Press conference in Canberra, ACT

EO&E TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
CANBERRA
TUESDAY, 2 JULY 2024

SUBJECTS: Delivering on the Albanese Government’s commitment to phase out live sheep exports by sea; Australia-China trade; Fatima Payman.

MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY, MURRAY WATT: Thanks everyone for coming along this morning. I'm very pleased that last night, the Senate did pass the legislation that the government had introduced to ban live sheep exports by sea from the first of May 2028. This was obviously an election commitment that our government took, not just to one election, but to two. So, what we've done last night is deliver an election commitment that was voted for by the Australian people and is still supported by the majority of Australians, including in Western Australia.

From here, we now want to work very closely with the industry and all in the community who have an interest in this issue to make this transition work. We've put $107 million of taxpayers’ funds on the table to support a transition package. I met again yesterday with representatives of sheep farmers and sheep farmers themselves, and again, made the point that we are keen to work with them as closely as possible to make sure that this transition works, and that we welcome their ideas on how that money can be spent to support this transition as well as we possibly can.

The other good aspect about this legislation passing is that we now have certainty around the future of this industry. The industry knows, once and for all, the date that it will be phased out. But also importantly, it's the beginning of hundreds of new jobs in Western Australia through more onshore processing. My view all along has been that we want to keep as many jobs from meat processing right here in Australia, particularly in Western Australia, rather than sending them offshore. So, this is about keeping jobs onshore in Western Australia rather than sending jobs offshore.

I look forward to working with everyone who's been involved in this, and I thank the Senate for passing that legislation, happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: The farmers are amassing a war chest to have a campaign and target those seats in WA that you really need to retain. What feedback are you getting from WA Labor about this? How worried are you, and how worried should people like Sam Lim and Tania Lawrence be?

MINISTER WATT: I've spoken to Sam Lim, to Tania Lawrence, and to our entire federal team from Western Australia on a number of occasions about this legislation, and they support the government's actions. They support it because it's the right thing to do. They support it from an animal welfare perspective. But they also support the creation of hundreds of new jobs in Western Australia, so they can see the opportunities that exist here for Western Australia to actually deliver a certain long-term future for the sheep industry and jobs right across Western Australia. It's obviously a matter for others, whether they want to campaign for or against this policy. This is an issue that there's very strong opinions about, and there always has been, but we know that the Australian people voted for this, including in Western Australia, and now that commitment has been delivered.

JOURNALIST: The farmers are concerned that sheep was sort of the first step, cattle is going to be the next one. Can you 100% ironclad guarantee that Labor won't go to the next election promising to phase out other industries?

MINISTER WATT: Absolutely. And I've done that repeatedly, as has the Prime Minister. I have repeatedly stated that Labor does not support banning live cattle exports, for example. And that is because sheep are far less hardy species than cattle. Cattle are much more robust animals that are more up for a journey by sea, and also, most of the journeys that live cattle take are much shorter than what we see from live cattle. Most of our live cattle journeys are to Southeast Asia, relatively short journeys, as opposed to sheep being sent very long journeys to the Middle East. It's not just me who says that. If you look back at what Sussan Ley, the now deputy Liberal leader, and Sarah Henderson, when she was a lower house Member said when this was last debated in this place - they said exactly the same thing. They said that there was a big difference between live cattle exports and live sheep exports. That's also the government's position, and we won't be phasing out live cattle exports.

JOURNALIST: You said you want to work with the industry. They've made clear that they think the $107 million is inadequate, is there any capacity to increase that?

MINISTER WATT: Not at this stage in time. We think that that is a substantial investment from every single taxpayer right across Australia, whether they are directly involved in this industry or not. That is a lot of money to put on the table to support an industry that has been in decline for 20 years. We need to remember that over the last 20 years this industry has been shrinking. It has fallen by 90% over the last 20 years, while at the same time, we have seen exports of sheep meat that's processed in Australia quadruple. That is where the opportunity is. This is not a matter of compensating people for getting out of an industry. It's about helping the industry adjust to a new future based on more onshore processing.

DOMINIC GIANNINI: Unlucky loss for Queensland this morning – just wanted to let you know.

MINISTER WATT: Thanks for the update.

DOMINIC GIANNINI: You're welcome. China - the rest of the Chinese tariffs or trade blockages. When can we see them move?

MINISTER WATT: We're obviously very hopeful that we'll see continued movement from the Chinese government as soon as possible. We're now at a point where the tariffs that have been removed mean that we're getting about $19 billion extra trade into China that we weren't before the suspensions were imposed. From an agriculture perspective, it's over $3 billion worth of extra exports in commodities that were previously suspended from China. Now we're at a point where the only suspensions remaining relate to Rock Lobster and also a couple of beef processing establishments. You will have seen that when the Chinese Premier was in Australia recently, the Prime Minister raised this, Don Farrell raised this, I raised this, Penny Wong raised this, and we'll keep fighting until we have all of those suspensions lifted.

JOURNALIST: Is there a rough date?

MINISTER WATT: It's impossible for me to predict exactly when the Chinese Government will lift those suspensions, but our view is they should be lifted immediately.

JOURNALIST: Do you have any meetings coming up with counterparts or Chinese officials?

MINISTER WATT: I don't personally, but we've actually just recently had departmental officials from the Agriculture Department back in China making the case again, and we will continue lobbying the Chinese Government at every level.

JOURNALIST: A tight vote in the Senate last night. How much harder will it make the job for Ministers if Fatima Payman goes to the crossbench?

MINISTER WATT: Well, obviously Fatima's future is a matter for her. We've made clear that we would welcome her back into the caucus. Of course, in doing so, she would have to respect her fellow caucus members and caucus decisions. So really, her future is a matter for her. The way I think about it, it's a bit like a football team or a netball team. If you join a football team or a netball team, the team works out a plan forward, the idea is you stick with that plan. You don't have players running around, throwing balls in different directions. Really, that's what's going on here, is that we as a group have decided on a position, and I might remind you that last week, we voted for a Labor motion in the Senate that called for a recognition of Palestine as part of a two state solution and a just enduring peace. I think that's a very reasonable position for the caucus to take. It reflects a lot of the views in the community, and we welcome Fatima's support on that issue and everything else.

JOURNALIST: Are you frustrated by the position she has put you and your Senate colleagues in considering there's such tight numbers in the upper house?

MINISTER WATT: I mean, as I say, it's a matter for Fatima how she wants to conduct herself. You know, when you get elected as a Labor Senator or as a Labor Member of Parliament, there is an expectation that you'll support the team's decisions and that you won’t run in a different decision. I'm not going to sort of put any particular labels on how I'm feeling, or caucus members are feeling. Of course, we prefer Fatima to uphold the pledge that she made in being elected here, which was that she'd support decisions made by the team, and we hope that she reflects on that and rejoins the team as soon as she can.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the backbench is satisfied with the actions the Prime Minister's taken? There’s a caucus meeting later today, do you think backbenchers may push for expulsion?

MINISTER WATT: I'm not picking that up myself. I think that people are broadly satisfied with the actions the Prime Minister has taken and the leadership team of our party. I support them myself. I think it's a reasonable approach to make clear to a caucus member that the expectation is that they stick by the agreed game plan of our team in the way that everyone else does. So, I'm not picking up any dissatisfaction.

JOURNALIST: If Senator Payman reflects, as you say, on her position and decides that there's actually no way that she can come back. Would you expect, or would your party colleagues expect that she should do the right thing, or would you view it as the right thing for her to quit and hand that seat to somebody who could toe the line?

MINISTER WATT: I'm not going to get into those sort of hypotheticals. I mean, my hope would be that Fatima reflects on her position, recognises that the Labor Party actually supports the recognition of Palestine as part of a just and enduring peace, as part of a peace process with a two state solution. And I hope that she also reflects on all the many other great things that our government is doing for working people across the country, whether it be the cost of living relief that was delivered yesterday, the more homes, the better workplace conditions, I think there's a wide range of reasons for someone with Fatima's values to remain part of the Labor Party, and I welcome her coming back.