Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has once again raised the ire of the live export industry, following comments made at the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award gala dinner at Parliament House.
In reference to a dinner had with Indonesian president-elect Bapak Prabowo Subianto, Albanese said “when we had dinner, beautiful Australian beef. Not the live export, we made sure it was dead.”
The federal government recently passed a bill ending the practice of Australian live sheep export by sea from May 1, 2028, in a move that has been widely opposed by those operating within the industry.
WA Livestock and Rural Transporters president and ‘Keep the Sheep’ spokesperson Ben Sutherland says Albanese’s comments showcase the Prime Minister’s continued misunderstanding of the Australian rural population.
“I am disgusted to the core,” Sutherland says. “Labor throws rural communities into the wind and continually keeps laughing about it. It’s no joke.
“In my eyes it’s quite scary to have a government that doesn’t care about regional Australia.
“We feel betrayed. The Prime Minister is not listening to regional Australia, he is taking us for granted.
“He has got not concept of what he is doing to rural Australia. He is destroying industries and lives and livelihoods, with no real consequence or guilt of his own conscious.”
Australia Livestock Exporters’ Council CEO Mark Harvey-Sutton added Albanese’s comments indicate a lack of understanding of the Australian livestock export industry.
“For the Prime Minister to be making light of the demise of live exports at a rural industry dinner, mere weeks after passing the devastating live sheep ban, shows an astounding lack of judgement and disregard for rural Australia and the families that are hurting as a result of the government’s poor decision,” Harvey-Sutton says.
In a recent interview with ATN, Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) Executive Director Rachel Smith labelled the compensation package set to be awarded to the live export industry as “a slap in the face”.
The federal government has committed over $100 million over five years to ensuring businesses are not adversely impacted by the live export phase-out, however, according to Smith, over half of that is committed to government departments to oversee the phase-out.
Nationals leader David Littleproud also stated farmers are planning a rally outside Parliament House on September 10.
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