Live sheep export: One year since Federal Government announced phase-out panel but still no plan

Sunday marks one year since the Federal Government announced its experts to work out how and when to phase out the live sheep export trade — and it still doesn’t have a plan. The Albanese Government appointed a four-person independent panel on March 3 last year to inform it of the ins and outs of fulfilling its election promise to ban live sheep exports. This industry employs about 3000 people across the supply chain, 80 per cent based in WA. Farmers in WA have called it “incredibly disrespectful” that Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has not released the panel’s report that was handed in five months ago and the Government’s response on how it plans to end the industry. “Hundreds of West Australians interrupted their busy farming lives to attend community meetings (with the panel) and give honest and genuine feedback to Murray Watt about what should happen to the live trade,” farmer and WA Agriculture Region MP Steve Martin told The West Australian. “This is more uncertainty in a sector that he has created enormous uncertainty in already, so this just adds to the stress level of West Australian livestock producers and communities when sheep prices are at record lows. “This is a particularly poor time for Murry Watt to be delaying the arrival of this report. Livestock producers are making decisions about breeding numbers for the coming season without knowing what the Government plans for the sector. I urge the Minister to release the report immediately.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to phase out live sheep exports in the past two Federal elections after the deaths of about 2400 sheep on a ship from Fremantle to the Middle East in 2017. Kuwait has warned it will not buy any more chilled meat from Australia. It will source livestock from other countries, saying the ban threatened to damage broader trade and economic ties between Australia and the region. It has urged Australia to reconsider its proposed ban, with nearly 300,000 live sheep being exported to Kuwait in the past financial year, accounting for around 45 per cent of the export market. “For a Federal minister to ignore the wider trade implications of denying a country’s food in that part of the world is extraordinarily inept,” Mr Martin said. The Government’s panel was given a one-month extension last year to hand in its report on October 25 after being overwhelmed by the number of submissions. The Coalition has criticised the Commonwealth for taking so long to release the panel’s report. Nationals Leader David Littleproud said Labor’s delays were “hurtful, frustrating and disrespectful” to an industry worth $85 million. “One year on from an independent panel roaming around to speak with farmers, albeit hastily and lacking in proper consultation, farmers still don’t have the answers they deserve,” Mr Littleproud told The West. “It is clear Labor doesn’t want to release the findings about its so-called scientific evidence to phase out the trade because it simply doesn’t exist.” A Government spokeswoman said Labor was “taking the time to properly assess all recommendations in the report and develop an appropriate response”. “The report will be released following appropriate consideration by the Government,” the spokeswoman said. “The Government will not comment on the report’s details while carefully considering the recommendations.”