Federal shadow ag minister Julie Collins comes clean on Labor’s live export policy

Federal Labor has come clean on its live export policy, with shadow agriculture minister Julie Collins confirming the party’s plan to ban the live sheep trade but failing to outline how WA farmers would be compensated. In an exclusive interview with Countryman, Ms Collins insisted she did not want to “pull the rug out from under WA farmers” but said the live sheep trade was “an industry in decline”. She said Labor wanted to “work with industry and the WA Government” to phase out the practice but would not specify a timeframe, saying more consultation was needed. “What I would say to WA farmers is we want to work with them, we want to work with the State Government (on a transition),” Ms Collins said. “But we’re not going to put a timeframe on it until we do a proper consultation with industry and with the WA Government on what a transition could look like, and how we support that transition. “We would look at everything we need to work through to get to that point.” The admission followed weeks of silence, with Ms Collins refusing to answer questions about the policy until it was leaked by animal rights charity the Australian Alliance of Animals last week. Labor took a similar policy to the last Federal election, promising to phase out live sheep exports over five years if elected. “It was our policy in 2019 and that had a hard deadline, but what we want to do now is work with industry, with the sector, with the WA Government, and make sure that we have things in place as the sector transitions,” Ms Collins said. “This is an industry that is in decline; it went from 1.1 million sheep (exported from Australia) in 2019 to just over 575,000 last calendar year.” Asked what plans Labor had to compensate farmers whose livelihoods would be affected, Ms Collins pointed to the party’s recently announced $15b National Reconstruction Fund. Labor has spruiked the fund as a “crucial financing vehicle” to drive investment in projects that would build prosperity across Australia, broadening the nation’s industrial base and “boosting regional economic development”. It is unclear how exactly the fund would benefit WA, but Ms Collins said $500m had been set aside for agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries nationwide. “There’s lots of opportunity to do more value adding here in Australia and we want to take every opportunity we can,” she said. “We want to create more jobs in Western Australia.” Asked why animal activist groups were told of the live export policy before farmers, Ms Collins insisted she had “not made any secret of Labor’s position”. “We’ve been pretty clear about the fact that this was our position in 2019,” she said. “I’ve been consulting with peak bodies and a range of groups for quite some time.” Of the 18 WA-based Federal Labor MPs and candidates surveyed by Countryman last week, not one would comment on their stance on live export. Ms Collins — who holds the Tasmanian seat of Franklin — would not reveal whether she had spoken with WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan, and was unsure if she would have time to visit WA before the election. This drew the ire of Liberal member for the Agricultural Region and Wickepin sheep farmer Steve Martin, who accused Ms Collins of “not caring” about the industry. “She needs to get to the Wheatbelt and the Great Southern and meet some farmers who are very proud to be a part of the live sheep trade,” he said. “I’ve heard Labor talk about how they want to consult with the industry, and well, you can’t do that on the phone. Come to Western Australia during the campaign and meet a live sheep exporter, for a start.”