August 7, 2018 Minister MacTiernan responsible for live export chaos Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Ian Blayney says the current chaos in Western Australia’s live export sector can be laid fairly at the feet of Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan. Mr Blayney said that if the Minister had made a reasoned and informed response to animal welfare breaches by Emanuel Exports back in May there may not now be 60,000 sheep stranded in a feedlot in Perth. “The minister’s ideological, ill-informed and emotional response, no doubt designed to appeal to her inner-city voter base, undercut reasonable debate and left the sector without an advocate in Government,” Mr Blayney said. “Alannah MacTiernan cannot be a minister without first being a member of parliament, so her first loyalty will always be to her inner-city constituents. “It is a special brand of hypocrisy that allows Minister MacTiernan to launch into a campaign to destroy the live export industry and then when the consequences of that become clear try to paint herself as the sector’s saviour. “In May, the Minister was facilitating access to livestock facilities at Fremantle Port for the anti-export activist group Animals’ Angels Australia; the group which is now reportedly threatening injunctions against exporters. “In June, the Minister was reported as being determined to phase out the live exports and in July she was trying to find buyers to purchase stranded sheep out from under live exporters.” Mr Blayney said it was no wonder farmers found it difficult to believe the Minister this week when she said she hoped live exports would resume next month. “The only thing that is certain at the moment is that Minister MacTiernan has lost the confidence of the livestock sector,” Mr Blayney said. Ends |
