Senator McKenzie. I have personally met with representative groups for sheep farmers and with sheep farmers themselves on at least a dozen occasions over the two years that I've held this role. I've met them in Perth. I've met them in Canberra. And we appointed an independent panel who spent several months meeting with these people face to face.

Of course, we're not alone in wanting to see live sheep exports phased out. It was only in 2018 that Senator Henderson, as the then member for Corangamite, said that the sensible path for both sides of the debate is to construct a carefully considered transition to ending the trade permanently. We know there are Liberals who support this. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, first supplementary?

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

The Animal Justice Party posted the following statement on their website following your announcement, Minister: 'We're proud that the Animal Justice Party could deliver the knockout blow by demanding the end of the live sheep export as a requirement for our preferences at the Dunkley by-election in March. Ongoing conversations behind the scenes between the Animal Justice Party and Labor leadership has helped fine tune government policy.' Minister, why did you sell out sheep farmers from WA for preferences in the east coast Melbourne by-election?

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

For starters, we're not selling out the sheep industry in Western Australia or anywhere else. We're actually investing $107 million to provide more value-adding and more onshore processing and more exports and more domestic sales of lamb.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator McKenzie, you've asked your question. You've been extremely vocal. I'm asking you to listen in silence. Minister, please continue.

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

I've seen this argument pushed out over the last few hours by the National Party and some of their supporters in the agricultural sector—that apparently the Labor Party did a deal with the Animal Justice Party for a by-election in 2024 to deliver a commit that we first announced back in 2019. We announced the commitment in 2019. We re-announced it in 2022. We've said all along we're going to deliver it. But apparently it was the preference deal we did in 2024, according to the National Party, that was the killer blow, that was the influence. It is absolute nonsense. It is another lie being peddled by the National Party to prop up a trade that has been declining—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, I'm going to ask you to withdraw that.

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

Okay, I'll withdraw that. It is another misrepresentation by the National Party to prop up a trade that has been in decline for 20 years, particularly while they were in office. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, second supplementary?

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

At a time when Labor shamelessly refuses to settle the live export class action from its unlawful ban back in 2011 and the Animal Justice Party has boasted that its next political win will be to end live cattle exports, will the minister today unequivocally rule out a ban on the Australian live cattle export industry?

Perin Davey (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Go back to Beef Week!

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Davey, order!

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to 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.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator McKenzie, you are being extremely disruptive and disorderly.