Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) | Hansard source

Well, it's about the third or fourth time I've been in this chamber today, and I've said nothing good about Labor, and I won't be saying anything good about Labor in this debate either. Labor and their coalition partners, the Greens, and probably Senators Pocock, Tyrrell and Thorpe, are at war with Australian farmers. The union labour movement has always hated Australian farmers, but in the Albanese government and the extremist Greens, the unions have some especially useful patsies who are happy to attack Australian farmers regardless of the consequences. The war is being fought on several fronts. We are debating live sheep exports now, but let's talk about the other fronts in this war first.

In the Murray-Darling Basin, where 40 per cent of our food is produced, Labor and the Greens have increased the scope of water buybacks, which have already devastated river communities. Labor and the Greens are relishing the opportunity to take more water from irrigators and more jobs and services from communities in the basin. They're engineering the demise of these irrigation industries and the communities they support. Labor's reckless pursuit of its renewables disaster is also a major threat to farmers. Not only does this ongoing trainwreck of a policy cost our farmers in higher electricity prices; the enormous geographic footprint of renewables technology threatens the destruction of productive agricultural land that has been farmed for generations. Climate change ideology has also been the driver of attempts to store waste carbon dioxide in the Great Artesian Basin. This has the potential to contaminate groundwater that is relied upon for almost $13 billion worth of primarily agricultural production.

Perhaps the most dangerous attack on our farmers has come in the form of Labor's appalling industrial relations legislation, backed by Senators David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie. It is a direct attack on farmers' ability to hire casual employees. It forces on farmers retrenchment liabilities that will completely compromise their requirements for labour flexibility and also make it much harder for farmers to secure loans. Farmers who supply larger businesses will also be forced into erroneous climate reporting—yet more red tape getting in their way.

Finally, we come to Labor's legislation to destroy farms and regional jobs by ending live sheep exports from Australia, the Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill 2024. This won't stop sheep being exported by about another 100 countries, none of which do it to the same animal welfare standards as Australia. Our longstanding customers who have made it very clear they want Australia to continue live sheep exports will just source live sheep from other countries with lower standards. As we've learned from the animal rights extremists that have pushed Labor into this bill, this is just the first step towards destroying Australia's livestock industry and ending meat consumption. Labor says this bill meets an election promise. Well, let me remind Labor of some other promises: reducing electricity bills by $275; 1.2 million houses, of which not a single one has been built, despite $35 million spent so far in administration costs; and passing on the full stage 3 tax cuts. There have been all these promises but no results. Now you say it was an election promise.

Animal rights extremists actually think 8.1 billion human beings alive today—and up to 11 billion by the end of the century—can survive solely on plants and bugs for nutrition. That proves how stupid they are. They also think that ending livestock production will mean the end of animals dying in order to feed people, but it won't. Indeed, it's been proven that more animals are killed to support plant based agriculture than to support animal agriculture. According to the University of New South Wales, about 25 times as many animals die to produce a kilogram of protein from wheat as die to produce a kilogram of protein from beef. The hypocrisy of these animal rights extremists goes even further. Many of the plants they want us to exclusively eat rely on animal products for fertiliser and crop protection.

Civilisation itself would not exist today had early human beings not learned to farm animals instead of risking death or injury hunting them in the wild. Everything we are today rests on the foundation of animal agriculture. It's undeniable. There are many regional communities and farming businesses whose foundation is live sheep exports. This industry has supported communities in Western Australia since live exports first began in 1845. Australia has ridden on the sheep's back for more than two centuries. We have the best wool and lamb producers on this planet, in addition to having the highest animal welfare standards on the globe in the live sheep export industry. This is the world-leading industry that Labor and the Greens want to destroy with this bill.

I joined a few thousand Western Australian sheep producers and their supporters as they gathered in Avon Valley a couple of weeks ago. Farmers, workers, truckies and residents of regional communities came together in force to send the message that this legislation must not pass. Their livelihoods and way of life are at stake, and Labor does not care.

I listened to Senator McKim say here today that they only want to make money out of it. I've never heard anything so ridiculous in all my life. This is a food source, people. I'm sure McKim's had a piece of pork, goat or steak in his mouth at some time in his life. Now he's denying the fact of sheep, talking as if they're human beings. They're not human beings. It is a food source—a necessary food source. I for one don't want to spend the rest of my life eating bloody bugs, which you're trying to promote to people as the way to go. I've never heard anything so ridiculous in all my life.

I listened to Senator Faruqi and others going on about this all being about care and attention, going back to the 1980s. How ridiculous! Yes, there were issues, but the 1980s were 40 years ago. So you have to drag that up to justify passing this bill to stop live sheep exports? Senator Watt mentioned, on the floor today, a report about the health of the sheep. I read a report when I was over in Western Australia that stated that 12 Independents said there was no problem with it. Sheep were not dying on the ships because of poor health conditions. That was not the reason for it. That is not the case for this.

Labor's agriculture minister, Senator Watt, said everything will be fine because there's a transition package worth $107 million funded by taxpayers. This is a drop in the ocean that will help no-one. The industry that has generated almost $200 million a year over the past decade will still be lost. No amount of money can replace the hard work and sweat of sheep producers, but Labor does not care.

The National Farmers Federation has made other impacts of this legislation very clear. It harms Australia's reputation for quality food exports in key markets. The short timeline for the ban and Labor's pathetic transition package spell catastrophe for the industry, as does consigning sheep from other countries to live export practices Australia banned more than a decade ago. That's right. A massive effort and expense has been incurred this past decade to ensure Australian live sheep exports set the global benchmark for animal welfare both on ships and at the destination. Sheep are more likely to die of natural causes or from weather, feral predators or disease in an Australian paddock than on an Australian live export ship.

If you're really serious about these sheep, go and ask some of the farmers that find their lambs with their eyes pecked out because of the crows—but the crows are protected! Yet you're worrying about the sheep. What about the foxes and wild dogs? You're a bunch of bleeding hearts here, aren't you? You really are. You'd get rid of these animals that are killing the live sheep if you were really worried about them. How pathetic. Crows, foxes, wild dogs and pigs all prey on lambs.

All of this effort and expense has been wasted, and this anti-farming Labor government, supported by their coalition partners, the Greens, think a paltry $107 million from taxpayers is appropriate compensation. It isn't. One Nation absolutely oppose this legislation because we stand with regional communities and Australia's farmers.

The government will have to fund the slaughter of sheep. I'll tell you why. When I was over in WA I got to talk to the farmers. One farmer said to me, 'They don't understand. North of Geraldton there are about 100,000 sheep and they're purely bred for the market.' They're male sheep. He said, 'They can't be sold on the local market. We're going to be stuck with the sheep, and we'll have to slaughter them.' I spoke to another farmer, a fifth-generation young farmer, who was there with his father. The look on his face showed he was devastated. Tears were in his eyes. That was his whole life. But he knew.

If you know these farmers and understand them, you know they really care about their animals. Very few people in the farming sector don't look after their animals, whether it's cows, pigs, goats or whatever. The fact is that these farmers are losing their livelihoods. Do you care about that? Have you really thought about this? You're affecting the farmers, the truckies and the shearers. They will find a loss of income to their communities, so these communities will be ruined. It's just devastating, especially hearing about it when speaking to some of these farmers.

I'll tell you what I want to see from this government that's dead set on stopping this live sheep export. The farmers told me they're stuck with these sheep that are now down to $20 a head. The last shipload they exported was last November. So you've done the damage already. You've put out the message. Around the world, countries are looking for other markets to supply their sheep. But you just don't seem to care. You don't get it. You don't understand at all. You've destroyed the dairy farmers.

You would not listen to me about that farm gate price. You supported me when you were in opposition but you don't now that you're in government. You're all talk and no action. That's the Labor Party. That's the Greens as well. You're all talk and no action. When you get there, the true colours shine through. What do you think those farmers over there will do? Where do you think your $107 million will go to prop up these communities? I'll tell you: nowhere. If these farmers have to shoot their sheep, you'll pay for it—not out of your $107 million. You'll supply the shooters and the bullets. If you don't, you'll put many of these farmers through mental health issues, which will have an impact on these communities. Have you thought about that? No, you haven't, because you couldn't care less. That's the damage that will be done.

This legislation is not about animal welfare, so it forces me to wonder if Labor have done some dirty backroom deal with another country to stop us competing in live exports in exchange for something else. Think about that, and I want the farmers out there to think about it. To the sheep farmers and workers, truckies and regional communities they support, I say this: don't give up hope. The coalition is opposing this legislation, just like they opposed the knee-jerk ban on live cattle exports over a decade ago, and that was overturned. If they remain true to their word, there is hope this ban could be repealed.

I will stay true to my word. There is also hope that this government will be thrown out of this place after the next election. Then, I hope this stupid ban will be repealed and we'll get some common sense and support our farming sector. I support live sheep exports.