Coalition charts rescue course for live cattle producers
14th June, 2011
Joint Media ReleaseHon Warren Truss MP,
Hon John Cobb MP,
Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck
THE Gillard government’s flip-flopping over the live cattle trade to Indonesia, then knee-jerk leap to a blanket ban and now inertia since the announcement has put the economy of northern Australia at extreme risk.
Leader of The Nationals Warren Truss, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Security John Cobb and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Forestry Senator Richard Colbeck have proposed a way forward for the government and industry in a Coalition motion tabled in both houses of parliament today.
Over the last few weeks we’ve seen Labor’s incompetence in full flight – ignoring the warnings then making a panicked decision with no thought for the consequences and no plan for the future.
Coalition MPs, like all Australians, were appalled by the mistreatment of animals in some Indonesian abattoirs featured on the ABC’s ‘Four Corners’ program. This behaviour is unacceptable to all Australians, especially our farmers, who take great pride in breeding and raising healthy and well cared for animals.
We support the live cattle trade ban on facilities that fail to comply with acceptable animal welfare practices – but the total ban was ill-conceived and badly implemented with no thought to the consequences to industry, the knock-on effects to the community or improving animal welfare standards in Indonesia.
After a week of constantly changing positions, the blanket ban was announced without any consideration of the damage it would inflict on Australian industry – especially considering the Indonesian live cattle market represents a massive 47% ($320 million) of our total live cattle trade.
Our plan is simple and makes a rapid response. We are told that Indonesia has seven A-grade abattoir facilities and another 18 B-grade facilities. Getting those seven facilities accredited and back online is our first and urgent priority in resuming trade. This should take days, not months.
Australian officials – both government and industry – need to be on the ground in Indonesia bringing other facilities up to scratch, starting with the 18 B-grade facilities. Again, we’re talking a few weeks, not much more.
At the same time, the government must provide assistance to those farmers and exporters stranded with cattle they can no longer sell. Others with existing contracts, cattle in holding facilities, shipping charter bills and animals already in Indonesia will also need help.
Time is of the essence, with banks already warning of the financial implications ahead.
Working with the Indonesian government to bring more abattoirs up to standard, including introducing stunning equipment, is imperative.
Getting Australia cattle through the seven approved abattoirs will take some immediate pressure off those Australian businesses most severely exposed, while getting the remaining facilities appropriately equipped, manned and operating will, in due course, see the trade resume fully.
Unless the government moves very quickly to accredit Indonesia’s best practice abattoirs, this blanket ban will force Indonesia to import live cattle from elsewhere and animal welfare standards will not be improved.
Limiting the resumption of trade to only those that meet our animal welfare expectations will send a clear message to other abattoirs to lift their game if they want to do business with Australia.
That the government has deferred responsibility to a working group rather than already having a contingency plan in place for live cattle exports, helping graziers to manage the losses, and failing to support abattoirs that adopt proper animal welfare requirements, is evidence of a government lost at sea.
It’s time this government actually got something done, rather than defer to another committee to absolve Labor of decision-making responsibility in rectifying policy stuff ups.
[ENDS]
