CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Ms PRICE (Durack) (10:37): The end of live sheep export in Australia can only be described as shambolic. First, the decision to end live sheep export was a grave error, simply to appease left-leaning voters in the cities. Now there is $800,000 being spent on the Future Flock project, supposedly to map out the future of Australia's sheep industry.
Considering that nearly every sheep previously exported live from Australia by sea came from Western Australia, you would have expected Western Australia to be front and centre with this report. After all, it is our farmers, businesses and regional communities that are carrying almost all of the pain from this ban. Instead, the final Future Flock report delivered no WA-specific recommendations.
The report has been described by WAFarmers as an embarrassing failure, with concerns raised about numerous factual errors, questionable sourcing, contradictions and problems with the economic modelling. How is it possible that the government can shut down an industry that is overwhelmingly based in WA, spend $800,000 of transition money supposedly planning for its future and then produce a report with no WA recommendations?
Honestly, you can't make this stuff up. This is not a serious transition plan—not at all. It is simply a box-ticking exercise, and this government should hang its head in shame.
Our regional Western Australian farmers and their communities deserve far better than this. After having their livelihoods ripped away from them, they deserve respect and proper support from the government, not the disrespect that is currently being shown to them. Yesterday, it was a pleasure to welcome students from the Geraldton Christian College to Parliament House, particularly on the International Day of Democracy.
We had a great discussion about what matters most to people in Geraldton and to regional Australia. I asked the students what they would do if they were prime minister for the day, and their answers were very thoughtful, including the following: protecting animals, tougher punishments for crime, lowering the price of fuel, building more hospitals, improving roads, ending the ban on demersal fishing in WA—a very big issue in Western Australia—more aged-care facilities, more defence weapons, better health care in Geraldton—always an issue—building more homes, more recycling, and making our neighbourhoods safer.
I just want to give a big thank you to the teachers and the staff who prepared the students well and brought them all this way to learn about Canberra. To the parents and the carers of these students, you will be very proud of these students that were very respectful and participated enthusiastically. There's definitely a prime minister amongst them all.
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