Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

To go through some of the issues, I met with the RSPCA on 17 November 2010 and discussed evidence gathered by Animals Australia in Kuwait and Bahrain in relation to the Middle East issues. In addition to that, I met with Animals Australia on 30 November 2010, where evidence was presented. Those areas are across the live animal export area in the Middle East. I wrote to industry in January—I think you will recall this—requesting Meat and Livestock Australia look at the footage to work through some of these animal welfare issues. It is an area where I have been very strong with industry, talking to industry about animal welfare issues and ensuring that they provide a path forward to assist the industry.

Subsequent to that, the only footage I was made aware of was the ABC Four Corners on the particular day that it was provided. Since then there has been no—to my knowledge or to my office's knowledge; I can check on that if you like—additional footage that has been brought forward or evidence that I can act on. As I indicated, I clearly acted on the footage from ABC's Four Corners. I implemented a ban on 12 of those facilities in Indonesia and subsequently, as we now know, I suspended the trade in live animal exports. In addition to that, the government shares the community's concerns about animal welfare and is taking the necessary action to provide a secure future for the live export trade. (Time expired)