Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before addressing the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Amendment (Animal Welfare) Bill, I will position myself to head off any charge of having a conflict of interest. I am not a vegetarian, even though I do represent many, especially in the Buddhist community. These are the facts. My grandfather was a butcher, my father was a butcher, my uncle was a butcher, my mother once owned a butcher shop, two of my brothers were butchers, another brother worked in an abattoir and my brother-in-law imports and exports meat. For full disclosure, when I was a kid I also worked in my father's butcher shop and then abattoir. When I was a uni student and a school teacher in the eighties and nineties, I spent quite a bit of time mustering for my father when he moved on to running sheep and cattle. For completion, my personal preference would be for all Australian livestock to be slaughtered here under our animal welfare rules by our workers, thus value-adding to the food chain.

I believe the majority of Australians want to see the highest level of animal welfare in this country—in fact, the shadow minister for agriculture, the member for Maranoa, said so on behalf of the coalition in response to the introduction of this Albanese government legislation—whether it's making sure that household pets are being well looked after in homes in every town and city in Australia or that produce animals on farms and stations are being treated humanely, and everywhere in between those.

At the last election, the Labor Party under Anthony Albanese committed to investing $4 million in establishing an independent inspector-general of animal welfare. Why? Because Labor believes in having strong animal welfare standards and in being a government that is true to the promises it made when in opposition. I know the Prime Minister very well, and if he makes a promise, he keeps that promise.

This investment does not just have the support of Australians but also complies with expectations of our trading partners. In the October budget, the Treasurer delivered on that election commitment with $4 million over four years to establish the independent Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports. The Albanese government put the money in the budget, exactly as we said we would do. I note that this is something the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments often overlooked. Their focus was on the announceables instead of the deliverables—puffery before carry-through. The Albanese government underpromises and overdelivers. This commitment of $4 million in funding is the first step in delivering to the Australian people what we promised to do at last year's federal election.

The legislation we are debating right now is the next step in delivering on our promise. The proposed amendments to the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports Act expand the role of the existing Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports to include additional animal-welfare related objectives. These additional functions review the effectiveness of the activities of livestock export officials under animal welfare and live animal export legislation and standards; Commonwealth systems for the administration of live exports under such legislation and standards; the Australian standards for the export of livestock as part of such systems; and Commonwealth reporting relating to animal welfare and livestock export matters.

Why are these changes needed? The additional objects and functions proposed in this bill will help to increase the oversight, accountability and transparency of animal welfare in exported livestock. Importantly, it delivers on the government commitment to strengthen animal welfare.

These reforms form part of a suite of measures that the Albanese government is implementing to respond to the growing expectations from Australians and our trading partners in terms of prioritising animal welfare. The Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports will be complemented by $5 million in funding from the recent budget to renew the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy.

For too long there's been an absence of leadership on animal welfare at the federal level. The Commonwealth, sadly, has been missing in action for nearly nine years. I note the member for Clark talked about the 43rd Parliament and the endeavours there by a former Labor government. No-one should be really surprised at the fact that things have been quiet for nine years, as the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments lacked leadership when it came to courageous reform. Sadly, few things have changed for the opposition, and their go-to happy place seems to be saying no to everything. They have become defined by what they are not. They have no vision, and, as the proverb says, where there is no vision, the people perish. However, that is a problem for the current Leader of the Opposition. We'll get on with the job of sensible government.

Therefore, the Albanese Labor government is delivering this renewed strategy that cements a national approach to animal welfare. It will provide a vision for the welfare of all animals in Australia. The establishment of the inspector-general will signal our commitment to a modern, sustainable and science based approach to animal welfare. Taking proactive steps to prioritise animal welfare just makes sense. Industry acknowledges it, the community knows it, our farmers know it and our trading partners expect it more and more.

No-one wants to see those distressing videos that we all sat through back in 2011, when Four Corners exposed the treatment of some of the animals shipped from our shores to overseas abattoirs—well, except maybe the former member for Boothby, Nicolle Flint, who attacked the ABC for a lack of balance in its reporting on the issue in a column back in 2013. At the time, the former member for Boothby's argument boiled down to this: 'Well, if it isn't Australian animals being mistreated, it will just be other animals. You know these animals are being used for food, and it doesn't matter if they are mistreated, because they are just going to be eaten anyway'—not coming from a butchering family, obviously. The Liberals and Nationals love to attack the ABC when it just does its job.

Unlike the former member for Boothby and the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments, the Albanese Labor government and Minister Watt will address these challenges. We committed to this before the last election, and we are seeing that commitment through. This bill is a sensible step to guarantee the regulator is playing its part in ensuring that Australia meets these expectations. I commend the legislation to the House.

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