Live export ban: Pressure mounts on Federal Labour as Perth protest unites agriculture sector

Pressure is mounting on the Albanese Government to scrap legislation to ban live sheep exports after about 3000 farmers descended on Perth’s CBD, in what’s been called WA’s biggest agriculture protest in living memory. A 1700-strong convoy including hundreds of livestock trucks emblazoned with the slogan “Keep the Sheep” stormed the city on Friday morning as Federal Labor faces growing backlash from the Opposition and WA Government. Tenterden farmers Monty and Sheena House, who travelled 340km from WA’s Great Southern to attend, said they were fed up with the Government “biting the hand that feeds them”. “We’re here because we’re sick of the Government ignoring agriculture and trading it off for inner city votes,” Mr House said. The rally also attracted truckies, shearers, regional leaders and pastoralists — some of whom travelled thousands of kilometres — as the entire agriculture sector unites against the policy. WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis took the opportunity to reaffirm the Cook Government’s support for the embattled industry. She vowed to travel to Canberra “in coming weeks” to meet with her Federal counterpart Murray Watt “to further advocate for our farmers”. “The sheer number of farmers involved in the convoy shows just how concerned our regional communities are about the Federal Government’s decision,” Ms Jarvis told Countryman. “We sympathise with our hardworking farmers, and our Government has been clear from the start — we do not support the live export ban.” The Federal Government on Thursday introduced the Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill in the Lower House, after announcing the trade will be shut down in May 2028. The Bill also included provision for a $107 million support package for the State’s sheep industry to transition to more onshore meat processing. But Ms Jarvis said the funding was not enough to meet industry and supply chains’ “current and future needs”, as abattoirs across WA grapple with an ongoing processing backlog. Meanwhile, the Coalition’s opposition to the ban means Labor will need the support of the crossbench and the Greens to get the Bill through the Senate, with the latter now pushing to bring forward the proposed 2028 shutdown date to May 2026. A Senate inquiry is set to scrutinise the legislation with Senator Watt saying he was supportive of public hearings in WA. When asked about the protest on Friday, Senator Watt told reporters in Canberra Australians “live in a democracy” and have “the right to protest if that’s what they want to do”. “But what our Government is about is making sure that we keep jobs onshore, and not ship jobs offshore; that’s what this policy is about,” he said. “We took this policy to the last election. It was endorsed by the Australian people, and largely by the Western Australian people… so now what we’re doing is getting on and delivering an election commitment.” Nationals leader and Federal shadow agriculture minister David Littleproud renewed the Coalition’s promise to reverse the ban if it wins next year’s election. “For more than 1000 farmers to get off their land to go and protest in Perth shows the visceral hate for Anthony Albanese and Murray Watt,” Mr Littleproud said. “Throughout this process, the Albanese Government has treated West Australian farmers with contempt, and Friday’s demonstrations show that they won’t stand for it.” Speaking at the rally, WA Opposition Leader Shane Love said the ban would “decimate” the State’s sheep industry and in turn regional communities. “We’ll see schools closing, we’ll see shops closing, we’ll see communities shrinking,” he said. “This is a disaster for country Western Australia.” Premier Roger Cook said his Government would “always do what’s right by our farmers”. “We don’t support this decision by the Federal Government and believe it will negatively impact our State’s regional communities,” he said. The protest coincided with the launch of the “Keep the Sheep” campaign, which aims to raise $220,000 for advertising in marginal Labor seats in WA. At 4.30pm on Friday, the campaign had already raised more than $155,000, organisers said. WAFarmers president John Hassell, a grain and sheep producer at Pingelly in the Wheatbelt, said the goal was to raise awareness. “If the Government’s not going to listen to us then we’re going to have to go down the path of educating people in the marginal electorates,” he said. “This is a deeply unpopular policy… and the Government needs to get the message that we’re not going to be played with.” Rally organiser Paul Brown, who owns a cattle feedlot at Port Hedland, 1630km north-east of Perth, said it was the State’s biggest farming protest in his lifetime. “That just shows the level of frustration that the agricultural community has with both the Albanese Government and the Cook Government over the last couple of years,” he said. “They have disrespected our farming organisations, and by doing that they disrespect us as farmers and the agricultural community. “So now we are saying enough is enough. We are activating our farmers’ army to directly challenge our political class in Canberra, and here in WA, and say that we will no longer be disrespected.” Tambellup farmer and protester Louis Miller, who runs 12,000 sheep, said the policy was “beyond belief”. “It’s terrible what this government is doing to its own people,” he said. “This Government likes to shoot its own country in the foot and we’re only going backwards.” As the convoy crawled towards the city, motorists pulled aside to wave, pump their fists and honk their horns. Residents emerged from their homes, some still clad in pyjamas and bathrobes, to wave home-made signs in a show of support. Deputy leader of the WA Liberal Party Steve Martin, who took part in the rally, was impressed with the public’s response. “It was a rainy wet morning, peak-hour traffic, and yet we were getting people honking, people waving support, people giving us the thumbs up everywhere we went,” he said. “We were received with open arms; they welcomed that message that we need to support our WA farmers.” National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Agriculture Minister Murray Watt to take notice. He accused Federal Labor of “selling out” WA for “a handful of east coast votes”, saying the ban had “lit a fire” under the entire agriculture sector. “Frustration at this Government’s rotten decisions has started to boil over,” Mr Jochinke said. “Today’s convoy in Perth shows they’ve underestimated our rural communities. I think they’ve also underestimated voters’ intelligence, and their support for farmers.” Australian Livestock Exporters Council chief executive Mark Harvey-Sutton, who rode in a truck in the convoy, said the huge turnout reflected the “dismay” felt by regional communities. “It’s not just a policy that will hurt farmers. The impact on the entire sheep supply chain will hurt families throughout WA,” he said. “We won’t stop fighting this ban and it will be an election issue for the Government in Western Australia and beyond.”