Ending live exports a ‘win’ for farmers, Shadow Agriculture Minister says
Labor has pledged to end the live export industry if it wins government, with Shadow Agricultural Minister Joel Fitzgibbon saying the industry can’t go on as it is.
The Federal Opposition has taken the position after leaked footage showed sheeps dying in ships bound for the Middle East.
Mr Fitzgibbon tells Ben Fordham it isn’t a “ban” but an “orderly transition” out of the industry.
“You just can’t put 50,000, 60,000 sheep for a month or more into the hottest part of the world and claim it can be done on a humane basis.
“It’s just terrible. I don’t see any circumstances where you can make that work.”
Mr Fitzgibbon says moving out of the live exports trade can be a “win for farmers aswell”, despite Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying it shows how “reckless” Labor is at protecting jobs.
“We’ve got a large number of abattoirs across this country either closed or running at partial capacity because we lack strategic government guidance.
“We need to help this sector, to employ people here.”
The announcement has sparked the National Farmers’ Federation to come out against a “knee-jerk reaction”.
CEO of the federation Tony Mahar tells Ben “things need to change” but the issue shouldn’t be politicised.
“What we don’t want is knee-jerk reactions because they have real impacts.”
Click PLAY below for the full interview with the Shadow Agriculture Minister
Click PLAY below for the full interview with Tony Maher