A group of representatives from Western Australia's sheep, wool and transport industries are making their way to Canberra today to meet with the Federal Agriculture Minister as well as "a swathe" of other Federal politicians, to plead the case for the continuation of Australia's live sheep trade.
The delegation, put together by the National Farmers' Federation and Sheep Producers Australia, includes representatives from industries other than farming, that are also set to be affected by the government's proposal to phase out the live sheep trade.
More specifically, the group, which has members from Sheep Producers Australia, WAFarmers, WoolProducers Australia, the Western Australian Shearing Industry Association (WASIA) and the WA Livestock & Rural Transport Association (LRTA) hopes to highlight some of the detrimental flow-on effects Federal Labor's policy will have on WA's regional and rural communities.
On Monday, a Sheep Producers Australia spokesperson confirmed the delegation had secured a meeting with Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt, as well as several politicians from the Nationals, Labor and Liberal parties and "influential members of the crossbench".
The spokesperson said an invitation to hear first-hand from the sheep, wool and transport representatives at an afternoon tea scheduled for tomorrow had also received a strong response from Canberra's Federal politicians, with many already having confirmed their attendance.
WA LRTA vice-president Ben Sutherland, who is a member of the delegation and the owner operator of his family run livestock and bulk transportation business 5K Livestock, said for him the purpose of the trip was to highlight what local businesses would go through as a result of the decision to ban the live sheep trade.
"I don't think these politicians have really looked at the bigger picture of how this decision is going to affect our rural communities," Mr Sutherland said.
"When our small businesses suffer in the regions, that has a huge flow-on effect on things such as employment in those areas and the sponsorship of local sporting teams,for example, because it means small businesses that traditionally support those local sporting groups may no longer be able to afford to."
With livestock accounting for about 40 per cent of 5K Livestock's business, Mr Sutherland said it is unlikely the company will be able to retain its five staff members if the ban went ahead.
"We have five trucks and drivers, but this phase out means one of our trucks might not be viable anymore, so that's one driver and his family who could potentially be out of work," Mr Sutherland said.
He said he could think of 20-30 other livestock transport companies across the State that are in a similar situation.
"This ban is going to put extra pressure on what is already a really tough operating environment for WA's transport companies and their drivers," Mr Sutherland said.
"There's no two ways about it - farmers and those industries along the supply chain are going to go through some really tough times as a result of this, and it's already taking its toll on the mental health of those who are going to be affected."
WA Shearing Industry Association (WASIA) president Darren Spencer, who is also traveling to Canberra as part of the delegation, said the group purposely included members of non-farmer groups to help highlight some of the other, less publicised industries set to be affected by the ban.
Mr Spencer and his wife Tania have owned Spencer Shearing Service for the past 26 years, which operates in the Lake Grace area.
Employing about 40 people, Mr Spencer said a live sheep trade ban will result in the company losing about one third of its business.
"We've spent the last two-three years training people because all of our New Zealander shearers went home during COVID-19, so now that we have a workforce again it's our own government that's going to really hurt our business," Mr Spencer said.
"We won't be able to afford the continuity of work for our employees - they can't just sit down and not be paid for four-six months of the year, so many of them will have to go out and find another job."
Mr Spencer said, more recently, the company had been training more shearers due to an increase in demand.
"We are actually shearing a lot more at the moment, because there are these sheep remaining in the system now that should actually be gone, so that's put extra pressure on us to employ all these extra people," Mr Spencer said.
"But what will we do with all these extra people that we've trained if a whole lot of our work disappears when this ban happens?" Mr Spencer said.
"The impact this will have on the shearing industry will have a knock-on effect on our rural towns, and that's the point the government is really missing when analysing the effects of this ban."
While WASIA has about 80 members, Mr Spencer estimated there are about 1000 shearers working across WA.
"This is going to become a human welfare issue, not an animal welfare issue and the government isn't taking that human element issue into account."
Sheep Producers Australia chief executive Bonnie Skinner said the aim of the trip was to help politicians understand a phase out of the live sheep trade will be felt across the entire supply chain, communities and the Australian economy.
"The WA sheep flock plays an important role in sustaining the national flock, ensuring vital breeding stock is maintained to support periods of rebuilding on both the east and west coast of Australia after drought," Ms Skinner said.
"This is not only critical for the long-term success of the Australian sheepmeat industry, but also the wool and meat processing sectors.
"For WA sheep producers to sustain their systems in the face of isolation, strong farm gate competition for sheep, driven by access to markets including live sheep exports, must be maintained.
"Grazier competition in WA is limited, with producers relying on the competitive tension provided by live export to ensure stronger competition, fairer farm gate pricing, and sustainable businesses.
"The government's decision to implement its policy to phase out live sheep export by sea will remove a critical demand for WA sheep, thereby reducing farm gate competition and threatening the very livelihoods of the families, businesses and communities reliant on the WA sheep supply chain."
Ms Skinner said a decision to phase out the industry would also put at risk the enviable trading reputation the Australia's sheep industry has built with its international customers.
"The policy decisions made for Australian agriculture must be evidence-based, strategic, inclusive and collaborative," Ms Skinner said.
"Government has a responsibility to ensure that no Australian is worse off or left behind... However, should this policy be implemented, that is what will occur for thousands of Australians in rural WA."
