Opinion: Live sheep export ban a betrayal of WA – for a few votes in Dunkley by-election

For years I have said the Labor Government’s decision to ban live exports is not rooted in genuine concern for animal welfare. It is driven by crass politics in the inner-city electorates of Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. This decision, which undermines and destroys a crucial part of the WA farming industry, has been driven by the tactics of animal activist groups. It is a business model of these activist groups, who exert political “influence” by claiming a large number of adherents, often achieved through simplistic, if not dubious, sign-ups online. These inflated membership lists (click and you’re a member) are built on the back of this disgusting business model — which gain followers and raise funds by distributing distressing pictures of animals suffering. Alarmingly, there is ample evidence on the record now to suggest these groups are willing to pay for those pictures to be manufactured. In fact, the very incident Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has cited as a key reason for the ban — the Awassi Express incident — has been revealed through media investigations as being driven by the cash payment of well over $100,000 to a deckhand from a developing nation. These disgraceful methods and morally bankrupt business model are then used for the Labor Government’s political ends. The depth of the policy bankruptcy of Labor’s ban is now revealed in full. On Saturday, with merely a few hours notice to farmers, Murray Watt abruptly announced the ban — to universal criticism from the farming industry across Australia. Predictably, the animal activists applauded it. The Animal Justice Party, the political wing of the activists, revealed the political leverage it held over Labor with the following announcement: “We are proud that the AJP could deliver the knockout blow by demanding the end of live sheep export as a requirement for our preferences at the Dunkley by-election in March. Ongoing conversations behind-the-scenes between AJP and Labor leadership has helped to fine-tune government policy.” Labor shamefully sold out the WA sheep industry for a by-election preference deal in the Melbourne city seat of Dunkley. This is a very concerning trend of bare-faced policy manipulation for electoral gains. What other preference deals predated this one? We can assume there were such deals because all the actual evidence clearly supports the continuation of the live export trade in sheep. When asked for the science and the evidence supporting the ban, the minister has nothing to offer except a vague Labor Party policy document. So who suffers the consequences of this crass politics? The hardworking sheep producers of WA; the families that rely on this industry — from truckies to feedlot workers, to shearers, and vets. The communities in sheep farming areas will suffer the most. Farming communities already under pressure will undoubtedly feel this decision as a body blow. All for the sake of a few thousand votes in Dunkley, and other urban seats in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Utterly disgraceful. Ironically, this betrayal is actually completely unjustified and unnecessary. Australia’s live export industry operates at the highest animal welfare standards in the world — and has constantly improved over time. In fact, Australia not only implements stringent welfare standards and systems, but also exports these best practises globally, requiring our markets and trading partners to meet our high standards. The industry is growing — as Minister Watt’s own departmental figures reveal — making a total lie of his claim it is a dying industry. WA’s geography and climatic conditions mean the live export trade is a fundamental and integral part of the sheep industry as a whole. As we have seen this year, as spring becomes summer, livestock numbers on farm must be reduced because of the risk of feed shortages. The live export trade was both a price floor, but also a safety value, for stock in such seasons. There is only one way to stop this betrayal of WA sheep producers; one way that allows farmers and the entire supply chain to continue operating at world’s best standards: dump Labor at the next election. Labor’s strategic focus on inner-city east is a glaring disregard for WA and our regional communities. It is time for WA to send a resounding message that our farmers and regional interests cannot — and will not — be sidelined for Labor’s political expediency. Slade Brockman is a Liberal senator for WA.