August 16, 2018 State Opposition welcomes Federal support for export trade Shadow Minister for Agriculture Ian Blayney today welcomed Federal Minister David Littleproud’s signing of a regulation to further safeguard the future of Western Australia’s live export trade. Mr Blayney said that without the new regulation, activist groups could lodge a court injunction against the independent regulator of live exports, the Australian Department of Agriculture, which could see livestock stranded on ships. “The actions of the Federal Minister are made even more important when they are overlaid with the actions and intentions of State Government Minister for Agriculture Alannah MacTiernan who has a clearly stated ideological opposition to live exports,” Mr Blayney said. “It’s difficult to believe that a Minister who posts on social media that her view is ‘that exporting livestock to the Middle East and Africa from Australia can never be made humane’ can also be fighting hard for the interests of sector. “This new regulation means that exporters which have been cleared to load stock, cannot then be stopped from leaving port.” Mr Blayney echoed the Federal Minister’s desire to see the trade resume under the McCarthy recommendations. “I’m glad that the Federal Government has listened to industry and acted to remove this impediment and restore some of the confidence that has been lost in the industry,” Mr Blayney said. “Hopefully this means the industry can get back into business again and give some much-needed assurance to farmers and others in the sector who are feeling the effects of the building backlog in the supply chain. “It is essential for trade to continue in order to highlight that the trade can operate safely, with high animal welfare outcomes.” Ends |
