Less politics, more common sense: Beef producers react to sheep export ban

In the wake of the federal government's announcement that live sheep exports would end in May 2028, the focus in the north has turned to one of its most important sectors in beef.

While federal agricultural minister Murray Watt has reassured beef exporters that the industry would not suffer the same fate, there are renewed calls from industry leaders to stand behind sheep producers, lest the cattle export industry eventually suffer the same fate due to animal rights group pressures.

"We need to get behind the sheep live export industry. We can't allow it to be manipulated like they're trying to do," AgForce northern director and Burdekin Downs, Charters Towers producer Blair Knuth said.

"We know the standards have lifted. We know there's no problem. We know the conditions have been provided and the [alleged] problems [the government identified] in the beginning do not apply. They've all been rectified."

Reid River Export depot manager Paul Heil said he had lived through a similar threat to the beef export industry in 2011 and believed the decision to ban live sheep exports was "politically motivated".

"The industry's under threat just as it was with cattle in 2011. Let's just take politics out of it and get a bit of common sense in the way Australia feeds the world," he said.

"Put the import [industry] back where it should be. Where is all this public opinion that says we need to get rid of live exports? Where is it? Where is the evidence of it?

"I started in 2000 and [the industry has] come a long way. Right now it's pretty well managed and organised. If anything, the government is over-managing it with the ships and stuff like that, over-regulating everything we do.

"We just need to stay on top of doing what we need to do. Those animal libbers keep pushing no matter what we do. Once they finish on sheep they'll move onto us, then onto chook farms...and keep going."

Mr Heil said there was a lot less risk to cattle travelling from Australia to south east Asia due to the resilient northern breeds, the short voyages and similar climates.

"Everyone's waiting for them to try [and crack down on the beef live export industry] and nobody would be surprised if it was bought on tomorrow. But it's business as usual. Everyone is making sure they're dotting their i's and crossing their t's," he said.

Ray White Geaney Kirkwood livestock agent Liam Kirkwood also urged cattle producers, particularly in the north, to become more active in the industry to ensure they do not suffer the same fate.

"Now more than ever, we need to call for producers to become involved although we have government bodies doing their best to promote the industry and safeguard it," he said.

"Unfortunately I feel industry bodies and government bodies are too heavily influenced by public opinion. I think that's a big threat to the live export industry.

"For every day, every week and every year, we seem to lose more and more common sense out of what we do. It's more influenced by public opinion than common sense."

Mr Kirkwood said arguments about animal welfare standards were unfounded and he believed everyone in the livestock industry was well educated and did their best to maintain high standards.

"Around the world, Australia is known for its high standards but we seem to only hear bad stories. I think it's time for producers to get behind it and promote what we're known for," he said.

"We're out here, having a go and doing our best and it's shining through at the other end. We're recognised for having high standard beef and how we treat animals.

"Be careful we don't fall victim to public opinion. People in the big cities don't necessarily understand the real world so we don't want their voices to be [the loudest]."

AgForce cattle board president Peter Hall said the only way to prevent a similar fate in beef exports due to animal rights agendas was to bring in a new government.

"They said they're not going to touch the cattle trade and that it will still be a part of North Queensland but...it will be next on the agenda for animal rights groups," he said.

"[We probably need] more in the way of a public campaign to make the Australian population aware of just how essential the industry is, not just to north Australia but also as a source of food to other countries. What's happened with the sheep trade will take recovering from.

"We've lost our licence so to speak of a guaranteed source of food. We've let political interference in. I don't believe the repercussions will be just on the animal and meat side, but also on the grain side, all commodities will feel the pressure.

"We're been told by the current government it's not going to happen but the impact on Western Australia has been or will be horrendous and what's not taken into account with the sheep trade is the impact on the mutton trade and the wool trade."

Mr Hall said the cattle industry was always focused on improving conditions for the animals.

"There is no money in poor or dead animals; it just makes sense to do things better. Australia has been doing that," he said.

"Science and history are being ignored. Over the last few years, [the industry's] track record has been amazing. How do you counter that?

"The animal welfare on both cattle and sheep has been over-sighted by the federal department the whole way through. They know how good it is. They're not thinking about the long-term economic outcome of the country."

Mr Watt reiterated his stance on not closing down the live export cattle industry.

"We support it," he said.

"I've lost count of the number of issues that have emerged, particularly with Indonesia, relating to the live cattle export industry, which I personally, and our government, has worked enormously hard with the industry to preserve that relationship and to preserve that trade.

"We see these two industries [as] fundamentally different. Cattle are a much hardier species that tend to travel much shorter journeys [to Indonesia] versus a very long journey to the Middle East from [a] less hardy species.

"The live cattle industry is a backbone industry for northern Australia, the live sheep industry is less than one percent of Western Australia's agricultural output."

While the season got off to a slow start due to heavy rain and road damage, Mr Kirkwood said the first six months of the year have been "fairly strong" and "very competitive" for cattle exports.

Mr Heil said over the last six weeks, activity had picked up and it was "full steam ahead" for the industry, with prices reasonable enough to attract overseas clients.

AgForce northern director and Burdekin Downs, Charters Towers producer Blair Knuth said the live export industry helped keep "a floor on the price in Australia" and played an important role in feeding the world.

"There is no reason (the beef live export industry) shouldn't be strong. We had those threats back in 2011 and we've overcome any hurdles that may be put in front of us. We've proven the industry is completely sustainable...and we've demonstrated quite clearly that we are doing things correctly," he said.

"It really is essential. It supports northern producers really well. The southern production systems found out in 2011 that we're all tied together; we're one continent and what affects one, affects all. That's why we need to be behind the sheep live export right now."