The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, has condemned the live animal export industry which this morning effectively withdrew an invitation for him to travel on a live export ship to Indonesia.
Mr Wilkie accepted the invitation from the industry to experience a live animal export ship, as well as feedlots and abattoirs in Indonesia, when he visited producers in the Northern Territory in January as part of his campaign to ban live animal exports from Australia.
“I agreed to go on a vessel to Indonesia, not because I’m about to roll over and end my opposition to the live trade, but because I thought it was important to look for ways to improve animal welfare practices with the system we’ve got,’’ Mr Wilkie said.
“But since the invitation the industry has stonewalled and come up with every excuse under the sun as to why it can’t provide a firm date to host me on a live export ship.
“Today in Brisbane I met with representatives of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council and the Northern Territory Livestock Exporters Association who expressed numerous concerns with the journey going ahead, everything from difficulty obtaining visas to space on ships, the Indonesian election and lack of trust between the industry and me.
“Today’s meeting proved the industry had got cold feet and was searching for an excuse to call the whole thing off so it could continue business as usual.
“All the industry could commit to today was for me to visit a loading dock in Australia.”
Mr Wilkie said the report of animal cruelty and alleged fraud by an exporter, aired on ABC television last night, was more proof that the live export trade had to end.
“Livestock Shipping Services is a repeat offender: it has persistently breached licence conditions in the past, and it beggars belief that the Department of Agriculture appears again to have granted it a licence,’’ he said.
“The only explanation can be that the Government simply doesn’t care about the trade being systemically cruel, not being in Australia’s economic self-interest and that the trade lacks popular support.
“It is no wonder that popular support is lacking when an exporter like LSS with repeated cases of cruelty against its name is allowed to continue to operate.’’
“I understand the Department is investigating the alleged fraud but in reality this is a matter for the Federal Police. If no one else refers these allegations to the police then I will.”
In February Mr Wilkie introduced a Bill to ban live exports from July 2017, his fourth legislative attempt to end the cruelty.
