WA Liberal MP Rick Wilson in Federal Parliament yesterday.
WESTERN Australian farmers are readying themselves for a political battle over the proposed phaseout of live sheep exports by sea in some of the state’s key federal seats.
WA Liberal MP Rick Wilson told Federal Parliament yesterday that WAFarmers president and Pastoralists and Graziers Association president Tony Seabrook were raising a $6 million war chest to challenge Labor in marginal Perth seats at the next federal election.
“PGA president, Tony Seabrook, named the Labor seats of Tangney, Hasluck, Swan, Pearce and Cowan — and I’m betting that we’ll have plenty of retired cockies backing them to win back Curtin as well,” Mr Wilson said.
“The PM needs to understand that there will be a political price to pay for persecuting WA farmers, whose only crime is to feed and clothe our great nation, and export specialist product, like live sheep, to nations that cannot produce their own.
“I believe Australians appreciate where their food comes from and will support this campaign driven by passionate farmers who are fighting for the future of Australian agriculture and the sustainability of our regional communities,” Mr Wilson said.
Plan to target marginal electorates
Mr Seabrook was not available today to confirm Mr Wilson’s statements, but Mr Hassell said he had seen a quote for a $1.6 million media campaign over 16 marginal electorates, that WAFarmers is considering participating in.
“We (the WAFarmers board) haven’t committed to anything at this stage.”
Mr Hassell said a Live Export Action Group that includes representatives from Sheep Producers Australia, WoolProducers Australia, WAFarmers, PGA and the Australian Livestock Exporters Association is meeting weekly.
“We’re looking at trying to raise this $1.6 million so we can target these marginal electorates.
“Doing nothing is not an option,” he said.
“There is definitely not a final course of action, but these are the sorts of things that we are thinking about.”
Mr Hassell said he still believes the live sheep export trade by seas is a “sacrificial lamb on the altar of preference deals.”
“They’ve got very political with, it’s not about science, so unfortunately we are going to have to fight it in the same sort of manner, but we are not sure how at this stage.”
Mr Hassell said recent estimates on the value of the live sheep trade to Western Australia had overlooked the economic multiplier effect of associated businesses, employment and trade.
“In reality it’s worth somewhere between $300 million and a billion dollars to the economy, so why do we keep minimising it and saying it only worth $80 million?”
Israel is experiencing famine at the moment. A boat load of sheep and cattle will help. Get MLA (fed government) and the sheep donated. The sheep donated should get publicity, get the Israeli community on board to help. The Palestinian community also.
The last boat of food took an extra eight weeks to get there thanks to Murray Watt. How many people died before the food got there?
You have that arse-about; Israel is causing famine in Gaza.
Israel is a rich country that imports chilled kosher (to their certified standards) meat from Argentina, Brazil, Poland, Spain, and USA.
Bassem Dabbah – the exporters/importers and owners of the Bahijah will make about 500 percent profit on the sheep and cattle aboard after subjecting them to this unconscionable 3-4 month transport period. They were trucked from farm to pre-export holding feedlots in December and an unprecedented 73+ days at sea.
Murray Watt has nothing to do with it and it would be illegal for any minister to interfere in the decisions of the regulatory body – the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry.
Good luck with that – not really. I’m really interested to see them spend millions of $$ trying to reverse a swing towards Labor of +9.96 percent in Cowan, +11.89pc in Hasluck, +14.23pc in Pearce, +11.99pc in Swan, and +11.88pc in Tangney, based on supporting animal cruelty and suffering, in a state where 70pc of the community want to see an end to live sheep exports.
Votes are the only thing the trots understand. Losing seats may stampede them back toward the sensible centre .
They won’t lose seats based on their commitment to end live sheep exports by sea, Glenn – geez… do you still not understand how politics works?
A/ >70% of Australians, Australia-wide support that commitment;
B/ >70% of Western Australians support that commitment;
C/ >70 of rural respondents in WA support that commitment;
D/ Plenty of soy latté-sipping inner city woke Liberals support that commitment;
The only people who want to see it continue didn’t vote Greens or Labor last election anyway – they all voted Nationals, Liberals, SFF, One Nation and Australian Christians, and people who did vote Labor aren’t going to switch sides for the sake of perpetuating the suffering of Australian sheep.
The seats you want to swing back to the Coalition had 9-14+% swings to Labor. Australians might support farmers who grow potatoes, but they don’t want to see a potato in the role of PM.
Aussies support farmers – they do not support sheep producers who want to see this trade continue in the face of all the science, evidence and data that demonstrate it cannot be done without diminished welfare outcomes (at best) and it cannot (or will not) be regulated.
Labor has that science, evidence, data, the expert opinion of hundreds, if not thousands of vets and every animal protection organisation on the planet on their side and they have the community on their side. “Farmers” need to stop being emotional about it and look to the future.
I understand voters Katrina. How is the Animal Justice Party’s rise to power going? No state daddy and Rodger is on the nose with the heritage failures, ambulance ramping and housing shortages. Albo’s failed referendum and 11 interest rate rises, the housing shortage and promises that cost of living would be cheaper under him, the electricity promise. Wow, making woman cry. Inflation and almost any index says his policies are crap. Put your money into gold.
Almost no-one went to the polls last time voting Labor for live sheep; it was all anti-Morrison and 32 percent of first preferences is low; not any where near your 70pc. Your the woman who said our meatworks could cope and $4 a head was all it would cost producers. Remember passing around that report prepared over east ? Maybe stick to things that you understand.