April 20, 2018 McGowan must stop Shorten destroying WA’s sheep industry Mark McGowan must stand up for Western Australia’s valuable live export trade and tackle Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on his ill-considered call to ban live sheep exports. Shadow Agriculture Minister Ian Blayney said Mr Shorten’s call for the suspension of live sheep exports would put at risk WA’s $200 million annual live sheep export trade. “This is political point scoring by Mr Shorten without any regard for the damage he is doing to the WA economy,” Mr Blayney said. “No-one disputes the scenes of sheep distressed and dying on carriers were unacceptable and that there needs to be action to stamp out rogue operators but Mr Shorten’s is a knee-jerk reaction that by all indications isn’t in line with State Government policy. “Western Australia supplies 72 per cent of the total national export flock each year; a live export ban would jeopardise the viability of many of the 4,500 sheep producers in WA. “These are farmers who have done nothing wrong and pride themselves on the animal welfare controls they have in place on their properties.” Mr Blayney said Federal Labor appeared to have learnt nothing from the impact of their knee-jerk decision to ban live cattle exports to Indonesia, which had a devastating impact on the cattle sector and its long-term viability. “WA already has record number of unemployed and this move by Mr Shorten is populist politics that will cause significant damage to WA’s agricultural sector, cost jobs, cost businesses and cost export revenue,” Mr Blayney said. “For his part, Mark McGowan has already caused significant damage to the tourism, international education and mining industries, he must stop Mr Shorten further damaging WA’s live export sector. “Premier McGowan needs to start showing some leadership and depth of character and stand up to Mr Shorten and demand a backflip. “We need to take a considered approach and allow the Federal review to run its course, to consult properly with industry, to make valid findings and recommend appropriate action.” Media Contact |
