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  • 2 years ago
The government's long-held ambition to end Australia’s live sheep export industry has become a reality with its legislation passing both houses of parliament. It's a win for animal rights groups but farmers say the decision will have devastating consequences for regional communities especially those in Western Australia, which is the only state that still ships live sheep overseas.

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00:00For our rural community, keep the sheep.
00:04A long way from home, this group of West Australians made an 11th hour trip to Canberra.
00:10That is nothing.
00:11To make their case.
00:12What do we want?
00:13Keep the sheep.
00:14But the government would not budge.
00:16I'm very pleased that last night the Senate did pass the legislation that the government
00:20had introduced to ban live sheep exports by sea from the 1st of May 2028.
00:26This has been a long time coming.
00:28It's been a campaign that animal welfare groups around Australia have been running
00:31for many, many decades.
00:33I've never seen the sector so united, so mobilised and so furious.
00:39Federal Labor says it has a mandate to push ahead after taking the ban to two elections.
00:44A $107 million package is being offered to help the industry transition to more onshore
00:50processing.
00:51But the state Labor government says that's not enough.
00:55You have to do more.
00:56We need more assistance for WA farmers to assist them in terms of this transition.
01:01This is going to have a significant impact on the industry.
01:03They have an industry that's worth $80 million.
01:09The package that we have on the table is currently worth $107 million.
01:15Wagga-based livestock manager Peter Cabot believes the effects won't be limited to WA,
01:21saying it will drive down prices on the east coast.
01:23Well it's going to have a massive effect on the markets obviously because you're going
01:26to have all these sheep that can't be processed in Western Australia that will have to come
01:31to the eastern states.
01:33The ban has mobilised a group of angry farmers and regional voters who are vowing to campaign
01:39against Labor in marginal WA seats in the lead up to the next federal election.
01:44And there's a clear point of difference, with the Coalition promising to overturn this law
01:49if it's elected.
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01:55Thanks for watching!
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