Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

The government's actions in the space are in unison with those of Australian farmers. As I outlined before, Australian farmers want to see better outcomes for their animals, and the Australian industry as a whole wants to see better outcomes for Australian animals. That's why we support these sensible changes that we have made over the past year.

I would, however, point out that there are some here who are marching to the tune of animal activists, including some you would think would be of a different view. Senator McCarthy over there, from the Northern Territory, a territory that relies heavily on the live trade, is voting to shut down parts of that live trade and is not supporting her industry in the Northern Territory. Western Australian senators from the Labor Party, likewise, are supporting the shutdown of the trade, when 90 per cent of sheep exported from Australia right now come from Western Australia. If we shut that trade down it would mean the loss of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in income for Australian farmers.