Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to report on the live export listening tour conducted by the coalition's agricultural policy committee in the week of 5 to 8 March. It began in Adelaide where I attended with the committee chair, Rowan Ramsey, and other members of the committee. We heard from around a hundred South Australian growers, progressing to Western Australia in the electorates of O'Connor and Durack where between 600 and 700 people attended the events, culminating in a huge day on the Friday at the Wagin Woolorama, Western Australia's premiere sheep event.

I want to report on some of the findings of the committee. Firstly, there was anger that Minister Murray Watt has not made the effort to visit regional Western Australia and talk to the farmers whose livelihoods he's about to irrevocably damage. There was also fury that the report of the phase-out panel, which conducted a tour early last year, has not been made public. The feeling of the meeting was that they would be able to re-tender their submission to the coalition committee for tabling in the parliament, which we will do. There was serious frustration that WA farmers are not recognised for exporting the highest animal welfare standards in the world to the world, and there were many heartbreaking stories of the financial pain already being suffered on farms due to the collapse in confidence which has impacted saleyard prices. On the day we were at the Katanning saleyards, over 200 sheep had to be destroyed, as they had no commercial value.