Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Hunter for bringing this motion forward. Indeed, nobody condones cruelty to animals, of any sort. No abattoirs are nice places. No abattoir in Australia or in other parts of the world are nice places. But we have become so sterilised as a society to the fact that sometimes you actually have to kill animals so that you can use them as food—it is terrible, I know. I represent the electorate of Lyons, which takes up about 50 per cent of the state of Tasmania and a big proportion of it is arable agricultural land. Whilst not directly exporting live sheep or cattle at the moment, the decisions made by the previous government impacted on farmers and businesses in my electorate and in the state of Tasmania, as it did across much of eastern Australia.

My constituents and I know how vital agriculture is to the Tasmanian and Australian economy. I have had many representations and indeed genuine concerns, and I do respect and understand those concerns that are raised. But these are isolated incidents and they are not reflective of a well managed trade. As a nation we are a net exporter of agricultural produce, estimated to be worth more than $40 billion this financial year. Our produce is among the best in the world. Our enviable pest- and disease-free status gives our farmers a unique advantage over many of their competitors. The member for Hunter, in raising this issue this morning of Australia's animal welfare standards in the live export sector, and his criticism in fact of the sector is nothing more that classic Labor window dressing.

The facts are that the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System reported this year that Australia has been exporting livestock for more than 100 years. We are the second biggest exporter of live sheep and the fifth biggest exporter of live cattle in the world. We produce some of the highest quality sustainably produced livestock in the world. The reality is that we are providing some of the highest quality, safest and most affordable protein for millions of families all over the world. Since the introduction of the ESCAS scheme, Australia has exported eight million head of livestock to 18 countries in 1,139 consignments, with 22 incidents of animal welfare concerns being raised. None, of course, is acceptable, but any realistic person would have to admit that it is an outstanding record.

Nobody condones animal cruelty. No country invests more than Australia in improving animal welfare outcomes in the markets that we supply. Take Australia out of that system and animal welfare outcomes will be poorer. Nobody cares more for animal welfare than our farmers. The live export animal trade is essential to the livelihood of thousands of Australian families and underpins the economies of many communities across the country. The trade is essential to providing competition in the domestic meat processing sector and is an essential source of income for the farming communities involved. The government and the industry have been working together to open new export markets and to improve the market access for Australian livestock in existing markets, such as the free trade agreements that we have signed in China, Japan and South Korea.

Since the government came to office in September 2013, the value of live animal exports has risen from $1.4 billion and continues to rise. We understand that our customers value continuity of supply so we have worked particularly hard to repair the damage done to our international reputation as a reliable supplier by the previous government. Goodness knows the damage that was done and the knock-on effect to Tasmania. Never again should we allow policy to be dictated by social media populist campaigns with no regard for the farming families, no regard for the businesses that support those things and no regard for the customers that we supply.

Government and industry continue to work hard with our trading partners to improve animal handling and husbandry skills and improve animal welfare outcomes; we are doing it all the time. Industry is in fact reporting many of these breaches. We have trained more than 7,000 people. Industry is continuing to upgrade facilities in the countries we supply to meet international animal welfare standards. Our shared commitment to this work is ongoing. No country invests more in our markets than Australia. Australian livestock exports are an important economic contributor to regional Australia, adding significantly to the total value of Australian farm exports.

Australia's leadership in the trade has provided a significant opportunity to positively influence animal welfare conditions in importing countries and continues to do so. In fact, the World Organisation for Animal Health has said that the Australian livestock export industry is leading the world in animal welfare and that the industry's investment in improving implementation of OIE welfare standards has its full support. I welcome the investment by the AACo in northern Australia to open the abattoir there. Indeed, for some customers that is going to be appropriate, but for many it is not.

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