Interview with Warwick Long, ABC Victoria Country Hour

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC VICTORIAN COUNTRY HOUR WITH WARWICK LONG
TUESDAY, 2 JULY 2024

SUBJECTS: Delivering on the Albanese Government’s commitment to phase out live sheep exports by sea; Sheep meat exports to Brazil restored.

WARWICK LONG, HOST: Let's get more serious right now because a major change to agriculture happened overnight. And despite a flurry of opposition from farming groups and the promise to target marginal seats, a change in law banning the live export of sheep by boat passed Parliament late last night.

Labor's Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill 2024, which will end the industry by May 1, 2028, passed Parliament after winning the support of the Greens and crossbenchers. Agriculture Minister Murray Watt says it's an important moment for a key change to farming in Australia. And I spoke to him a short time ago.

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Yeah, I guess this is a significant piece of legislation that's now passed through the Australian Parliament. And from my perspective, what we've done is deliver an election commitment that we took to the last two elections. Obviously, the first of those elections we didn't win, but the second one we did. And I do think it's important that we follow through on those commitments that we've made to the Australian people and that were voted for by the Australian people. But we've always also acknowledged that this is a pretty significant shift for Western Australian sheep farmers and the sheep industry, and that's why we put $107 million of taxpayers’ funds on the table to assist the industry transition towards more onshore processing. I think in the long term that'll be a good outcome for the sheep industry in Western Australia.

WARWICK LONG: Is that it for this issue now? Do you think it's the end of it?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I think certainly with Parliament having passed that legislation, I think it does put to bed whether or not this is going to happen. It makes it real that the Parliament has now voted for legislation to ban live sheep exports by sea from the 1st of May 2028. But, of course, we did settle on a four year transition period because we acknowledge that there is some work to be done to make sure that the industry can stay strong in the absence of live exports. I am confident that in a four year period with that investment by government, and no doubt from the private sector as well, we can move what is a relatively small number of sheep from live sheep towards more processing.

Even in Western Australia, it's only about 12 to 14 per cent of sheep each year that are sent to live export. The vast majority of them are already processed onshore and what we're talking about now is essentially sending the remainder to onshore processing through more jobs in abattoirs right across WA and across the country.

WARWICK LONG: The Western Australian Premier has been on radio this morning saying your package isn't good enough and they'll be asking you for more money. Is that something you'll consider?

MURRAY WATT: We'll keep talking with the Western Australian Government about that and we've made clear that we would be very keen for them to be involved in the delivery of this package. We think that it will go better if we can have the State Government involved in that given they do have the local networks around Western Australia that would be involved in delivering this. I'm not surprised that they would be seeking more money from us. And I'm not surprised that the industry is seeking more money from us. We'll obviously keep having those conversations. As I say, I do think $107 million is a pretty substantial contribution from taxpayers for an industry that's been in decline now for 20 years.

WARWICK LONG: And I'm sure you're aware that there's been quite the campaign being drummed up in opposition to this change. They say they've now got a fighting fund of tens of thousands of dollars that will target Labor seats, particularly in Western Australia, on this issue as well. So, is it really over or is this going to be something you're going to have to continue the fight on until the next election?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, well, obviously people are entitled to campaign on any issue that they want to, and I respect the fact that there are people who are opposed to what we're doing. Again, I would point out that it is something that not only the Australian people voted for, but Western Australians at the last election. And the most recent surveys indicate that about 70 per cent of Western Australians continue to support phasing this industry out. But obviously, people who are opposed to it have every right to campaign on it, just as those who support what we're doing will campaign on it as well. I recognise that this is an issue with very strong opinions on both sides of the debate. There are people who are opposed to what we're doing. There are many people who are very strongly in support of what we're doing as well.

WARWICK LONG: Is this something that you're going to be remembered for in your time in politics, do you think?

MURRAY WATT: I guess I'll leave it for other people to work out what I should be remembered for. I do think that this is a significant move. It's a big move in terms of animal welfare and it's a big move towards more value adding of our agriculture.

WARWICK LONG: Are you comfortable with that?

MURRAY WATT: Look, I'm sure that there'll be a range of things that I'll be remembered for. I'm very comfortable with being the Minister who delivered this election commitment.

WARWICK LONG: In terms then of your relationship with agriculture, do you think this has changed your relationship with agriculture?

MURRAY WATT: I'm certainly conscious that there are a number of agriculture groups who are strongly opposed to this policy and they've made clear their opinion of that, and some of them have made their opinion of me clear as well. But I think, as I say, if you look at the totality of how we've approached this portfolio: record exports, including restoring relationships with our major trading partner, biggest investments in biosecurity that we've ever seen, which have protected us from really serious diseases. These are things that the other side of politics neglected for a long time.

There's some breaking news, even just today, that Brazil has now restored market access for Australian sheep meat, and that allows the resumption of trade with Brazil. That trade was actually suspended back in 2020 due to changes in Brazilian requirements. And what this means now is that our Australian sheep producers and our meat processors now have access to a market with 217 million people in it. I guess, again, this just demonstrates why we have taken the decision. We have to phase out live sheep exports and try to reorient the industry to where all the growth is. All the growth in this industry has been towards sheep meat. At the same time, as we've seen live sheep exports fall by 90 per cent we've seen sheep meat exports quadruple in that time and there's more demand still.

So, I'm confident that we'll continue to have a really strong sheep industry in the future, including in WA, but it'll be more about exporting sheep meat rather than live sheep.