Farmer fury after live sheep export ban passes through Senate
Farmers have amassed a war chest to campaign against the Albanese government in the key electoral battleground of WA after the ban on live sheep exports passed the Senate.
Sheep farmers are building a massive war chest to campaign against Labor at the next federal election and will spend almost half a million dollars across at least three seats in the electoral battleground of Western Australia.
After the passage of legislation through the senate on Monday night banning live sheep exports from 2028, the furious sheep industry is planning a campaign to punish Anthony Albanese in a bid to install a Coalition government that will revoke the controversial ban.
Polling conducted for the industry last year showed the legislation could be a vote changer in the west, with 42 per cent of people polled against the ban and 50 per cent in support of the live export industry.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt defended the ban, saying the May 2028 start date would give the industry, which is primarily based in Western Australia, four years to transition to a new business model.
Senator Watt said he was not concerned about the campaign to oust the government.
Australian Livestock Exporters Council chief executive officer Mark Harvey-Sutton said the government had underestimated the fury the legislation had stirred up within the agriculture sector.
“It’s very good for the Minister to say he’s not concerned but … when they’re looking in the rearview mirror when they’re leaving government, they will see us there,” Mr Harvey-Sutton said.
The grassroots Keep the Sheep advocacy group has already raised $416,000 and intends to start spending the money this week.
More than $100,000 could be spent in each targeted seat on billboards, advertising and social media campaigns.
Farmers, shearers and truck drivers will also participate in a doorknocking campaign, asking constituents: “Do you know the Albanese government is putting me out of business?”
The organisation plans to raise $1m and will ask for corporate donations and for funding from other farming sectors, including the cattle industry, which fears its own live export sector could be hit next.
Keep the Sheep, which includes members from various industry groups, has vowed to campaign against the government and particularly target the Labor-held WA swing seats of Hasluck (6 per cent margin) and Tangney (3.38 per cent) and the newly-created seat of Bullwinkle.
The formerly Liberal-held seats swung to Anthony Albanese in 2022 and were crucial to him winning a slim majority.
“If we can’t change the policy, we will change the government,” truck driver and Keep the Seep spokesman Ben Sutherland said.
“We will be targeting marginal seats by the end of the week until the election, and we won’t let up.”
Polling conducted in WA by Redbridge for ALEC in May last year found -5.9 per cent net favourability for the government’s proposed ban, with 25.8 saying it was very unfavourable, 16.1 per cent unfavourable, 22.2 per cent neutral or not sure, 10.2 per cent favourable and 25.7 per cent very favourable.
“Scepticism about federal government intentions toward their state played into attitudes regarding a ban on the live sheep trade – a trade they see as important to the viability of the state’s agriculture industry,” the Redbridge research summary said.
The result differs from those presented by a survey conducted by McCrindle Research for the RSPCA.
The survey, also conducted in May last year, found 71 per cent of respondents in WA supported the ban.
Australian Alliance for Animals spokesman Dr Jed Goodfellow welcomed the passage of the legislation.
“The tireless campaigning by advocates, in particular, the groundbreaking investigations by Animals Australia, and the courageous efforts of whistleblowers who risked their careers and more to expose the conditions faced by Australian animals on-board live export vessels, have finally been acknowledged today,” Dr Goodfellow said.
The bill passed through the Senate with the support of the crossbench, with the hoped-for support of independents failing to materialise for farming groups who have been campaigning for the government to reconsider the legislation.
National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke said the government had ignored evidence and disregarded proper process to appease animal welfare activists who have been campaigning for the trade to be shut down.
“Farming communities have been sold out for political gain, and they’re gutted,” Mr Jochinke explained.
“The government vowed to kill off the jobs of farmers, shearers and truckies in WA. Credit to them, they’ve executed that job with ruthless efficiency.”
The government has set aside $107m to help farmers and people within the supply chain to transition away from live exports.
Senator Watt said the passage of the law would strengthen animal welfare and create opportunities for jobs in domestic meat processing.
“The Albanese Government’s transition plan provides certainty, time and support,” Senator Watt said.
“This law is a critical foundation for transitioning towards the end of the trade.”
Nationals leader David Littleproud, who, as agriculture minister, implemented strict regulations for live sheep exporters in the wake of several controversies, said the move would hurt the WA farming sector.
“Farmers now know Labor is willing to sell them out and shut down a successful, world-class trade based on ideology,” Mr Littleproud said.
“No amount of reform matters to Labor. It means any future industry, including live cattle, could be next.”
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