Live export phase-out consultation panel must visit eastern Wheatbelt: Mia Davies

Central Wheatbelt MLA Mia Davies is calling on Labor’s live sheep export phase-out consultation panel to add more dates to its seven-town regional WA roadshow, labelling the process so far a “farce”. The four-person panel was set to wrap-up four days of consultation in Albany on Thursday morning after holding meetings in Moora, York, Narrogin, Wagin, Katanning and Cranbrook. Ms Davies wants the panel to visit the eastern Wheatbelt, saying consultation must be extended to allow more communities impacted by the Albanese Government’s planned sheep shipping ban to have their say. “The dates were announced with very little notice, right in the middle of seeding, and ignored the eastern Wheatbelt completely,” she said. “I personally believe the forums are just a tick and flick exercise for the Labor Government to say they consulted. “But if they’re going to do it, they should do it properly and give the people they’re ripping a business out from under the chance to have their say.” Federal Labor pledged to phase out live sheep exports in the lead-up to last year’s election but has yet to confirm a timeframe. The panel — which includes senior public servant Phillip Glyde, prominent WA farmer Sue Middleton, former RSPCA chief executive Heather Neil and retired Northern Territory Labor MP Warren Snowdon — was appointed in early March to consult with industry on how and when to phase out the $92 million trade. Ms Davies said there was a “palpable” feeling of “helplessness, anger and frustration” among WA farmers. “They have every right to be angry with a Government that has made an arbitrary decision to shut down a legitimate industry,” she said. “What the Prime Minister and his east-coast colleagues fail to realise is how devastating this will be for hard-working farmers, truckies, small business owners, port workers — everyone along the supply chain.” This week’s meetings have angered farmers and industry leaders, most of whom were not invited and only found out after details were leaked on social media at the weekend. The meetings were intended to facilitate consultation with “targeted gatherings of producers and other relevant stakeholders”, according to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. These included “grower groups, meat processing groups and other businesses in the supply chain” contacted in the fortnight before the visit. The panel has instead been met with angry crowds of between 80 and 200 farmers, with the number rising at each gathering. Ms Davies accused the Federal Government of “pandering to the inner-city green vote” and “shutting down an industry that has met every regulatory hurdle” and improved animal welfare practices. “The Prime Minister knows there is minimal political downside for Labor in shutting down live sheep export, but all this will do is embolden activists to move onto the next legitimate industry,” she said. Ms Davies’ comments come after Federal Nationals leader David Littleproud this week labelled the consultation process a “sham”. More than 600,000 sheep were exported from ports across WA last financial year, with about 3000 Australians employed across the supply chain.