AWI, MLA give research funds to live export lobby group

Hundreds of thousands of dollars from producer levies have been spent on a group which has strong links to promoting live exports.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars of livestock producers’ levies collected for research, development and marketing has been given to a group pushing to save live exports.

Australian Wool Innovation and Meat and Livestock Australia have given funds to The Livestock Collective, a group established in 2018 that purports to be a tool to explain more about the sheep and cattle industries, particularly live exports.

Its managing director Holly Ludeman is the corporate governance and compliance officer at Emanuel Exports.

The funding arrangements came under scrutiny in recent Senate estimates, with Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi questioning how AWI could be sure the funds were not being used for agri-political activity.

Under statutory agreements with the government, grower levies to RDCs are matched by Commonwealth money, but there are strict rules that this cannot be used for agripolitics such as lobbying.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt conceded in estimates that The Livestock Collective was “campaigning heavily against the government’s policy” to end live sheep exports by sea.

The Livestock Collective was one of 23 signatories to a letter sent to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on September 28 in a last-ditch effort to save the trade. Other groups included the national and state farming lobbies, Cattle Australia and Australian Livestock Exporters Council.

Other recent activities for The Livestock Collective have included Facebook posts including the tags #stopthesheepban and #keepthesheep.

The Livestock Collective has ventured into lobbying and AWI and MLA have provided money to the company, which they say is not being used for agripolitical work.

Australian Wool Innovation has given $30,000 to The Livestock Collective in a contract which began in August. It has committed to pay $90,000 to the group.

An AWI spokesman said AWI only engaged in The Livestock Collective “for extension activities which is detailed within the contractual agreement”.

“It is within the AWI charter to fund organisations who provide research, development and marketing activities,” the spokesman said.

Meat and Livestock Australia has given $328,000 to the group over the past six financial years to its live export program.

A spokesman for MLA said groups such as The Livestock Collective performed a range of functions.

“MLA only invests in activities that align with the requirements of our statutory funding agreement, and we ensure rigour around this process through our contracting and reporting framework,” the spokesman said.

“MLA has invested in initiatives with the Livestock Collective such as the Livestock Leaders program, which aligns with MLA’s strategic objectives around capability and capacity building in the industry.”

The spokesman said MLA would “continue to review all our investments through the lenses of the requirements of our statutory funding agreement and their ability to deliver outcomes for the industry”.