Albany council says Keep the Sheep, voting to ask Minister to “reconsider” and refer ban to a senate inquiry

The City of Albany has followed in the footsteps of several Great Southern local governments and thrown their weight behind disgruntled farmers, voting to support the Keep the Sheep campaign last week. The council voted at its June 25 meeting to write to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry requesting the Federal Government to reconsider its position on the live export phase-out and refer the legislation to a Senate committee for a comprehensive inquiry into community impact and a restructuring of the transition package. The motion was councillor-driven, originally put forward by Crs Robert Sutton and Craig McKinley, and amended by deputy mayor Paul Terry and Cr Stephen Grimmer to include more specific action. Addressing the council, Cr Sutton said he did not pose the motion as a political move, but rather as a solidarity stance with farmers whose livelihood is threatened. “This is not a debate for or against live export, it’s a motion to support the farmers in our regions,” he said. “Sheep farming is the industry that built Australia. “15 years ago there were issues with industry, the parties said you need to lift your game because if it doesn’t improve, it’ll be gone — farmers listened and improved, but then out of the blue, a wise man from the east said we’ll be knocking it. “We have to show our community our total support, whether we agree with live export or not.” Cr McKinley claimed the ban would have a “huge flow-on effect” on agricultural communities, including Albany which sits at the “bottom end of the network” in the Great Southern. The decision follows the release of an impact report conducted by Econosis on behalf of an alliance of Upper Great Southern shires (Katanning, Kojonup, Broomehill-Tambellup, Gnowangerup, Cranbrook, Jerramungup and Woodanilling), detailing the economic toll the ban will have in the region. The study estimates $1 billion will be lost from the Great Southern economy over the next 20 years. The legislation, which slimly passed through the Senate late Monday evening, resolved to end the live sheep export trade by May 1, 2028, offering a $107 million transition package for the affected industry that Cr Terry called “not nearly big enough”. While in Canberra for the Australian Local Government Association Conference, Cr Terry took the opportunity to meet with senators in support of Albany’s regional neighbours to push for a review into the economic and social impact of the policy. “Most Albany businesses know that when the farmers have a good year, they too have a good year,” he told the Advertiser on Tuesday. “The farmers have more money to spend on cars, on furniture, on local businesses in the town. “Every single business owner and every single person in this town will be affected by this.” The motion was carried 10-1 with Cr Lynn Maclaren voting against the majority, claiming the ban was a long time coming and expressing doubt that the industry can be conducted ethically. The Shire of Plantagenet has also taken a strong position against the ban, voting in their May council meeting to call on the Federal Government to reconsider it and enter into “genuine consultation” with the agriculture sector to find a “mutually agreeable” position. The Shire of Denmark is the only one of the 11 Great Southern local governments that have not so far taken an official stance against the legislation.