Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the Horse Disease Response Levy Bill 2008 and associated bills before the chamber today. It is a pleasure to speak following the contribution of Senator Fielding, who has accurately canvassed many of the issues and concerns that I also have with this legislation. These bills, as previous speakers have outlined, relate to the government’s response to the equine influenza outbreak that crippled Australia’s horse industry and horse sector over a long period of time. It is of grave concern to us that the government’s response, as they are attempting to implement it through this legislation, has so clearly been botched. Responding to the risk of disease in the equine sector is quite important. Getting it right is quite important. It is a big industry. There are big dollars at stake. There are many jobs at stake. There are many factors at stake in this sector.

The horse industry is more than just an industry. I try to avoid calling it ‘just the horse industry’ because, for so many people, it is not just an industry. It is a hobby; it is a lifestyle; it is a part of the family. That is what owning a horse is about for so many Australians. This is a very different sector to some of those that Senator Farrell mentioned in his contribution and that others have focused on. It is not like all of the other commercial animal sectors, because so much of it is in the hobbyist area. This is a fundamentally different area. It is not like cattle, sheep, goats or honey bees, as we heard before from Senator Farrell. This is a sector which is in fact overwhelmingly dominated by people who have horses as pets, who have them for their children and who have them as part of their day-to-day lifestyle. It is these people who will be most affected and most impacted by this legislation proposed by the government.

I have received, as have other senators, strong community opposition to this proposal. I have been in touch with many of the equine associations in my home state. I have been in touch with many of the grassroots organisations, like the Pony Club, scattered throughout South Australia, with many of the other bodies representing various breed groups and with others involved in the not-for-profit horse sector. They have continuously expressed to me concerns that this is unfair on their members, on the people who own the horses and, indeed, on those associations and bodies who will potentially be caught up in the whole levy collection process.

At the end of last year, I had the pleasure of attending the National Mounted Games held in Adelaide’s parklands and hosted by the Pony Club Association of Australia. It is an annual gathering of Pony Club riders from around the country where, it is noteworthy, they ride borrowed horses. We are not talking about the transportation of horses across the country. These are people who cannot necessarily afford to transport their horses across the country, because it is such a small volunteer sector. These are people who turn up to compete on their own time at their own expense in a not-for-profit environment. Of course, they are also young people. They are young people and families who are involved in a healthy outdoor pastime, one that is so integral to Australia’s history and culture. We can all reflect with pride on the opening of the Sydney Olympics when we saw the horses storm into the Olympic stadium. It shows just how integral the horse industry has been to Australia’s culture and should continue to be, not just as an industry but also as a sector that all Australians can and should be able to afford to embrace.

As I indicated, there is strong opposition to this piece of legislation and to the proposed introduction of these levies on the equine sector. I have met with and spoken to the Pony Club Association on numerous occasions. They provided to the inquiry that was undertaken by the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs a very detailed submission, which I have referred to and which I am sure other senators will also refer to in their contributions to this debate. There is opposition not just from the Pony Club Association but also from other organisations, including HorseSA, the peak horse industry body in South Australia, which made it quite clear that they believed that the bill could not be supported. I have also heard opposition from the Equestrian Federation of South Australia, which also made a submission to the Senate inquiry into these bills. Their submission made it equally clear that they believe that the levy as currently proposed would be unfair to the majority of horse owners who are not responsible for, have no control over and have no accountability for those who import horses. In doing so, it is these people who pose in many ways the greatest risk to the security and safety of the equine sector in Australia.

There are an estimated 1.2 million horses around Australia. Many of these are retired in paddocks, not actually used by anybody but still loved and cared for by their owners. There are many more that are used on a recreational basis. There are some that are still used on a pastoral basis. A very small number out of that 1.2 million are actually used as part of the horse industry, particularly the racing sector and the profitable horse sector, where we see the money and the jobs generated in the main. The government’s proposal, it is understood, will capture some 50-odd thousand registered horses. It captures just a very small proportion of the total number of horses in Australia. But, still, that small number of registered horses in Australia that is captured will overwhelmingly be dominated by those of the not-for-profit sector. In its submission, Pony Club Australia says that it represents in excess of 55,000 horse owners. It states that this legislation is ‘fundamentally flawed and grossly unfair to horse owners in the Performance, Recreation and Hobby sector’ and goes on to say that, if passed into law, it would:

... inflict great hardship on our Association and our members resulting in a huge reduction of the numbers of young people participating and have an equally dramatic impact on the number of clubs, facilities available and opportunities to take part in horse sport and recreation.

That is a very clear statement of belief from Pony Club Australia—that, if passed, this legislation would mean fewer families, fewer young people and fewer children would be able to afford to participate in a great recreational activity which is so iconic in Australia’s pastime. Why the government would want to proceed with something that would hurt so many families who are simply trying to do the right thing by their kids is beyond me. That is what the outcome will be. It will hurt everyday, hardworking Australians, the so-called ‘working families’ that the government liked to talk about so much before the election, about whom we do not hear terribly much now. I have not heard the phrase ‘working families’ for some time from the other side of the chamber.