00:00Great Southern farmer Robert Davey has been selling his sheep to live exporters for decades,
00:07but the option is slowly disappearing.
00:10The confidence of the live sheep carriers has gone out the door.
00:17There isn't the companies around as much, so that makes it difficult.
00:23In May, the federal government announced plans to end live sheep exports by 2028, promising
00:29$107 million to help the industry transition, a figure quickly labelled inadequate by both
00:36the industry and the WA government.
00:41The federal minister says she's listened, using her first trip to WA since taking on
00:46the agriculture portfolio to visit a Bunbury abattoir, and announce an extra $32 million
00:52to increase onshore processing and find new markets.
00:56We want to work collaboratively and listen to the farmers in Western Australia and people
01:02along the supply chain about how do we take advantage of this.
01:05Here are some great opportunities for what is a growing market.
01:09Some industry groups have welcomed the extra funding, but say it won't stop their campaign
01:14against the ban.
01:15I don't think there'd be too many farmers looking for a handout because of this transition.
01:22I think we would prefer to keep the live export business going.
01:28In a statement, the WA agriculture minister said while it's pleasing to see some additional
01:33funding announced, the state government does not support the live export ban and will continue
01:39to advocate for the industry's needs.
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