STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr WILKIE (Clark) (13:33): While live sheep exports will end in 2028, many other animals will continue to endure the horrors of the live export trade, with no end in sight. Last year alone, Australia exported more than 800,000 cattle, 33,000 goats and 1,700 buffalo. In fact, cattle numbers increased by 11 per cent and goat exports more than doubled.

So, the cruelty continues. For instance, in 2024, a Brahman Express voyage killed 151 cattle—a mortality rate of 4.5 per cent. These animals suffered and died over days at sea in a trade that still puts profit ahead of welfare.

Two years on from the Brahman Express incident, it remains under investigation and the exporter still trades. This is why I'm proud to present a Change.org petition to end all live animal exports, with about 470,000 signatures. This is one of the largest petitions Change.org has ever seen, and powerful evidence that the community wants a lot more done than just the live sheep export ban.

I acknowledge Lisa Margetts, who started this petition and who has campaigned tirelessly for years, and I thank every person who signed it. Grassroots advocacy matters. It got us the sheep ban and it's what will get us a full ban on live exports.

On that note, I seek leave to table the petition. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): Has the petition been approved by the Petitions Committee? Mr WILKIE: It's not in a format that the Petitions Committee would accept, so I'm seeking to table it as a parliamentary document.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is leave granted? Mr Hill: As discussed with the member, I can't grant leave at this point. We haven't reviewed it, but I do appreciate the point that you're making and invite you to undertake further discussions with us.

The Petitions Committee is the appropriate form for the House, but we can certainly talk about it further.