Thousands of West Australians have showed their strong support by signing a petition for the continuation of the live sheep trade, keeping West Australian jobs secure for the future.
The petition’s driving force, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and The Nationals WA Peter Rundle, tabled the first collection of signatures in Parliament today, showing the State’s support for the sustainable industry.
Mr Rundle said the Albanese Government’s decision to ban the live sheep trade would directly put more than 3,000 West Australian jobs at risk.
“The petition tabled today shows more than 2,000 West Australians have joined our call for the Federal Agriculture Minister to back down from his decimation of the trade,” Mr Rundle said.
“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed he was for Western Australia during the Federal Election – now, his Government must listen and help WA farmers and their families.”
Mr Rundle said the live export industry was crucial to Australia’s economy, with Western Australia providing 97 per cent of national live sheep exports.
“The Albanese Government must back science and reverse its ideological decision to shut down the animal-welfare focussed, job-creating industry.”
Shadow Agriculture and Food Minister Colin de Grussa said it was disappointing to see further requests from industry to the Premier for help in this fight be dismissed.
Mr de Grussa said the McGowan Labor Government has continually failed to stand up for WA farmers, regional communities, and global supply chains.
“Just weeks into the job, the new Agriculture Minister announced her support for the live sheep trade, but now we see it was nothing more than lip service with no action to back it up,” Mr de Grussa said.
“We’ve also seen the Premier basically give up on taking the live export fight to Canberra, despite major agricultural stakeholders pleading with him for help.
“West Australians deserve better than a State Government who is willing to roll over to the ideological whims of their Federal counterparts.
“The McGowan Labor Government treats regional communities as out-of-sight and out-of-mind, which is why we encourage everyone to sign our petition so regional voices can be heard.”
To sign the petition, visit: https://bit.ly/41uGsaX.
