A federal inquiry into the government’s plan to ban the live export of sheep from Western Australia has backed the bill and called for more funding for the industry.
The decision to proceed with the live export ban has been met with anger from farmers and lobby groups, who have held numerous meetings and protests, but found support from animal rights groups.
The committee’s finding, handed down in an initial report on Friday, means the legislation will be changed to “absolutely prohibit” the export of live sheep by sea from Australia from May 2028.
It’s a move the Coalition has promised to overturn if elected.
The nine-member committee chaired by NSW Paterson MP Meryl Swanson made three recommendations including: passing the bill, providing additional funding to aid businesses impacted by the transition, and ongoing communication between the Albanese and Cook governments to support the transition.
Inquiry ‘rushed’ through
Deputy chair and O’Connor MP Mr Rick Wilson said the recommendations were not a surprise given Labor members made up the majority of the committee.
“The evidence to justify the recommendation of the committee is very thin,” he said.
“We felt the government, or the chair, relied very heavily on the evidence of some of the vets who appeared in Canberra … some of them have never worked on boats or in the commercial livestock sector.”
The inquiry ran for three weeks with a public hearing in Canberra and near Northam in WA’s Wheatbelt, which drew a rally of farmers opposed to the ban.
Mr Wilson said the brevity of the inquiry highlighted the federal government’s disinterest with most parliamentary inquiries setting aside three to six months to gather information.
“This inquiry was stood up, conducted in less than three weeks … incredibly rushed,” he said.
“We are calling for a full Senate inquiry where the government doesn’t control the numbers.”
Farmers hope to win Senate support for inquiry
A dissenting report, tabled by the committee’s Coalition members, recommended the bill not be passed, and called for the legislation to go before the Senate.
The dissenting members said the inquiry had received more than 13,000 submissions, which highlighted the ongoing community support, while industry bodies questioned the balance of the inquiry.
WA Farmers livestock section president Geoff Pearson said the result of the inquiry was predictable with the government “stacking the committee”.
“We have to rally and get as much support as we can against the government,” he said.
Independent Senator David Pocock attended a WA Farmers meeting in Perth on Friday, with the agriculture lobby group trying to win his support to help push for a Senate inquiry.
“He listened, he’s an educated person, we supplied facts to him … as a betting man I think we’ve got him on side,” Mr Pearson said.
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