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Sheep producers to get help to have a say on live trade phaseout

Sheep Central, May 3, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHEEP producers will get industry guidance on having their say on the phaseout of live exports by sea in a free webinar next week.

Sheep Producers Australia and WoolProducers are hosting the free webinar on Monday 8 May, with support from the Australian Livestock Exporters Council, WA Farmers, the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA and The Livestock Collective

The webinar is being held to support producers to have their say on the live sheep phaseout policy of the Federal Government. Webinar attendees will have the process of putting in a submission on the HaveYourSay website explained.

ALEX chief executive officer Mark Harvey-Sutton will outline the ALEC view on the phaseout and representatives of the other groups will also speak and answer questions. To sign up for the webinar click on the link here.

An independent panel, established by the Federal Government to consult with impacted and interested stakeholders about the proposed phaseout of the trade, is seeking feedback by AEST 10 pm, Wednesday 31 May 2023.

The panel is seeking input on:

how the government should phase out live sheep exports by sea

the timeframe to implement the phase out

how the phase out will impact exporters, farmers and other businesses across the supply chain support and adjustment options for those impacted by the phase out

opportunities, including options to expand domestic processing and increase sheep meat exports.

The panel has said its consultation will not consider the merits or otherwise of the government’s policy to phase out live sheep exports by sea. The phase out does not apply to other livestock export industries, such as live cattle exports, nor does it apply to live sheep exports by air.

The phaseout panel held meetings across Western Australia last month, that were initially intended to be invitation-only targeted consultations not public forums. However, after widespread criticism later meetings were opened up as public forums. The panel has also said it will hold public virtual forums in May – see details sourced from DAFF below.

Two broadcast sessions and 6 discussion forums will be conducted by the independent panel on Friday 12 May and Monday 15 May 2023.

The broadcast sessions are intended for a large audience to hear from the panel. Attendees may submit questions via the Teams Live moderated Q&A tool. Please note attendees’ video and microphone will not be enabled during the broadcasts.

The discussion forums support engagement with targeted stakeholder groups of up to 200 attendees. Stakeholders are asked to attend the discussion forum planned for the stakeholder group they represent please – as outlined below. At the start of each forum, the panel will share information before providing attendees with the opportunity to ask a question and participate in the online discussion via Teams.

In the broadcast sessions and discussion forums, the panel will answer as many questions as possible within the hour.

To attend, please select the relevant session time below and follow the prompts to register for a free ticket to a broadcast session, and/or your stakeholder group’s discussion forum.

Friday 12 May – All times are AEST

11.00am – 12 noon         Broadcast Session 1 – All invited

12.30pm – 1.30pm         Discussion Forum – Animal Welfare

3.00pm – 4.00pm           Discussion Forum – Supply Chain
(Shearers, vets, transport operators, fodder growers and operators, feedlot operators, stockpersons and sheep buyers etc)

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