3-week live trade limbo pushes industry on brink of collapse
29th June, 2011
“AFTER three weeks of Gillard government inertia, its total ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia is now on the verge of sinking the $320 million trade – along with the 28,000 Australian direct and allied jobs that depend on it,” Leader of The Nationals Warren Truss said.“Further, reprisals now appear certain with whispers from Jakarta indicating that both Australian live cattle and our boxed meat quota – which, last year, was worth $162 million in its own right – will be shut out and no longer welcomed.
“This fiasco has dragged on long enough. Julia Gillard has been a passive observer but must now earn her keep by getting personally involved. She needs to be on the phone to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono right now.
“Confining trade to abattoirs that do meet our standards was the first best option. But even in the face of the blanket ban, trade could have been responsibly resumed weeks ago. Even failing that, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd should have been dispatched last week to elevate negotiations and salvage the damage already done.
“All of these opportunities for direct action to mend diplomatic relations, resurrect the trade and avert the economic, social, environmental and animal welfare crisis now sweeping northern Australia have fallen by the wayside due to the government’s ham-fisted handling of the issues that its knee-jerk decision created.
“With Indonesian import permits expiring tomorrow and the government failing to get the trade moving again, there is little hope those permits will be re-issued to Australian exporters anytime soon. It is increasingly likely Indonesia will take its business elsewhere.
“Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig’s standoff with Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) has made the situation worse for cattle producers. The Minister knows full well that the $5 million he is seeking from MLA to feed stranded cattle would be a breach of the company directors’ responsibilities, falling outside the MLA’s charter.
“MLA cannot spend producers’ funds on anything beyond the purposes for which they are collected, specifically for research and development and marketing. The best way for MLA to act under the circumstances is to use those funds to bring Indonesian abattoirs online through accreditation processes and facility upgrades, including introducing stunning equipment.
“As for the government’s decision to suspend the trade completely, the buck stops with the Minister. He must deal with the consequences of that ill-conceived action, including dealing with the contingency issues for an entire industry his government has left stranded.
“In all, the cattle industry in northern Australia that trades with Indonesia employs 11,000 people, including some 700 Indigenous jobs, as well as another 17,000 people in station communities. It’s time for the Prime Minister to step up for these people.”
[ENDS]
