Doorstop in Muchea Saleyards

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
MUCHEA SALEYARDS
TUESDAY, 15 JULY 2025

SUBJECTS: $139.7m sheep industry transition assistance package

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Well, it’s terrific to be here at Muchea cattle yards and saleyards, particularly with Minister Jackie Jarvis, the state minister here in Western Australia, and it's good to be back in Western Australia. This is, I think, my third or fourth visit to Western Australia since becoming ag minister, but I’ve been a frequent visitor to Western Australia.

And we’re here today to talk about the outcome of the transition of live sheep by sea in the year 2028 and, indeed, the transition package of $139.7 million. And I want to thank the advocate, Chris Rodwell, the Transition Advocate, and my department and, indeed, the state government of Western Australia for being [indistinct] and for working with us in relation to this package to make sure that the money goes where it needs to go.

So the outcome has been is we’ve now engaged with over 300 people in 16 workshops and I’m pleased to say that the transition package will be going here in Western Australia with money and grants rounds opening later this calendar year with money available this financial year and next financial year and right up until May 2028.

This is important that we make sure that we work with the sector and the industry in terms of the co-design of the package. It’s important to make sure that people along the supply chain who will be impacted get the assistance to transition. So we will be investing in a long-term strategy for sheep and wool production here in Western Australia. We’ll be investing in terms of shearers and the shearing industry. We’ll also be investing in terms of the transport industry and those involved along the transport of the sheep industry here in Western Australia.

We’ll be working, of course, to make sure we get more money to farmers in terms of on-farm adaption, and, of course, in terms of ensuring that sheep producers as well as abattoirs can access the processing grants that will be run through the Western Australian government.

I want to thank the Western Australian government and I want to thank the people of Western Australia for their engagement as we have worked through this package. And I’m really pleased to say that this package now that has been co-designed, its implementation will be supervised and overseen by the Transition Advocate and the steering group. That group will be making sure that this money is rolling out in an appropriate and timely manner but, importantly, that it is reflective of that co-design and that input that we’ve had from the people of Western Australia.

I’ll hand over now to Minister Jarvis to say a few words about the transition package, and then I’m happy to take some questions.

JACKIE JARVIS MLC, WA Minister for Agriculture and Food: Thanks, Julie. Look, I’m – it’s a very welcome visit by Minister Julie Collins here today. It’s no secret that the WA government opposed the ending of live export. However, this legislation passed 12 months ago and we’ve had a federal election since. I want to congratulate the federal government for the appointment of the Transition Advocate and the co-design process. The WA government is able to assist in regard to $40 million in grants along supply chain with a focus on on-farm finishing systems, feed lots, processes and cold supply chain. This ties into our Made in WA narrative where we really want to see more onshore processing.

My hope and my ambition out of this transition package is that we have a vibrant sheep meat industry, that we have a vibrant wool industry. We know that sheep numbers have been in decline in Western Australia for many years for many reasons. I’d like to see that decline reversed. I think there is a bright future for sheep farmers in Western Australia and wool producers. The Transition Advocate, I believe, has done a fantastic job in getting feedback.

After that legislation passed last July, I met with all of the industry groups individually, and at that stage, you know, there wasn’t a willingness to discuss the transition or what that looked like. I think we now have a position where industry are stepping up to say what they need to support the transition, and I really want to congratulate the Transition Advocate for the role he has played and the industry for actually stepping up and being part of the conversation.

As I said, whilst the WA government didn’t support the ending of live export by sea, it was passed by the Senate 12 months ago, and from that point forward my job then was to support the WA farming community. I’m very proud of the role I played in securing an extra $32 million to bring the package up to $139.7 million, and I want to thank Minister Julie Collins and her predecessor Murray Watt for actually ensuring that we got that extra funding for the industry. And, as I said, it’s time to move forward and I really want to make sure that we have a vibrant sheep and wool industry into the future.

Happy to take questions. Did you want to hear from the advocate or anyone else? Chris, you’re up.

JOURNALIST: Chris, just speak into that mic there and just your full name and title as the advocate.

DR CHRIS RODWELL: Yeah, sure. My name’s Dr Chris Rodwell, Transition Advocate. And I’d like to thank both ministers for their kind words. Look, it’s been really good to engage with the sector. Obviously, my role principally is to sit in the – I guess on the ground over here in WA and reflect the views of industry back into government and make sure that, I guess, the design of this funding gets the best possible return on investment for the WA sheep sector.

I carry that with great responsibility, and I’ve been genuinely encouraged by, I guess, the level of engagement that I’ve had, the good views and the good – lots of different insights. I think there’s a genuine future, a real great future, for the sector here. Lots of green shoots. This money will help that and it will provide essentially the confidence needed for people to stay in sheep, invest in sheep, and I think it paints a very clear picture or a way forward, it charts a way forward for the industry into the future.

So I’m looking forward to being – to continue to be engaged with the process to drive the strategy forward where it needs to be, a bit of a light on the hill. And, yeah, I hope – I welcome a lot more engagement from the sector.

JOURNALIST: And, Chris, are you involved in the industry yourself? Are you a farmer in any capacity? What brought on this role for you?

DR RODWELL: Look, I’m not a farmer. But I do understand the primary sector. So I’m a veterinarian. I’ve worked in the primary sector in a range of different capacities, most recently, actually, in New Zealand before I came back for family reasons to WA. It’s great to be back. I’ve used that experience that I’ve got around shaping sectors and the way that they can move forward that I’ve gained along the way to help my home state and the great agriculture sector that this state has got. Yeah.

JOURNALIST: And almost $140 million in terms of funding promised. Are you hearing from the sector that that is enough at this stage?

DR RODWELL: I think what I’m hearing is that it’s a really good starting point for the sector to move forward. And, I guess, my job has been to kick the tyres, really, on that level of funding and make sure that we get the appropriate return on the investment for the sector and really I guess what I’ve been pressing is to make sure that there is a direct line of sight across the whole supply chain and whatever we do and whatever money is available it moves everybody forward so that no-one is left behind. And that’s been quite – as you can imagine, there’s been lots of conversations around that and how we get, I guess, get the level of that right.

JOURNALIST: And, I guess, how long do you expect to those his advocacy role? Right until May 2028 or beyond that?

DR RODWELL: Well, that’s my hope. Hopefully if I continue to be useful and I continue to be useful to the sector as well, that was the reason that I took the role, was to see the transition through and get the best result over that period of time. It will take some time. But the level of, I guess, engagement already has been quite strong. This package will help that. And I think, yeah, there is a – there’s a really bright future with – we’ve got the future now in our hands, I think, in terms of where the sector can go.

JOURNALIST: Can we get the minister for a couple of questions. We’ve heard from some industry that there’s been little consultation with them ahead of this announcement today. What – who have you spoken to prior to coming here?

COLLINS: Well obviously the Transition Advocate and my department and industry are doing the co-design of the package, so it has reached 300 people in 16 workshops. And what we’ve done is we have listened to industry and to the sector in relation to the best utilisation of the transition funds.

JOURNALIST: Okay. How do you describe your relationship between the ag sector in WA and yourself?

COLLINS: Well, they’ve been incredibly welcoming, and certainly I enjoy every visit when I come to Western Australia and engage with Western Australia. I’ve been in close contact, obviously, with the advocate but also with the department in terms of these workshops to make sure that we are hearing from the broader sector and that we are getting broad input into the transition package. And I think with over 300 attending in 16 workshops it shows that we’re really serious about getting the best possible outcome for Western Australia.

JOURNALIST: There’s been some criticism that the nearly 140 million is nowhere near enough for industry transition. What’s your take on that?

COLLINS: Well, my job is to make sure that the money gets the best value - $139.7 million – and that’s what I’ve been doing, engaging, and as I’ve said, with industry but through the workshops, with the Transition Advocate, with my department and with the state government to make sure that we get the best value in return from that $139.7 million. And certainly this is a significant investment in the future of the sheep industry in Western Australia.

JOURNALIST: Did you consider increasing the package amount at any stage?

COLLINS: Well, obviously, I did increase the package by over $32 million when I was in Western Australia late last year after feedback from the sector and the industry. It’s now $139.7 million.

JOURNALIST: So no further consideration to increase that later?

COLLINS: It’s a significant transition package.

JOURNALIST: Okay. And what’s your assessment of how the transition has progressed so far in WA?

COLLINS: Well, obviously this is not – this is an industry that’s not ending until 2028. What we’ve done is we have listened to industry when they said they wanted co design. We’ve taken that very seriously. We’ve taken feedback from the workshops and engagement with the sector in Western Australia seriously. We’ve taken the feedback from the government, state government, seriously. And what we have done is we have come up with a package that is detailed and, as I’ve said, does provide for people along the supply chain.

JOURNALIST: Can you specify who in the industry you’ve spoken with? Just because we’ve heard so many say that they haven’t been notified.

COLLINS: Well, obviously, as I said, it’s my third visit to Western Australia. I meet with farmers and with industry when I’m in Western Australia every time when I come. But I’ve also, of course, had the department and the Transition Advocate on the ground as well as getting feedback through the state government.

JOURNALIST: To clarify, of this almost $140 million package, from today’s announcement, how much of that money is set to be available in due course?

COLLINS: Well, the vast majority of that money will be available this financial year and next financial year. We expect grant rounds for the majority of it to start opening this calendar year.

JOURNALIST: Who would you say are the winners and losers with this package?

COLLINS: Well, this is about ensuring that regional communities, particularly in Western Australia, are able to grow, that we see a growth in the industry and the sector in those regions and that people can be employed locally in the regions. This is about making sure that those communities in Western Australia that rely on the sheep industry that have a big role to play in those local communities are able to continue and, indeed, to grow and to get those opportunities that will come from more regional processing that will come from, you know, the sheep market and the sheep export market is continuing to grow. The globe wants more sheep meat and Australia can produce it, and you’ve got a great product here in Western Australia. We want to see more of it get around the world.

JOURNALIST: Will you be meeting with overseas counterparts to develop those sheep meat markets?

COLLINS: Well, obviously we’ve recently signed an agreement with UAE in the Middle East, and that does provide more opportunities for Australia. Certainly I have met with representatives of some of the countries in which Australia does have free trade agreements and I’ll continue to have those meetings in Australia’s best interests.

JOURNALIST: And the 40 million put towards processing in WA, do you have a vision on how that will look in the state?

COLLINS: Well, the state government, as Minister Jarvis has outlined, is helping us with that grant round. We did want to make sure that those grants were processed locally by people on the ground that have an understanding of the industry in Western Australia. So, again, I do thank the Western Australian government for allowing us to do that through the state government. What that means is that local industry knowledge will be part of implementation of those funds.

JOURNALIST: Just to be crystal clear, I said there’s a lot of pressure from industry and even hearing from the advocate here today that people want more funding in this transition package. Are you completely ruling that out at this stage, or is there I guess, an opening to consider that still?

COLLINS: What I’m saying is that that the transition package is significant. We’ve already added to it last time when I first came to Western Australia I think it was October last year, as the ag minister, and it is now 139.7, almost $140 million.

JOURNALIST: So absolutely no chance of making that even bigger?

COLLINS: Well, it’s a significant package. What we want to do is see it hit the ground and see the impact that that package will have on the ground.

JOURNALIST: Will there be an opportunity to review this?

COLLINS: Well, it’s a very significant package, as I’ve said - $139.7 million is a significant package.

JOURNALIST: I've just got some questions for Jackie Jarvis, Minister Jarvis. This is just from our Geraldton reporter [indistinct] –

JARVIS: We really want to make sure that money goes across the supply chain. And so on-farm finishing systems, you know, it’s basically a capital fund. On-farm finishing systems, feed lotting. There will be money for processes and part of the cold storage supply chain. But based on the feedback from the Transition Advocate, we noticed there was a significant bottleneck in those on-farm finishing systems and on-farm feed lotting. And so we will work through that with the federal government as to what that grant process looks like. And as Minister Collins said, we expect that to be open, you know, later this year so we can actually start getting some money out the door.

JOURNALIST: Do you believe the consultation with industry in WA has been adequate?

JARVIS: Absolutely. Look, I met with all of industry once the decision had been made in the Senate. So from July last year I had numerous meetings with industry. And, look, it’s fair to stay at that stage industry didn’t want to talk about funding or transition. I’m incredibly proud that through my advocacy and the advocacy of industry that more money was forthcoming. But it’s taken a while, I think, for industry to come on board with actually having those discussions, which is why, I think, the co-design process was needed. And so I think it’s been good – a good process.

JOURNALIST: What do you have to say to industry saying that they felt like they’ve been left in the dark when it comes to hearing about these plans and being a part of the transition?

JARVIS: The co-design process – well, the co-design process was going since February. There was plenty of opportunities. Look, I met with all of industry numerous times before the March state election. And, as I said, it was quite difficult to have those conversations because industry at that stage didn’t want to talk about the transition until after the federal election. I’m not sure who industry – I’m not sure which members of industry you’re speaking about, but the co-design process and the Transition Advocate were there for industry to have their say.