Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

During the winter break, I embarked on a journey of over 7,500 kilometres, visiting 12 regional towns and communities where Western Australians told me that the government's live sheep export phase-out package does not go far enough. Let me tell you about Judith, a generational sheep farmer near the small town of Pumphreys Bridge, 164 kilometres south-east of Perth. I visited her farm, and do you know what she said to me about this transition package? She told me, 'Transition to what?' She can't just start farming cattle; it will cost her $2 million to upgrade the fencing alone. She can't just sell to the abattoirs; they're turning sheep away because they're at capacity. She can't just grow crops; her farm fields are perfect for grazing, not for crop harvesting. The impact doesn't stop at the farm gates. It cascades down to the shearers, truck drivers, crutchers, earmarkers and small businesses. These people rely on the farming communities for their survival.

Max from the town of Esperance told me the four-year phase-out should be at least eight years, if not 10, as the inquiry recommended. I heard the same thing in Katanning from Mayor D'Aprile and local farmers like Ian and Justin. They said that the $107 million package is nowhere near enough and that $300 million would be a more realistic figure to help communities transition to new forms of farming and vocational training. To put this into perspective, the wise men and women of the east might understand sheep farming is to Katanning what coalmining is to the Hunter Valley; it is the lifeblood of these communities.

There are valid arguments both for and against live exports, but my primary objective now is achieving a fair outcome for WA farmers. I implore the Minister for Agriculture to join me in visiting WA sheep farmers and listening to the voices from the ground. (Time expired)