2011-06-15
Madam Speaker Aagaard took the Chair at 6 pm.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s gallery of the Acting Indonesian Consul for the Northern Territory, Mr Bambang Daranindra, accompanied by consulate staff.
On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: I welcome all other guests who have come to listen to this debate.
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business)(by leave) Madam Speaker, I move –
That the Routine of Business for Wednesday, 15 June 2011, be as follows:
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have before me a document relating to pairs for this evening for the member for Daly and the member for Araluen. It has been signed by the two Whips. I tabled the document.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that I have received the following letter from the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, dated 14 June 2011:
Pursuant to Sessional Order of the Assembly, I acceded to the request and recalled parliament to sit from 6 pm this evening.
I table the letter of my acknowledgement.
I call the Chief Minister.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the Northern Territory Assembly:
Madam Speaker, I also acknowledge the attendance of the Acting Head of the Indonesian Consulate, Consul Pak Bambang Daranindra for this very important debate in the parliament this evening.
This issue is a crisis for the Northern Territory. It is a crisis for Territory families across the Northern Territory. It is a crisis which, as government, I absolutely resolve all my efforts in playing our part in ensuring that this trade is resumed as soon as possible.
I was advised late last Tuesday afternoon that the Prime Minister, with minister Warren Snowdon, was meeting with Luke Bowen from the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to announce that the federal minister was going to announce the following morning a ban on live exports to Indonesia. That came as a great shock to me, and a shock to everyone involved in that industry. From that day, not only have I and the minister for Primary Industry had conversations with the Prime Minister and the federal minister, but we have also been working every single day with the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to ensure that the trade is recommenced as quickly as possible.
I acknowledge the opposition and the Leader of the Opposition. I will not go into everything that has happened in the last week, but, in the spirit of the debate tonight, we have had very firm requests to both sides of this House not to politicise this issue. This issue is beyond politics and I know that every member in this House is going to support this motion tonight because we are talking about the livelihood of Territorians that could be severely damaged if this ban continues for any significant length of time.
My commitment is not to play politics with this issue but to do everything I can, as the Chief Minister, to get this trade recommenced as soon as possible.
The Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association approached both the government and the opposition late last week with an idea of parliament being recalled to make a statement of consensus. My public comments were that I was very much open to that as long as we could agree on a motion, and not only agree on a motion with the opposition, but to have support for the motion that we are debating tonight with industry. There has been a fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing with industry to come to the words in this motion. It has been a collaborative effort with the Leader of the Opposition, and the member for Fong Lim, who has taken a very solid role in consensus around that. I thank the member for Fong Lim for the approach he has taken.
What we saw on Four Corners was horrifying and unacceptable. It shocked everyone who saw that footage. For the future of the trade, and to have a sustainable trade into the future, we have to ensure those images will never be repeated on Australian television screens with Australian cattle. They were absolutely horrifying. They offended every Australian, and can I say, in deference to our friends from Indonesia, the vast majority of Indonesians were absolutely appalled at those images. I will go to a media release issued by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Canberra last week which can speak for that.
Australians, Territorians and the cattle industry wanted action. The industry was appalled by those images as well. Our cattle producers do not raise cattle in the Northern Territory to see them end their lives in the way those images are portrayed. They wanted immediate action as well. They wanted an assurance that all necessary steps would immediately be taken to ensure this will not be repeated. I believe Territorians have a much better understanding of the live export industry than most Australians. Even the most urbanised of Darwinians live with the road trains that we see on our roads, the cattle trains, the images of cattle going over our wharves into the mass transport ships that we see leaving for Indonesia. People in Darwin see the ships in our harbour on a daily and weekly basis. I am convinced that most Territorians support this industry, but no Territorians supported what they saw on television on the Four Corners program.
The view, from the conversations that I have had with Luke Bowen and industry, is that no one wanted to see a permanent ban, or even a temporary ban lasting any length of time, but I believe a number of people in the cattle industry acknowledge we needed a circuit breaker in this. The temporary ban has provided for a circuit breaker to ensure we get processes in place, through the industry, with governments and with Indonesia, so when the trade resumes we can be guaranteed that Australian cattle will not end their lives as we saw those images on Four Corners.
We have a temporary ban. I will do everything in my power to ensure that ban is lifted as soon as we possibly can, once those assurances of the fate of the cattle are certain regarding the practices in Indonesian abattoirs.
A number of meetings have taken place since then. My colleague, the Primary Industry minister, who will speak second in the debate this evening, attended a phone hook-up with minister Ludwig and his counterparts from Western Australia and Queensland on Friday, which industry also attended, to map out a path to deliver the return to the live cattle trade and the threshold issues that had to be met before the federal minister would lift his ban.
I table for honourable members the communiqu from that meeting. Without reading the entire communiqu, I will go to the salient points because this is what needs to be delivered by a task force that has now been established to see the resumption of this trade. I am quoting from the communiqu:
So a task force has been established to put in place the processes, procedures, and transparency around those four dot points. We lobbied hard; my colleague, the Primary Industry minister and officers in his office lobbied very hard to ensure that the NTCA was represented on that task force and it now is. Luke Bowen has been in Canberra attending those meetings to ensure the interests of our industry are front and centre represented on that task force. We also have Northern Territory government officials from the minister’s department working on that task force, with the other states and the Australian government, to put in place the practical measures to deliver those four dot points as quickly as possible so trade can recommence.
That task force is meeting virtually around the clock and we hope, towards the end of this week, to have a better understanding of the time frames and the issues that need to be put together to see this trade resume as quickly as possible. I have pledged to the Prime Minister that any resources needed by the Australian government from the Northern Territory will be provided to the task force. We are working together to deliver on those four dot points.
I also wanted to talk this evening about Indonesia, and the relationship between the Northern Territory and Indonesia, and Australia and Indonesia. I met with the temporary Consul on Friday, as is appropriate. Mr Daranindra, who is here this evening, is the official Indonesian government representative in the Northern Territory. As Chief Minister, it is my responsibility to convey messages to the Indonesian government in Jakarta and through to the Ambassador in Indonesia through the Office of the Consul in Darwin. I advised Mr Daranindra that this issue in no way should be seen as any reflection of the broader relationship the Northern Territory has with Indonesia. We have a wonderful relationship with Indonesia built over many years, not only a government-to-government level, but a people-to-people level, and a trade level. In a mature relationship with a good friend like Indonesia, this is an issue that has come along. It certainly surprised everyone and we, as leaders, have to work through this issue as a specific issue, not as a reflection of the broader friendships that we have.
Mr Daranindra agreed that was the Indonesian government’s position and that he had been working hard with the Ambassador for Indonesia in Canberra regarding a statement that was issued by the Indonesian Ambassador in Canberra on behalf of the Indonesian government on 1 June.
I table this media release, because it has not received wide publication in the Australian media. The Australian media has been quick to find individual politicians and spokespeople in Indonesia who have reacted with almost – I will not say anti-Australian - a view that is not that friendly towards Australia as result of this issue.
We all recognise Indonesia is a huge and complex country with freedom of speech allowed for all Indonesians. I am sure if you were to go you would find people who would not speak with Australian interests in mind.
The official view of the Indonesian government, as conveyed through the Ambassador in Australia, is as follows:
I was very heartened to see that official position of the Indonesian government. I congratulate Mr Daranindra, who advised me he had a strong part in working with the Ambassador in crafting that message on behalf of the Indonesian government to the Australian people.
This was followed up later in the week by the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, ordering an investigation of abattoirs across the country. He has ordered his Health minister, and his Trade minister, into those abattoirs, and has also made public comments that those practices are illegal in Indonesia and have no place in the treatment of animals in Indonesia. He also says Indonesia must find a swift solution to this suspension of live cattle exports from Australia.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr HENDERSON: Our relationship with Indonesia has been built, strengthened and developed over many, many years at national and Territory level, and we are all working together to ensure the images we saw last Monday night on Four Corners, which shocked and horrified everyone, are never repeated and there are guarantees for Australian cattle.
We then had a response from the Australian government to apply a temporary ban - as much as it hurts everyone involved directly and indirectly in this trade in the Northern Territory, and across Northern Australia – a temporary ban so there is debate amongst the industry. Many people have said we need a circuit breaker.
We now have requirements in place that need to be met: auditable, acceptable welfare standards throughout the supply chain for full traceability for monitoring, auditing and compliance in agreement with the Indonesian authorities. We have the best people on a task force working to put those criteria in place. We have an official Indonesian government position condemning those practices and saying, from the President down, that that trade needs to be resumed as quickly as possible.
I am quietly confident, with the acknowledgement of the problem and the goodwill to get this issue resolved, that we will be able to get this trade moving again as quickly as possible. I am feeling better now than I was a few days ago about this particular issue.
I acknowledge, and as I said in the media conference I held yesterday, there are many families across the Northern Territory and northern Australia tonight who do not know where the next pay packet is coming from. That has to drive everyone on this task force to get this issue resolved as soon as possible. There are mums and dads, small, medium and large businesses, and the whole supply chain of that industry with everything that hangs off it, in great uncertainty tonight about when the next bill is going to be paid, when the next pay packet is going to arrive, and how they will pay suppliers. That status cannot continue for any significant length of time in the Northern Territory.
I am pleased we have a bipartisan position on this. The support for the live export industry is bipartisan.
I have to say that Meat and Livestock Australia has some very big questions to answer as a result of what we saw on Four Corners. Meat and Livestock Australia has been charged, through the federal government, with a financial commitment from industry for every animal that goes across our wharves into those cattle boats to ensure a sustainable live export industry. It is pretty obvious to me and anyone else who is commentating on this that they have understood that there have been issues for quite some time in Indonesia and, with regard to their responsibilities towards a sustainable trade and to an ethical and humane trade with Indonesia, from where I stand, there are some very significant questions for Meat and Livestock Australia and their boards to answer as to how we have come to this particular point.
I also support the federal minister’s observations that Meat and Livestock Australia has significant cash balances in its accounts. I read last night it is possibly up to $60m. That is industry money. That is money that industry has paid to Meat and Livestock Australia to look after its interests, to develop trade and to ensure the sustainability of that trade. I believe it is totally appropriate at this time that some of those balances are returned to producers who are hurting as a result, in part, of Meat and Livestock Australia not doing what it was entrusted to do on behalf of industry.
Members: Hear! Hear!
Mr HENDERSON: LiveCorp and Meat and Livestock Australia, with the Centre for International Economics in 2011, undertook a study of the impact of a ban on live exports. It considered the nett impact of the ban, taking into consideration the potential sale of cattle into alternate markets. That is an issue that has not only concerned me but has concerned our minister for Primary Industry for some time. We have had too many of our eggs in the Indonesian basket and I know the minister has worked hard with the industry to try to diversify market access for Northern Territory cattle but we know that sourcing new markets is difficult and we have to redouble our efforts in that regard.
This study did take into consideration the potential sale of cattle into alternate markets. The report estimated an impact of $128m nationally with $79m attributed to the live export region of northern Australia. As the report did not estimate impact on the individual states that make up northern Australia, an estimate for the Territory has been extrapolated from the total northern Australia value. This is based on the Northern Territory’s 40% share of the total north Australian export trade and is estimated at $32m per annum.
That is the only study we are aware of that has taken place for a risk analysis on the cessation of that trade. Just looking at those numbers, I believe that would be a very conservative number. Given the export value of our cattle every year over the wharves is some $350m a year, and over 90% of that market is into Indonesia, even if those cattle could be sold into other markets and more sold domestically, and we know that is not going to happen, I would have thought it is more than a $32m annual income. However, that is the only study that we are aware of, and I place that on the Parliamentary Record tonight.
We have this task force working 24/7; the Australian government, the states, the Northern Territory and industry working together. I am advised by the Primary Industry minister, and I am sure he will make comment on his department and how it is participating on this task force, that the process being adopted as we move towards achieving those four requirements of the Australian government is it is a cumulative process ticking off, as various design points are made along the way, that this is acceptable, this is acceptable, and this is acceptable. We do not have to come up with a whole process and then go back to the Australian government for approval for them to find holes in the process. It appears to be a solid process to get to that point in meeting those four requirements that have been agreed to. He will be talking more about that particular task force.
I am very pleased that the federal minister, Joe Ludwig, has agreed to our request for the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to be on the task force. It would have been unconscionable to me as the Northern Territory Chief Minister for them not to be on that task force.
This is certainly a crisis for the Northern Territory. It has come out of left field and very, very quickly. I am acutely attuned, as the Chief Minister, to the pain, the hurt and the uncertainty that this is providing for many thousands of Territorians this evening, but the reality is that only the Australian government can lift this ban. As I said to the Leader of the Opposition yesterday when we were discussing and agreeing to the motion tonight, I have a responsibility on behalf of the people of the Northern Territory to do everything I can to work with the Australian government to get this issue resolved and not to politically grandstand on this issue. I have been requested by the cattle industry in the Northern Territory not to politicise this issue. It would be very easy for me to rail against the Commonwealth government and say it is an appalling decision and it should never have been made.
Regardless of what my personal views are on this matter, the Australian government has made this decision and it is incumbent on me, and our government, to work with industry to get this ban lifted as quickly as possible, and that is working inside the tent, with the processes that have been put in place, with industry, to ensure that we get this trade resumed, and resumed as quickly as possible. That is the commitment I give to every single member of this parliament this evening.
Before I conclude my comments on this motion, I say to the Leader of the Opposition that I appreciated his telephone call from Indonesia the other night pledging not to politicise this issue. I am not going to get into semantics about some other people and the positions they have taken. I appreciate the telephone call I received from the member for Fong Lim in his commitment to work in a spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship to get this trade resumed. As a former federal member for the Northern Territory, he knows, as does everyone in this House, how important this industry is. It is beyond playing politics. This is about Territorians and …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I move an extension of time for the Chief Minister, if he needs one, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON: I thank the member for Port Darwin; I will be brief.
This is bigger than all of us in here; this is beyond politics. This is about Territorians across this wonderful Territory of ours who have, tonight, a very uncertain future. It is our responsibility as leaders in this community to work with industry, with the Australian government, and with our friends in Indonesia, to ensure that this trade is resumed, and resumed as quickly as possible.
Madam Speaker, I commend the motion to the House and I thank the opposition for working with me in coming up with the terms of the motion. I also thank Luke Bowen and the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association for their active and committed participation in working with this parliament in regard to the motion we are debating this evening.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you indicated you were tabling a document.
Mr HENDERSON: Two documents, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Two documents. Thank you.
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, given that this is a crisis, the least we can do is present a unified front to Canberra. Given that, the weight of an argument that is eminently supportable must bear upon Canberra to recognise that there is a way through this, and there is a way through this quickly.
I acknowledge that this is a matter of immense significance to the north of this country, but it also has an effect almost immediately and directly, and compounding right across our country. Cattle markets in the south have already had the effect of the decision and there is more to come.
On the home front, there is much pain and great and grave concern. To our north, the effect of this decision on our near neighbour resonates very deeply.
I acknowledge that these words we speak in this parliament, in this debate, must go to Canberra and bear an effect on their considerations.
These words that we speak in this Chamber should also be sent to Indonesia. I acknowledge the Acting Consul Bambang Daranindra – Selamat dating, Bapak dan Sandari.
This matter has caused us to come together in recognising the depth of this concern. The blanket ban on live beef exports to Indonesia is damaging families, businesses, Indigenous and non-Indigenous jobs here in Australia. It is very concerning when we see the cattle that are caught in holding yards right now, and the story that is told when you start to think through the implications of that. This ban must be lifted and must be lifted as soon as possible. In my view, it must be lifted in days - not weeks or months.
Members: Hear, hear.
Mr MILLS: There is a way through this. I responded, as members would know, by going to Indonesia to assess, from the Indonesian perspective, what this ban means to our near neighbour and, more importantly, to see if that practice which we saw on Four Corners, which was horrific, was representative of the whole. It was not. There is sound and quality practice in Indonesia that meets all the recommendations and all the requirements that could be accredited now and there would be much to be gained as a result of that.
With us coming together as colleagues in this Chamber, I hope our presence here and our support for this motion will bear influence on those who make the decision in Canberra, but will also send a message of encouragement to the nation of Indonesia.
The cattle production is worth around $300m per year to the Territory economy. We just do not talk about numbers though; it means much more than that. It is the heart and the soul of the Northern Territory. The live trade to Indonesia represents a massive 47% of our total live cattle trade. This ban impacts cattle producers, businesses such as feed suppliers, the transport industry, mechanics, fuel suppliers and food outlets. About 700 Indigenous Australians are employed directly in the cattle trade. There are an estimated 54 Indigenous cattle properties in the Territory, all of which face an uncertain future. The damage to the Australian industry in the short and long term will be immense, and will be difficult to recover from.
Like anyone who saw the Four Corners program I was horrified. I grew up on the land; I have been involved in raising cattle and we slaughtered our own beasts. What I saw there was unacceptable and I am here to say it is unacceptable to our near neighbours; they saw that as well. I can report to you one story that is indicative of the attitude. At this point, I compliment the President of Indonesia because being there watching and listening to conversations and following the media closely, the role the President of Indonesia has taken in this in response - there is the potential for this matter to compound and have a negative effect in Indonesia. However, the voice of the President of Indonesia has guided his nation at this time and provided clear leadership, and that leadership is an encouragement to us. It has said it recognises there are practices in Indonesia which need to be reformed. They see this as an opportunity to bear positive influence and bring reform into Indonesia; however, we must act swiftly. He had a voice which spoke and calmed people, and he is continuing to do so. We need to respond to that quickly.
The instinctive response when this was announced in Indonesia was that it was political; Australia is somehow insulting Indonesia through this issue. Those who understand Indonesia can understand how that could occur. However, the Trade minister, Mari Pangestu asked that question of senior trade people - the owners of Santori - saying: ‘Is this political?’ The answer was: ‘Minister, look at the footage and then we will have that discussion’. Minister Pangestu looked at the footage and said: ‘I have seen the footage; it is not political. Here is an opportunity for reform, and we need to respond to this’. That is a good response. It is indicative of our near neighbour that we can work together and find our way through this.
I need to add the Indonesian point of view to this debate. The commentary there is they are aware of the challenges Australians, Territorians and people in the north face as a result of this; however, I report to you, colleagues, that in Indonesia this matter has a very direct effect. I could speak to anyone at any level in Indonesia and they are very aware of what has happened. What they are primarily concerned about is there will be a reduction in the supply of beef - food. That will increase prices going into the period of Ramadan on 1 August this year - not far away. There has always been an inflationary effect around Ramadan because of the focus on celebrations, the focus on food.
In this situation, there is a reduction in the supply of beef so prices will increase. Every family, wherever they are in Indonesia, wants to celebrate and be part of this event. As of four days ago, the price of beef has jumped 20%. That has an effect here; however, it has an immense effect in Indonesia and it is only just beginning. I admire the leadership that has been shown by the President of Indonesia saying we must find a way through this; we must respond to this; we must get the trade going; we must affirm quality practice; we must bring about reform in Indonesia. They need to keep the supply going because what flows from, and during, this period is anger, and concern and the potential for social unrest as a result of food prices increasing in Indonesia. That is a very real concern.
Whilst I was there, the World Economic Forum was taking place in Indonesia and, following the commentary and having conversations with those who are involved in that, central to that is food security which is now recognised to be a global issue, and that means the food chain that supplies Indonesia is connected to Australia. We have a part. That is their concern: food security. We have an opportunity to respond to that and to bring reform into those practices.
I raise the unemployment effect in Indonesia. This message will be conveyed into Indonesia as well, and that is significant. There is no welfare. For those who lose their jobs, that is it. There are thousands upon thousands of people who will be directly affected in terms of their employment, direct or indirect.
I have visited an abattoir and heard of others that fulfil all the requirements of those four points the Chief Minister read out. There is the Santori abattoir west of Jakarta that I visited where all cattle were stunned. They bore brands and tags that were placed on them here in Australia, in the Northern Territory, in fact. They were all traceable; there were monitors to trace the origin of those animals. As they got off the truck into the holding yard they were scanned and weighed. They were then calmed and after a couple of days of feeding were rescanned and reweighed. Whilst I was there a number were slaughtered after being stunned. Every single one of them was stunned and it was one single and swift cut. It was the best abattoir I have seen, given that my last visit to an abattoir was about 20 years ago. It was high quality. Every level met international standards; certificates are all around the walls, proudly bearing that they comply with international standards. There was a gentleman there and I inquired as to what his role was. He was an inspector from the Indonesian government who regularly visits the abattoir to make sure that standards are maintained at every level and that they meet international requirements.
They have an export licence which is not an easy thing to get but they have it and are proud of it. The workers enjoy work at the highest standards. I asked them if they would welcome an Australian official to be present to oversee their operation and be involved at any level. They said they would welcome that and they would be happy to have them here tomorrow. So they could work alongside the Indonesian inspectors and make sure that what is occurring in that abattoir meets international standards. Every animal is stunned.
I did not visit the Elders abattoir but I did have a couple of conversations regarding that abattoir and it also matches the one I saw west of Jakarta.
These two abattoirs, complying with every point that has been raised and every requirement, could be accredited and approved for recommencement of trade tomorrow. People could be put in place to monitor and make sure and report back, and they could handle and process 8000 head of cattle a month.
I understand that Indonesia has up to seven abattoirs that could be accredited according to those four points that have been listed and they could start taking cattle immediately. That is really important here. We talk about where we apportion blame, whether it is MLA, and whether compensation is going to be required. I believe the best action would be to recommence immediately or as soon as we possibly can and that should be within days.
Members: Hear! Hear!
Mr MILLS: Once we have that base standard put in place, certainly over the two I am directly aware of and the others that have been referred to, and I cannot speak for them because I did not speak to people who run those, then you could begin that process that would bring about change within the industry in Indonesia. The welcome news is that Indonesia wants that level of engagement. Indonesia wants that support and to bring about reform, and sees this as an opportunity to do so.
We cannot wait. The ban to Egypt stood for two years and four months, and that was a very different and a very tight market. This is quite different, and the way that our industry is connected to Indonesia, it has a far more significant effect and we certainly cannot wait that long.
For people like Cyndi and Steve Bakalian from Northern Feed and Cube in Katherine, if we have to wait that long, it is all over. They provide feed for the cattle ships and employ 12 people who have families and mortgages to pay. That is 12 in a small community. The live ban threatens to destroy their whole life’s work. The sales of feed they produce are at a standstill, and they still have to pay wages, honour contracts and pay their bills. They are good, solid citizens who have stood there; they made the effort to come up here yesterday to show those that have worked with them over the years that they are fighting for them. We need to respond to that fighting spirit. It is those good people who are working right across the Northern Territory and the north of Australia who are working hard. They find it tough when it comes to times of drought or when prices drop. These things they would see, they cop it because there is not much you can do. Something like this is not a drought; it is a decision that has been made, and it is an action that is required and an action that can be taken. It is more painful than if it were a drought or a fire, or if cattle prices dropped for one reason or another, or if there were disease.
Without overstating it, colleagues, the effect of a market closing adds significant pressure on every line, and particularly when it comes to overstocking. Coming out of a big Wet Season, there was the expectation that they could now get back to business and get some of these cattle off to market. There had been some inactivity on that front for some time, but to find when they can do so, the door is closed, that then results in overstocking, and quite potentially and very seriously, the requirement for culling. Culling in these circumstances is not an easy thing. Culling when it comes to a time of drought is something that is hard, but it has to be done, but culling in a time of no drought, a problem that has been created that can be resolved, makes it particularly difficult.
My heart goes out to those who are on the land facing an uncertain future. I only hope that the processes put in place would be driven to an outcome and a result, and we find a way through this swiftly, because it can be done. It can be done because all those things the commentators are genuinely concerned about - the welfare of animals, the need for bringing about reform - all those elements are, in fact, there, and we can then respond and achieve so much if we do so. We alleviate potential animal welfare problems in the Northern Territory through overstocking and the requirement for culling; we reduce the animal welfare issues that would potentially flow if animals have to be trucked to market. It is a far less pleasant proposition for an animal to be on a truck rather than on a boat.
My attention has been drawn this afternoon to this T-shirt. This is a T-shirt which shows the great pride that Territorians have in their industry. It was produced in 2007. ‘World record cattle shipment, Siba ships’, and on the back it says: ‘Siba ships, 1 ship, 1 port, 3 exporters, 5 depots, 11 cattle per minute, 34 triple road trains, 34 hours, 102 trailers, 136 truck loads, 816 decks, 22 184 cattle, 1 world record’.
That is the great pride that is held in the industry here and the effort that has been put in by so many to have a quality operation here. The quality here can flow swiftly to be a positive influence in Indonesia, and to work and support those in Indonesia who want to bring about such support. The opportunity is there. I only hope that what we say here will bear that influence on the argument in Canberra.
The other concerning aspect is if there is demand for food in a marketplace, and supply has been reduced - as it has been in this case. As I have already reported, beef prices have increased in Indonesia. While I was there, the United States was aggressively pushing in to see how it could get in and exploit this opportunity. Brazil is already there, seeing the opportunity and moving into this space. There is a level of aggression and when it sees that chance, it will push in. They are there now and they are working as hard as they can to get their space in the market.
I am pleased to report, because of the long-term relationship and engagement between Indonesian importers, feedlot operators, and abattoirs in Indonesia - that long-term relationship and great credit to the cattle industry in the Northern Territory for developing and strengthening that relationship - there is still a connection that Indonesia does not quickly want to shift. They want to hold onto that relationship and they want to work together and bring about the reforms that they want to see in Indonesia. The quality and strength of the relationship is still there and I am pleased to report that.
However, when you have a large population and such demand, it can be a difficult pressure to push against when others try to get into the marketplace, because they simply have to keep the cost and the price of beef down. If the price of beef goes up, there are very real problems. That is another reason why we need to act swiftly.
Colleagues, this is an opportunity for us in this sitting, to come together to provide full support for this motion so that we can bear positive influence on the considerations of our colleagues in Canberra. I know there are many who are riding on this act of making a clear statement from this parliament. There are those who see what we are doing here as something that gives them hope. The Territory parliament can say something clear and meaningful, and provide some hope for those who need hope at this time. It means something. It is symbolic, but we trust that the authority of this parliament and the voices of this parliament would bear some positive influence and have a swift resolution to this. A swift resolution is the wisest thing to do. We can cut through, and we can win so much, here on the home front and in maintaining a quality relationship with our neighbours.
When I told people in Indonesia there was a possibility that our parliament could resume and we could debate this, they thought that was a good thing because it sends a clear message and that also gives them some hope. Much is riding on this, and we hope our support for this motion will bear positive influence. It is the least we can do.
Madam Speaker, I commend this motion to my colleagues.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr VATSKALIS (Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources): Madam Speaker, I also support the motion.
Like everyone in Australia, I was shocked by the footage showing inappropriate treatment of cattle in Indonesian abattoirs. I am probably the only person who has spent some time working in abattoirs. As part of my studies, I had to spend six months in Robb’s Jetty Abattoir in Western Australia, and also in the Watsonia abattoirs. It was not the most pleasant time of my studies.
Abattoirs are not pretty places. Working there and watching the reaction of the animals when they enter the areas – you realise immediately that they are well aware of what is going to happen to them. Their eyes widen; you can see they can smell death. Not many people find it pleasant.
In all the time I spent in Australian abattoirs I never saw anything like I saw on the Four Corners report. I was shocked. I was really ashamed that human beings could treat an animal like that. What upset me more was not only the fact they did not meet Australian standards, but what they claimed it to be it was not. What they did was the exact opposite of Islamic law in relation to slaughter of animals.
The Chief Minister mentioned that Meat and Livestock Australia should answer some questions. Yes, they should. Apparently, the MLA had been to that abattoir. I cannot believe the MLA could miss an abattoir where the floor was made of tiles, putting hard-hoofed animals where it was inevitable they would slip and fall down and break legs. Even the box the media refers was not used for the purpose a holding box is used. A holding box is used to hold the animal steady while it is stunned. In that case, the box was used so the animal’s legs would be tied and then pulled so the animal would fall on its side and then it would be killed.
It is not surprising Joe Ludwig, minister for Agriculture, reacted very quickly. The public outcry was too big for a minister not to react, for a human being not to react to that. On Tuesday, 7 June, Senator Ludwig implemented orders suspending export of all animals for slaughter. For the Northern Territory, the order covers export cattle and a small number of buffalo to Indonesia.
The federal minister announced the decision was made to ensure there were no further incidents of poor animal welfare when it comes to livestock exported from Australia. The order applies to the Indonesian market; the other international livestock markets are not subject to this suspension notice. The order suspends the export of live cattle to Indonesia for six months.
This suspension of live cattle is a crisis for the Northern Territory cattle industry; it is a crisis for the north Australia cattle industry, and can become a crisis for the whole Australian cattle industry. It is not only that we have lost an export market; it is the impact on property values, on the everyday lives of people who depend on the live cattle export. It is also a crisis for Indonesia.
Indonesia is not self-sufficient in cattle. Indonesia relies heavily on the import of live cattle to supply the people of Indonesia. They do not have the same standards as us. Most of them have to go to the wet market every day to buy meat because they do not have a refrigerator. The Indonesian government provides, through the live cattle export, good quality, high protein meats to its citizens, especially from a country that is free from some of the diseases we have seen in Brazil or the United States.
Since the announcement of the suspension, I have been working very closely with the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, the Northern Territory Livestock Exporters Association, and also with my state and federal colleagues, especially the Western Australian minister and the Queensland minister.
On Thursday, 9 June, I attended the opening of the CDU Pharmacy Building in the presence of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. I took the opportunity to brief the Prime Minister on the Northern Territory pastoral industry and the possible impact of the cancellation of live cattle exports to Indonesia, or a delay in reopening export to Indonesia.
I also had a personal discussion with Terry Redman, the Western Australian minister for Agriculture. Many Western Australian cattle come through the Port of Darwin, and we both identified the issues with the northern Australian cattle industry and the possible threat to the industry.
In response to approaches made jointly by the Northern Territory, Western Australian and Queensland ministers, Senator Ludwig convened a national teleconference on Friday, 10 June. The teleconference involved northern Australian ministers, the federal government, and key industry groups. The federal government has indicated that controls will require that the exporters demonstrate they are supplying animals into a supply chain that has been third party independently audited, and subsequently verified by Australian government officials as meeting agreed international animal welfare standards. The Commonwealth is looking for a system from the point of arrival in Indonesia through to, and including, the point of slaughter, which safeguards the welfare of Australian animals.
All of our live export trading partners are members of the World Organisation of Animal Health and have already agreed to implement those standards. This arrangement will need to cover the supply chain from unloading, transporting, feedlots and processing at approved abattoirs. Simply accrediting abattoirs and not the entire supply chain will not provide the certainty we need to ensure appropriate animal welfare standards are met. The Commonwealth has indicated judgment about whether the standard has been met would be made based on specific and measurable criteria which would be set out in guidelines and standard operating procedures approved by the federal government which issues the export approvals.
An Industry and Government Working Group has been appointed to jointly develop the protocols to ensure traceability of all Australian livestock exports to Indonesia. The group includes Commonwealth, Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australian officials and livestock industry representatives together with industry representative groups. I lobbied for the inclusion of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to be part of the working group rather than simply to be represented by the national body. I also lobbied that Indonesian government officials are included in this working group, together with businesses represented in Indonesia and certainly, at a later date, for the Islamic Council of Indonesia to be involved.
This group is working on a broad regulatory framework to manage livestock exports that will include rigorous third party external audit that includes guidelines for ensuring compliance against international animal welfare standards; the management of the domestic implications of the trade suspension; and a course of action for managing Australia’s relationship with other international markets.
The group recognises, as I do, the importance of an early restoration of the trade and they have noted the need for this to be done under robust supply chain assurances. The group will provide advice to government on how this can happen. Ahead of its next meeting on Friday, 17 June 2011, the group will look at the whole supply chain and identify the changes needed at each point to give assurance of animal welfare outcomes. When the supply chain has been approved and the exporter can provide evidence that they will supply into the approved system, the exporter would become eligible to gain an export licence.
Once the protocols are approved, industry will then implement the required on-ground arrangements for the traceability of Australian-sourced cattle throughout the entire supply chain. To ensure that appropriate animal welfare, an individual operator could lose their licence to export if animals were not being handled through the approved supply chain to which the exporter was granted permission to export.
As is the accepted protocol, the federal minister for Agriculture has been in discussion with his Indonesian counterparts. Senior federal government officials are also on the ground in Indonesia working with Indonesian officials. In a meeting held in Jakarta recently, Australian and Indonesian governments agreed to implement an immediate and long-term plan. This would involve both countries working together to identify abattoirs that adhere to good practice, and to identify those to be improved.
In my discussion with both the Prime Minister and Senator Ludwig I offered to travel to Indonesia to meet with Indonesian minister Suswono given our ongoing relationship.
I welcome that the Chief Minister has met with the Indonesian Consul in outlining the need to ensure adequate welfare standards to recommence trade. The Indonesian Embassy has also issued a media release confirming that both Indonesian and Australian governments will continue to work together to recommence the trade and ensure appropriate welfare standards.
Separately, Senator Ludwig, has appointed former Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Bill Farmer, to lead a review across the live animal export industry. This review is separate to the work of the joint industry and government working groups.
We fully support the Northern Territory cattle industry and live export trade within acceptable animal welfare standards. The cattle industry makes such an important contribution to the economic, social, cultural and environmental fabric of the Northern Territory, its producers, employees, contractors, Indigenous communities, businesses and their families.
The cattle industry in the Northern Territory employees between 1600 and 1900 people and was worth $251m in 2009-10. Some recent work done by the Department of Business and Employment indicates that live cattle export to all countries from the Northern Territory was valued at $236m FOB in 2009-10 with significant contribution to private businesses including fodder and freight.
The Centre for International Economics published a report in June 2011. That report was commissioned by Meat and Livestock Australia. One finding of that report indicates that the cessation of the live cattle trade would reduce the income of the farm sector in northern Australia by $128m per year, and it is so much more than large corporate businesses.
As the Primary Industry minister, I have been to properties throughout the Northern Territory meeting with the people and their families that make up the industry. It is not the corporate sector and boards and other companies. They are people like Roy and Janet Chisholm from Napperby; the Underwoods from Riveren and Rowan Sullivan from Cave Creek Station - people I meet with often - Keith Roxy, Henry Burke, the McBeans from Douglas Daly, the Hayes family, Kilgariffs, Tom Stockwell, Tony Searle and many more people in the Northern Territory, and because it is such a small community, we know them personally. We meet them nearly every week. It is not only about the corporate sector. It is about the small family holdings that are going to be affected.
To assist the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to maintain communication with its members, my department has out-posted an experienced officer well known to the industry. The role of this staff member is to assist with directing pastoralists to available services, and to identify emerging issues arising from the cessation of livestock exports, and to keep the industry informed.
The ban has had an immediate impact on the live trade industry, and the flow-on to other pastoralists and broader regional businesses will continue. My colleague, the Business minister, will convene a meeting with key stakeholders to get their input on what industries are being affected indirectly by the cattle ban. This initially would be Luke Bowen, Cattlemen’s Association of the Northern Territory; Adam Hill, Live Cattle Exporters Association; Louise Bilato from the Road Transport Association; Garry Hall from the Katherine Chamber of Commerce, Pam Dickinson from the Katherine Chamber of Commerce, Region Executive Officer; and the Chamber of Commerce in Tennant Creek.
The minister will meet individually with banks and agri-business managers to get a better understanding of the state of the pastoral industry and related businesses. The department of Business will distribute, through their client database, information to businesses directly and indirectly impacted, information on the various programs on offer by the Northern Territory government, and a point of contact with the department that will assist with easy access to government. It will remind businesses that the Department of Business and Employment has access to business planning, cash flow analysis, workshops, workforce planning, trade support, and research and innovation.
We are committed to work cooperatively to support the progression and expeditious accreditation of supply chains into Indonesia that deliver supply chain assurance and the needed resumption of cattle supply to those supply chains.
We strongly condemn all forms of animal cruelty. Everyone was shocked by the footage - pastoralists, exporters and the community. That is why we are committed to ensure appropriate welfare standards are implemented as a matter of urgency. I offered to the federal minister the assistance of my department to work with their federal officials, but also with Indonesian officials on the ground, in Indonesia, to train people in the humane handling of animals. We offer our expertise. Our links with Indonesia and the relationships have been built over the past 20 or 30 years. In the past, if we have had a problem like that, we work together cooperatively in order to resolve it.
The Chief Minister mentioned that in the past five or six years I have been minister for Primary Industry, I have been concerned that our major live cattle export was Indonesia. I always refer to putting all our eggs in one basket. I wondered what would happen if something happened in Indonesia - the economy collapses, there are some problems, or a change of direction in Indonesia. What are we going to do with these cattle? The cattle we produce are specifically for the live cattle export. They are specifically for the Indonesian market. They would be very difficult to sell down south. They will be sold, but only for the hamburger patty industry, which commands very low prices.
We have worked very well with other countries to identify potential markets. We have identified Vietnam. We worked very closely with companies in Vietnam. We have provided technical assistance and information, and we had the Khanh Hoa Trading and Investment Company constructing a feedlot and small processing facility to Australian standards with the assistance of my department’s officials.
The Philippines used to be a big export market for the Northern Territory, but for various economic reasons that went downhill. Recently, we have seen the return of the Philippines to the Northern Territory to purchase our cattle. A ship loaded last week in the Port of Darwin was destined for the Philippines. Once again, staff from the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources have provided assistance in relation to cattle and breeding projects in the Philippines. Prior to the arrival of the first shipment, which is scheduled for August 2011, we are providing on-ground assistance.
As I said before, Indonesia is not self-sufficient with their animals yet. There is a requirement by the people for good quality product, and many people rely on the wet markets. In addition to that, because of the customs and traditions, Indonesians prefer the live cattle for various reasons. Any changes in the supply chain will affect Indonesia’s ability to become self-sufficient. If Australian cattle do not go to Indonesia, cattle have to come from somewhere else and most likely will come from the local herd, which will further reduce the number of cattle in Indonesia, putting back for many years the program for Indonesia to become self-sufficient.
I am also concerned that if we remove the live cattle export from Indonesia, remove the Australian animals, the suppliers will find animals from other countries; from India, Malaysia, and Brazil. The issue is how to treat the animals humanely. If we are not there to pressure, train, and guide, these people we saw on Four Corners will do exactly the same thing with other animals. Not Australian, but Indian animals or Malaysian animals.
Our government is concerned about putting all our eggs in one basket, and we discussed this with industry. I am pleased to say that the Australian Agricultural Company has indicated it will build a new northern abattoir within the Darwin rural area. We have been providing information to AACo regarding government process and development approvals. The construction of a new abattoir will provide a necessary market, in addition to the livestock export trade. It is not going to resolve the issue. It is impossible for an abattoir in the Northern Territory to absorb 300 000 cattle a year, or even if you had more in Northern Australia. But, it will provide an alternative supply chain for abattoirs. The Batchelor abattoir has been leased by the Windy Hills Australian Game Meats and is currently being upgraded to meet licensing standards. We will see more abattoirs in the Northern Territory, but we have to make sure there is a continuous supply of animals for these abattoirs. Again, I point out the establishment of these abattoirs in the Northern Territory is not going to resolve the issue and will not absorb the entire number of animals we export to Indonesia.
Madam Speaker, in addition to senior staff in my Department of Resources participating in and providing advice to the national industry and government working group, there are a number of other processes that have been established to assist producers, other affected parties and inform and contribute to the expedient resumption of the trade.
A summary of these activities include:
In closing, Madam Speaker, everyone was appalled by the footage of animal cruelty; it was simply unacceptable. Pastoralists, livestock exporters in the community were united in their call for a response. We have worked hard with the industry, and state and federal counterparts, to ensure that acceptable animal welfare standards are implemented for the Northern Territory cattle industry and live cattle export to continue.
A joint industry and government working group is formulating protocols to ensure the welfare of animals throughout the supply chain, and will meet again on Friday. Once protocols are agreed and approved, industry will implement the necessary assistance throughout Indonesia to ensure traceability and accountability, and then livestock trade can recommence.
Madam Speaker, our purpose is to see live cattle export to Indonesia restarting as soon as practicably possible. I am very pleased that we have bipartisan support - this is not an issue for politicians to play politics - it is a vital issue for the future of the Northern Territory cattle industry.
Members: Hear, hear.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I rise to support this motion before the House, to support the pastoral and cattle industry, its producers, graziers, families, employees, contractors, service businesses, and the countless Territorians who have been affected, and will be affected, by this short-sighted misguided action in regard to the Territory’s live export trade.
We support, also in the strongest terms, the improvement of animal welfare in the supply chain and abattoir processes, such that the standards meet, if not exceed, international and best practice standards and that the long-term sustainability of the live export trade is dependent on animal welfare issues being addressed in a cooperative and collaborative way between government, industry and the community.
There is no doubt this issue is a matter of huge significance to over 300 families on the 230 or so pastoral properties in the Northern Territory, along with the countless families who work with or are involved in the pastoral and agricultural industries, and service and export industry.
It is a matter of significance to the Northern Territory and Australian economies, and it is a matter of significance to the future confidence and investment into the Northern Territory. By no means last in thoughts, it is a matter of enormous significance to the social fabric of our rural communities.
Australia is the second largest exporter of beef in the world and, as such, has an enviable reputation, and rightly so. The reputation of the Australian and Northern Territory cattle and pastoral industry as the most efficient producer of beef in the world is not by luck; it is the result of decades of hard work, commitment and dedication. It is a position and reputation earned, not bought off the shelf, and everyone involved in the pastoral and cattle industry should be, and are, justifiably proud of their achievements and contribution to the Northern Territory and Australia’s history and successes.
In the Northern Territory, the value of the industry is around 3% of gross state product. That paints only part of the picture of the importance and contribution of these industries. Yes, 3% of gross state product and, yes, value of production valued at $450m and, yes, cattle production accounts for around 50% of all agricultural, horticultural, forestry and fishery Northern Territory production. Yes, there are around two million head of cattle on about 250 pastoral properties, and yes, around 300 000 head of cattle is exported to Indonesia.
These statistics are only part of the story; there is so much more to this once vibrant industry. Live export has been built up over 20 years specifically breeding cattle for this market, creating a whole primary industry of purpose-bred cattle and secondary industries including real estate, finance and insurance, transport, trucking, haulage, helicopter and fuel industries. With the helicopter industry in the Northern Territory already under pressure, heli-mustering will be put under substantial pressure.
The export yards, of which we have three in the Top End and one in my electorate - the one in my electorate in Noonamah has 30 drivers and about 10 full-time staff in the yards. They are all concerned at this point about their future employment.
There is the shipping and the stevedoring industry; the veterinarians and animal health; the Aboriginal employment through agistment and training, and there is any number of Aboriginal owned or co-owned properties and businesses that provide agistment for cattle. They too have been dramatically affected by this ban.
The hay producers, feed producers, processers and nutrition supplement manufacturers in the Northern Territory alone have been hit, and will be hit hard by this ban. One business, as we heard earlier this week, supplies exclusively to the ships and the export of cattle. Their business has stopped overnight.
There are specialised animal husbandry services such as horse dentistry, the rural contractors, and government jobs involved in servicing and facilitating this industry. Many of these businesses have already been affected and have suffered job losses, cancellation of orders, machinery orders have been cancelled, auction sales of pastoral properties have been withdrawn, and the value of 50% of the northern land mass of the Northern Territory is pretty much zero at this point in time.
In addition to these businesses and industries, there is a vast network of activities which are a component of the industry and the community who have not been mentioned or commented on at this point of time. They provide entertainment, but also are an excellent learning activity for the many young people who want to take up a career, employment or work in the pastoral and agricultural industries. These events include the camp drafts held at any number of places and locations across the Northern Territory, the rodeos, the agricultural shows, the field days, the ladies days, and gathering of children through the isolated parents, children and teacher associations. Workshops are held throughout the pastoral industry and the rural area dealing with horse shoeing, horse dentistry and horsemanship. Cattle sale days and bush races, to name a few, will all be dramatically impacted on if not already.
It is going to be a sad time during the Northern Territory agricultural shows if the suspension of the export trade is still in place come July. Many of these events are supported by the cattle and pastoral industry including transportation of stock, showcasing of stock, and entertainment for thousands of show goers. No cattle, no horses, no event, no families, no heart to our community.
There are thousands of people involved in the industry in the Northern Territory and around the industry, and to limit the industry just to statistics is wrong and does a complete disservice to the 300 or so families in the industry who, at this point in time, have no idea what the future holds for them.
The impact on lives of many people and families is not limited to Australia. Indonesia has an even bigger workforce involved in the export trade and provides Indonesian people with the opportunity to benefit from backgrounding, feedlotting, breeding, slaughtering and sale of beef into wet markets. More importantly, it provides food for a nation which currently has over 100 million people living on less than $2 per day. There are numerous small family farmers who supply hay or by-products from their farm activities to the feedlots. What will happen to them with no obvious source of income?
Madam Speaker, the implications of the suspension are far and wide-reaching and I am not sure that all issues and factors were considered before announcing the suspension. I am unconvinced that there is any great care factor for the Territory and our industries and the many families affected by this suspension by the vast number of the southern population.
Yes, any form of animal cruelty is, and should be, condemned and should be stamped out completely by practice, education and example of best practice in the abattoir industry. In making this decision in support for the suspension if not elimination of live export trading there is ignorance of the impact on the environment, ignorance of the impact on Aboriginal regional business enterprises and economic independence, ignorance of the financial and insurance consequences, and ignorance of the impact on the 50% of the Territory’s land mass, lifeblood and future. We need the suspension lifted and lifted quickly for the future of the Northern Territory and the families and businesses affected.
With the prospect of 12 000 head of cattle being returned to pastoral properties there is a range of consequences which will rapidly occur and have an impact on the landscape, health and personal and social wellbeing. With cattle being returned to properties and not being able to be turned off and sold, overstocking will rapidly deplete pastures and lead to landscape degradation. This will include denuded soil surfaces leading to soil losses and increases in stream and river sediment pollution. This will have consequences for bush people and food gathering and recreational fishing. With extra pressure on the land there will be potentially less focus on other land management issues such as weed management, bush fire control, water supply, and management of the land simply to name a few.
Many of the properties we have in the Territory are marginal and only through good farming practices do pastoral people and their businesses do as well as they do. Inability to sell cattle will have a two-prong outcome: overstocking resulting in an escalating deterioration of condition in stock and massive land degradation. I wonder if the people down south thought that degradation of the environment and the potential for large scale stock destruction was an okay thing to support.
There is a key issue of biosecurity to consider and so far I have seen little comment on this serious matter. Australia is one of the cleanest, disease free countries in the world and any threat to this situation should send alarm bells clanging around the country. Indonesia imports cattle from Australia for many reasons: price; type of cattle; short time in shipping; cultural; diplomatic; and, importantly, our cattle are foot and mouth disease free.
If Indonesia is put into a situation where it has to source cattle from another country, the probability of the cattle coming from a country with foot and mouth disease is high. I am not suggesting that this situation will occur; however, if it were to occur, it potentially will bring foot and mouth disease within one hour’s flight from Darwin. If foot and mouth disease entered Australia through the Northern Territory it would be catastrophic for all animals in Australia, the economy and the community at large.
In the past 12 months the pastoral industry in the Territory has undergone substantial restructuring and re-management as a result of the 350 kg weight limit that took effect. This re-adjustment has not been without some financial cost. Now that this ban has been implemented the industry is facing losses which would and could be overwhelming.
Selling to the domestic market is not an option, as was mentioned by the minister previously. The cattle that are exported to Indonesia are bred specifically for export. They are not the cattle that end up as steaks on plates down south. They will have to be agisted, go back to the properties, or they might have to be culled.
In all the upheaval as a result of the suspension of live export of cattle, people from down south have completely overlooked, if not ignored, the impact on families. As of Monday this week, around 300 families across the 250 properties in the Northern Territory did not know, and do not know, what their future holds. These families are ordinary people doing an extraordinary job. They put food on our plates and allow us to enjoy our Territory and Australian lifestyle, and a decent and healthy diet.
Most cattle stations are family owned, and I have gone through the full list and I found that there are only about eight to a dozen that are corporately owned. There is a small number that are corporate owned, but by far the majority of property owners or pastoralist leaseholders are families and young families. Many of the stations have multiple families residing on the property with young children. Many of these families also have children at boarding schools, and their future is uncertain too as to whether they stay at the boarding school or come back to the property, or leave the property altogether.
In the last weeks, families have retreated and gone inwards, not knowing what to expect. Farming is not just a job, but a lifestyle, and it is a 365 day a year commitment. Cattle do not stop for public holidays and do not take annual leave. Cattle station people who choose that life, it is work and life, and they are closely intertwined.
Madam Speaker, I commend the government for supporting this motion, and I commend all colleagues for supporting this motion. I urge the Australian government to act on this as quickly as they can, and to get the suspension lifted so we can give the pastoral industry and the agricultural industry, and all the industries that surround those families and those businesses, some kind of future and clear direction for where they are going tomorrow.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I also would like to welcome the Acting Consul, Mr Bambang Daranindra. I hope when he is reporting to his President that he might understand that this parliament is very rarely recalled, and it is also very rare that both sides of this parliament, including the other side, which is the two Independents here, get together and, with one voice, say to our federal government that we want this ban lifted.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr WOOD: That is something I would like you to take back to the President.
Madam Speaker, I will not repeat much of what the previous speakers have said, because I totally agree what they all have said. I will say something that was said to me the day before yesterday by a long-term cattleman in the Territory, Ian McBean. He is a pretty funny sort of fellow, generally speaking. You can always get a laugh out of Ian, but in this case he is not laughing. He says this is the worst disaster for the cattle industry that he has ever known. I believe him, and many people in the Northern Territory understand that as well.
This ban has long-term ramifications, not only for Territory live exports, not only for our relationship with Indonesia, but also for the red meat industry in Australia. There were reports on the Country Hour earlier this week that red meat sales have dropped by 15% to 20%. What we have here is not just an issue about our live cattle, it is about the meat industry in Australia and whether it will be permanently affected by what people saw on their televisions.
I understand why the ordinary Australian would be horrified by what they saw on the Four Corners program. When I was a young fellow, on the weekends or school holidays I used to work in my uncle’s butcher shop in Pakenham, in Gippsland in Victoria. He had his own slaughter yards, and I would watch him slaughter a beast. He would get on his horse, cull a beast, put it into the yard, shoot it, dress it, and get it ready for butchering. The next day you would have fresh meat in the butcher shop. There never appeared, from what I saw, any cruelty in what he did.
I also, believe it or not, have a love for animals myself. Whilst people might laugh about having chickens, they are also animals, and I hope I always treated them respectfully. Yes, you did have to chop the head off a chook occasionally; that is life. The issue is how you treat the animals. We all have to slaughter cattle to get meat; we all have to slaughter chickens to get meat, and the same with pigs and goats. I mentioned goats so the member for Wallaby Holtze Road would appreciate that. We expect it to be done in a proper and respectful fashion, because we should respect animals as well.
The way we respect animals highlights to all countries that we believe animals are important and, when we are dealing with them, we should deal with them in the most humane way. That is why the reaction from the public in Australia has been so severe.
I do not agree with the ban, but I do understand why politicians down south have reacted to it. If you get thousands of e-mails complaining about what people have seen on television, or you believe your electoral future is in doubt if you do not listen to what they are saying, of course you are going to react. What we have seen is that reaction.
It is something the industry has to address. We have to show the people of Australia that we will make an effort to change things around. I will not support this motion if I believe we will send cattle back to Indonesia and we will get a repeat of what we saw on Four Corners. As the member for Blain said, there are abattoirs in Indonesia which do come up to the standard we require.
We now have to say to the people of Australia, because they are not all anti-meat eaters, they are ordinary folk who were horrified at what they saw, and we need to reassure them that we are going to do our darndest to make sure this is not repeated. If it did repeat itself, that would be the death of this industry. There would be no turning back. We only have one chance to turn this around, and this is the chance we have to do it.
I expect the guarantees that our cattle leaving our shores will be slaughtered in a manner that is acceptable to the standards that Australians would expect. Governments and the industry must work together to achieve that purpose. As I said, if this was to be repeated that would be the end of our exports to Indonesia, probably forever, and that would be a tragedy for the Territory.
To me, the cattle industry in the Northern Territory is the heart and soul of the Territory, both for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. For many years, Aboriginal people were also the backbone of this industry.
This industry has been going 127 years. The first shipments to Indonesia were in 1884. We go back a long way. This is a relationship we have had with Indonesia and other countries for a very long period. It is important from a neighbour point of view that we work for better relations with our neighbour Indonesia; that we do not see ourselves as some arrogant little southern country telling Indonesians what to do. We work together with them as equal partners. Indonesians do not want to see cruelty to animals, Australians do not want to see cruelty to animals and, as the member for Blain said, here is a great opportunity to work together as two countries, two neighbours, for the benefit of the welfare of the animals. That is really important.
We need to lift this ban in days because we have Northern Territory families hurting. Long-term Northern Territory families are hurting, also short-term families hurting. I would hate to be part of a family that has just bought a property. Imagine the stress on that family knowing they may not have a future.
To all those people involved in industry - I will not go through them all, the member for Goyder did that - we know who those people are. Many of them live in our small communities in Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Katherine and the rural area of Darwin. Many people are dependent on this industry and they have families as well. Of course, there are Indonesian families. We are all human beings; we are all on this earth to look after one another.
It would be good in this day and age, when discussions about Muslims and Christians devours much of our time, that this be a good example of joining together as two countries with different religious backgrounds to work together for a common cause. We are feeding Indonesian people, many of them poor, and what better way to show our support for those people by continuing to work to have this ban lifted.
The other side of the coin is we have seen what the Four Corners program put forward. We know it is terrible. The question is: was it the whole story? There is a requirement for a more balanced story about animal welfare in Indonesia.
I received a copy of a letter from a gentleman named Scot Braithwaite who wrote to Four Corners recently. I am unsure whether Four Corners is willing to do another story on animal welfare in Indonesia; however, he introduces himself:
I have prcised some of the letter, otherwise it would be too long. He raises point one and is referring to the Four Corners program:
Point two: the feedlot shown for 10 seconds on the program is without doubt world class. Viewers should have been shown large numbers of cattle eating and sleeping comfortably in fantastic facilities.
Point three: within a three hour drive there are another three world class facilities not shown in the program.
He says the cattle being fed and the rations being fed led to fewer animal health issues than a similar sized operation in Australia. One of these facilities is owned and operated by a large Australian pastoral house managed by a north Australian Queensland man and, through his dedication to excellence in feedlot and slaughtering systems, the system is closed and all cattle are killed in there own abattoir. They import 20 000 to 25 000 head a year. How can the government justify closing this facility down?
Point four: another within three hours is owned by a large publicly-listed Indonesian company. They have on feed 50 000 head, import about a 120 000 head a year, have built their own abattoir shown briefly on the program with modern methods of slaughter. Total investment from these three feedlots in infrastructure and stock is over $100m. These people have invested in the welfare of the animal all along the chain. They deserve to have their side of the story told. These three importers handle 45% of total imports.
The other major issue not covered was social responsibility that all feedlots in Indonesia practice. They are located in relatively isolated poor areas. Eight thousand people are directly employed by the feedlots. Over one million people are reliant on the regular income made from supplying corn silage and other feedstuffs.
It does happen sometimes, but after watching literally thousands of cattle being slaughtered, 98% of the time it is done quickly and without fuss. Steps are already being taken to ensure cattle are stunned. There are privately owned operations which will do as we ask because they have too much invested not to. Some abattoirs will not accept the new way - no commitment, no supply of cattle, no negotiation.
I quote directly from Scot:
So, Madam Speaker, whilst we are here to pass the motion asking the federal government to lift the ban as urgently as possible, if that ban was lifted tomorrow, the industry has a great deal of work to do to recover from this disaster. As I said, in the last week or so, there has been a drop in red meat sales of 15% to 20%. This is affecting all of the industry because people have been turned off by what they saw.
I say to the federal government: by all means lift this ban as soon as possible for the benefit of Territory families; workers in the Territory; Aboriginal people who will go back onto welfare if this ban is not lifted soon; Indonesian families who rely on the trade; Indonesian people who eat our meat. Not only will you put an effort into restoring this live cattle trade as soon as possible, you will continue to turn things around for the industry and to repair the great damage that has been done by what I believe was a short-sighted decision by the federal government. I believe, because of that, it needs to take some responsibility to make sure this industry gets back on its feet and Territory families and Territory producers have a future to look forward to.
Members: Hear, hear.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank the opposition, and the Independents - I know the member for Macdonnell supports this motion as well - for their support in the House this evening.
I would appreciate a copy of the letter read out by the member for Nelson. It sums up that if there is real effort and goodwill, given the contents of that letter, what the Leader of the Opposition saw when he was in Indonesia, we should be able to get this trade up and running in days, not weeks with the right amount of effort.
To the producers and people in the gallery this evening, and I know a couple of people up there, I will say ‘G’day’ at the conclusion of this debate. I believe you have heard on behalf of everyone in this House, our absolute determination to do whatever we can and to commit - I commit - within our government whatever resources are required to work with this task force to get this trade back up and running as quickly as possible.
For the Acting Consul here this evening, Mr Daranindra, you have heard, Sir, first hand in debate, the level of friendship and commitment by every person in this parliament to work with Indonesia to resolve these issues. Regarding the letter that was just read out, I spoke at length about the effect this ban was having on families across the Northern Territory, but also, understand better as a result of the debate tonight, the many thousands of families in Indonesia who are also tonight wondering where the next pay packet is coming from.
In my time in this House, and I have been here since 1999, I cannot recall another event that has brought us together as one as this particular issue has. I commend this motion. It will be sent to the Prime Minister and the President of Indonesia first thing tomorrow. I will do all I can as the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory on behalf of everyone who is affected by this to work with my colleague, the Minister for Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources, and through our departments, to get this trade recommenced as quickly as possible.
Madam Speaker, I thank every member of the House for their support of the motion tonight, and thank the leadership that has been shown by the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association in assisting us in crafting this motion.
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, for the information of guests in the galleries, the transcripts of this debate will be available on Hansard tomorrow morning.
SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly, at its rising on 15 June 2011, adjourn until approximately 1.30 pm on Thursday, 23 June 2011, or at such other time as notified by the Speaker, with one hour’s notice being given to the Government and Opposition Whips and members by the Speaker, or such other time and/or date as may be advised by the Speaker pursuant to sessional order.
Motion agreed to.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
DISTINGUISHED VISITOR
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s gallery of the Acting Indonesian Consul for the Northern Territory, Mr Bambang Daranindra, accompanied by consulate staff.
On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: I welcome all other guests who have come to listen to this debate.
MOTION
Routine of Business – Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Routine of Business – Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business)(by leave) Madam Speaker, I move –
That the Routine of Business for Wednesday, 15 June 2011, be as follows:
- 1. Prayers;
Motion agreed to.
TABLED PAPER
Pairing Arrangement – Member for Daly and Member for Araluen
Pairing Arrangement – Member for Daly and Member for Araluen
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have before me a document relating to pairs for this evening for the member for Daly and the member for Araluen. It has been signed by the two Whips. I tabled the document.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Recall of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Recall of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that I have received the following letter from the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, dated 14 June 2011:
Dear Madam Speaker
- We write to request that the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory be recalled to debate the issue of live cattle exports. It is proposed that the sitting of the Assembly be scheduled for 6 pm on Wednesday, 15 June 2011.
Pursuant to Sessional Order of the Assembly, I acceded to the request and recalled parliament to sit from 6 pm this evening.
I table the letter of my acknowledgement.
I call the Chief Minister.
MOTION
Export of Live Cattle to Indonesia
Export of Live Cattle to Indonesia
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the Northern Territory Assembly:
- 1. acknowledges the value of the cattle industry to the economic, social, cultural and environmental fabric of the Northern Territory, its producers, employees, contractors, Indigenous communities, businesses and their families;
strongly condemns all forms of animal cruelty.
will work with the Australian and Indonesian governments to ensure that Indonesian abattoir processes and the supply chain meet or exceed international welfare standards.
Madam Speaker, I also acknowledge the attendance of the Acting Head of the Indonesian Consulate, Consul Pak Bambang Daranindra for this very important debate in the parliament this evening.
This issue is a crisis for the Northern Territory. It is a crisis for Territory families across the Northern Territory. It is a crisis which, as government, I absolutely resolve all my efforts in playing our part in ensuring that this trade is resumed as soon as possible.
I was advised late last Tuesday afternoon that the Prime Minister, with minister Warren Snowdon, was meeting with Luke Bowen from the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to announce that the federal minister was going to announce the following morning a ban on live exports to Indonesia. That came as a great shock to me, and a shock to everyone involved in that industry. From that day, not only have I and the minister for Primary Industry had conversations with the Prime Minister and the federal minister, but we have also been working every single day with the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to ensure that the trade is recommenced as quickly as possible.
I acknowledge the opposition and the Leader of the Opposition. I will not go into everything that has happened in the last week, but, in the spirit of the debate tonight, we have had very firm requests to both sides of this House not to politicise this issue. This issue is beyond politics and I know that every member in this House is going to support this motion tonight because we are talking about the livelihood of Territorians that could be severely damaged if this ban continues for any significant length of time.
My commitment is not to play politics with this issue but to do everything I can, as the Chief Minister, to get this trade recommenced as soon as possible.
The Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association approached both the government and the opposition late last week with an idea of parliament being recalled to make a statement of consensus. My public comments were that I was very much open to that as long as we could agree on a motion, and not only agree on a motion with the opposition, but to have support for the motion that we are debating tonight with industry. There has been a fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing with industry to come to the words in this motion. It has been a collaborative effort with the Leader of the Opposition, and the member for Fong Lim, who has taken a very solid role in consensus around that. I thank the member for Fong Lim for the approach he has taken.
What we saw on Four Corners was horrifying and unacceptable. It shocked everyone who saw that footage. For the future of the trade, and to have a sustainable trade into the future, we have to ensure those images will never be repeated on Australian television screens with Australian cattle. They were absolutely horrifying. They offended every Australian, and can I say, in deference to our friends from Indonesia, the vast majority of Indonesians were absolutely appalled at those images. I will go to a media release issued by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Canberra last week which can speak for that.
Australians, Territorians and the cattle industry wanted action. The industry was appalled by those images as well. Our cattle producers do not raise cattle in the Northern Territory to see them end their lives in the way those images are portrayed. They wanted immediate action as well. They wanted an assurance that all necessary steps would immediately be taken to ensure this will not be repeated. I believe Territorians have a much better understanding of the live export industry than most Australians. Even the most urbanised of Darwinians live with the road trains that we see on our roads, the cattle trains, the images of cattle going over our wharves into the mass transport ships that we see leaving for Indonesia. People in Darwin see the ships in our harbour on a daily and weekly basis. I am convinced that most Territorians support this industry, but no Territorians supported what they saw on television on the Four Corners program.
The view, from the conversations that I have had with Luke Bowen and industry, is that no one wanted to see a permanent ban, or even a temporary ban lasting any length of time, but I believe a number of people in the cattle industry acknowledge we needed a circuit breaker in this. The temporary ban has provided for a circuit breaker to ensure we get processes in place, through the industry, with governments and with Indonesia, so when the trade resumes we can be guaranteed that Australian cattle will not end their lives as we saw those images on Four Corners.
We have a temporary ban. I will do everything in my power to ensure that ban is lifted as soon as we possibly can, once those assurances of the fate of the cattle are certain regarding the practices in Indonesian abattoirs.
A number of meetings have taken place since then. My colleague, the Primary Industry minister, who will speak second in the debate this evening, attended a phone hook-up with minister Ludwig and his counterparts from Western Australia and Queensland on Friday, which industry also attended, to map out a path to deliver the return to the live cattle trade and the threshold issues that had to be met before the federal minister would lift his ban.
I table for honourable members the communiqu from that meeting. Without reading the entire communiqu, I will go to the salient points because this is what needs to be delivered by a task force that has now been established to see the resumption of this trade. I am quoting from the communiqu:
- Issues considered at the meeting are detailed below.
The suspension of the export of livestock for slaughter to Indonesia
- The meeting noted the government’s decision to suspend the export of livestock for slaughter to Indonesia.
The meeting noted the core elements of the safeguards that the government will require to be implemented before trade can resume in full. These are:
- adherence to auditable acceptable welfare standards right through the supply chain to the point of slaughter.
- The meeting agreed to work together to establish and implement these safeguards.
- The meeting recognised that a sustainable live cattle export industry must be built on the ability to safeguard the welfare of animals.
So a task force has been established to put in place the processes, procedures, and transparency around those four dot points. We lobbied hard; my colleague, the Primary Industry minister and officers in his office lobbied very hard to ensure that the NTCA was represented on that task force and it now is. Luke Bowen has been in Canberra attending those meetings to ensure the interests of our industry are front and centre represented on that task force. We also have Northern Territory government officials from the minister’s department working on that task force, with the other states and the Australian government, to put in place the practical measures to deliver those four dot points as quickly as possible so trade can recommence.
That task force is meeting virtually around the clock and we hope, towards the end of this week, to have a better understanding of the time frames and the issues that need to be put together to see this trade resume as quickly as possible. I have pledged to the Prime Minister that any resources needed by the Australian government from the Northern Territory will be provided to the task force. We are working together to deliver on those four dot points.
I also wanted to talk this evening about Indonesia, and the relationship between the Northern Territory and Indonesia, and Australia and Indonesia. I met with the temporary Consul on Friday, as is appropriate. Mr Daranindra, who is here this evening, is the official Indonesian government representative in the Northern Territory. As Chief Minister, it is my responsibility to convey messages to the Indonesian government in Jakarta and through to the Ambassador in Indonesia through the Office of the Consul in Darwin. I advised Mr Daranindra that this issue in no way should be seen as any reflection of the broader relationship the Northern Territory has with Indonesia. We have a wonderful relationship with Indonesia built over many years, not only a government-to-government level, but a people-to-people level, and a trade level. In a mature relationship with a good friend like Indonesia, this is an issue that has come along. It certainly surprised everyone and we, as leaders, have to work through this issue as a specific issue, not as a reflection of the broader friendships that we have.
Mr Daranindra agreed that was the Indonesian government’s position and that he had been working hard with the Ambassador for Indonesia in Canberra regarding a statement that was issued by the Indonesian Ambassador in Canberra on behalf of the Indonesian government on 1 June.
I table this media release, because it has not received wide publication in the Australian media. The Australian media has been quick to find individual politicians and spokespeople in Indonesia who have reacted with almost – I will not say anti-Australian - a view that is not that friendly towards Australia as result of this issue.
We all recognise Indonesia is a huge and complex country with freedom of speech allowed for all Indonesians. I am sure if you were to go you would find people who would not speak with Australian interests in mind.
The official view of the Indonesian government, as conveyed through the Ambassador in Australia, is as follows:
- Indonesians themselves are appalled at these findings, especially considering that the widely-accepted convention in preparing Halal food stipulates the humane killing of livestock with proper Islamic prayers beforehand and applying one quick stroke in the jugular area to guarantee the least amount of pain to the animal. This principle underlies the expectations of the general public in Indonesia, almost 90% of which are Muslims who expect nothing less than a strict adherence to this Halal stipulation.
As recently as 2009, the Indonesian government updated its regulations on animal welfare through the Bill on Livestock and Animal Health (Bill No. 18 of 2009) which clearly states that preparing meat must fulfill the health requirements as outlined by the Veterinary and Animal Welfare Community, while also fulfilling the religious techniques upheld by society in general. Additionally, this Law also dictates that the killing of animals for their meat must be done in the best manner possible, specifically that the animal must be free from pain, fear, pressure, misuse and torture.
I was very heartened to see that official position of the Indonesian government. I congratulate Mr Daranindra, who advised me he had a strong part in working with the Ambassador in crafting that message on behalf of the Indonesian government to the Australian people.
This was followed up later in the week by the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, ordering an investigation of abattoirs across the country. He has ordered his Health minister, and his Trade minister, into those abattoirs, and has also made public comments that those practices are illegal in Indonesia and have no place in the treatment of animals in Indonesia. He also says Indonesia must find a swift solution to this suspension of live cattle exports from Australia.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr HENDERSON: Our relationship with Indonesia has been built, strengthened and developed over many, many years at national and Territory level, and we are all working together to ensure the images we saw last Monday night on Four Corners, which shocked and horrified everyone, are never repeated and there are guarantees for Australian cattle.
We then had a response from the Australian government to apply a temporary ban - as much as it hurts everyone involved directly and indirectly in this trade in the Northern Territory, and across Northern Australia – a temporary ban so there is debate amongst the industry. Many people have said we need a circuit breaker.
We now have requirements in place that need to be met: auditable, acceptable welfare standards throughout the supply chain for full traceability for monitoring, auditing and compliance in agreement with the Indonesian authorities. We have the best people on a task force working to put those criteria in place. We have an official Indonesian government position condemning those practices and saying, from the President down, that that trade needs to be resumed as quickly as possible.
I am quietly confident, with the acknowledgement of the problem and the goodwill to get this issue resolved, that we will be able to get this trade moving again as quickly as possible. I am feeling better now than I was a few days ago about this particular issue.
I acknowledge, and as I said in the media conference I held yesterday, there are many families across the Northern Territory and northern Australia tonight who do not know where the next pay packet is coming from. That has to drive everyone on this task force to get this issue resolved as soon as possible. There are mums and dads, small, medium and large businesses, and the whole supply chain of that industry with everything that hangs off it, in great uncertainty tonight about when the next bill is going to be paid, when the next pay packet is going to arrive, and how they will pay suppliers. That status cannot continue for any significant length of time in the Northern Territory.
I am pleased we have a bipartisan position on this. The support for the live export industry is bipartisan.
I have to say that Meat and Livestock Australia has some very big questions to answer as a result of what we saw on Four Corners. Meat and Livestock Australia has been charged, through the federal government, with a financial commitment from industry for every animal that goes across our wharves into those cattle boats to ensure a sustainable live export industry. It is pretty obvious to me and anyone else who is commentating on this that they have understood that there have been issues for quite some time in Indonesia and, with regard to their responsibilities towards a sustainable trade and to an ethical and humane trade with Indonesia, from where I stand, there are some very significant questions for Meat and Livestock Australia and their boards to answer as to how we have come to this particular point.
I also support the federal minister’s observations that Meat and Livestock Australia has significant cash balances in its accounts. I read last night it is possibly up to $60m. That is industry money. That is money that industry has paid to Meat and Livestock Australia to look after its interests, to develop trade and to ensure the sustainability of that trade. I believe it is totally appropriate at this time that some of those balances are returned to producers who are hurting as a result, in part, of Meat and Livestock Australia not doing what it was entrusted to do on behalf of industry.
Members: Hear! Hear!
Mr HENDERSON: LiveCorp and Meat and Livestock Australia, with the Centre for International Economics in 2011, undertook a study of the impact of a ban on live exports. It considered the nett impact of the ban, taking into consideration the potential sale of cattle into alternate markets. That is an issue that has not only concerned me but has concerned our minister for Primary Industry for some time. We have had too many of our eggs in the Indonesian basket and I know the minister has worked hard with the industry to try to diversify market access for Northern Territory cattle but we know that sourcing new markets is difficult and we have to redouble our efforts in that regard.
This study did take into consideration the potential sale of cattle into alternate markets. The report estimated an impact of $128m nationally with $79m attributed to the live export region of northern Australia. As the report did not estimate impact on the individual states that make up northern Australia, an estimate for the Territory has been extrapolated from the total northern Australia value. This is based on the Northern Territory’s 40% share of the total north Australian export trade and is estimated at $32m per annum.
That is the only study we are aware of that has taken place for a risk analysis on the cessation of that trade. Just looking at those numbers, I believe that would be a very conservative number. Given the export value of our cattle every year over the wharves is some $350m a year, and over 90% of that market is into Indonesia, even if those cattle could be sold into other markets and more sold domestically, and we know that is not going to happen, I would have thought it is more than a $32m annual income. However, that is the only study that we are aware of, and I place that on the Parliamentary Record tonight.
We have this task force working 24/7; the Australian government, the states, the Northern Territory and industry working together. I am advised by the Primary Industry minister, and I am sure he will make comment on his department and how it is participating on this task force, that the process being adopted as we move towards achieving those four requirements of the Australian government is it is a cumulative process ticking off, as various design points are made along the way, that this is acceptable, this is acceptable, and this is acceptable. We do not have to come up with a whole process and then go back to the Australian government for approval for them to find holes in the process. It appears to be a solid process to get to that point in meeting those four requirements that have been agreed to. He will be talking more about that particular task force.
I am very pleased that the federal minister, Joe Ludwig, has agreed to our request for the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to be on the task force. It would have been unconscionable to me as the Northern Territory Chief Minister for them not to be on that task force.
This is certainly a crisis for the Northern Territory. It has come out of left field and very, very quickly. I am acutely attuned, as the Chief Minister, to the pain, the hurt and the uncertainty that this is providing for many thousands of Territorians this evening, but the reality is that only the Australian government can lift this ban. As I said to the Leader of the Opposition yesterday when we were discussing and agreeing to the motion tonight, I have a responsibility on behalf of the people of the Northern Territory to do everything I can to work with the Australian government to get this issue resolved and not to politically grandstand on this issue. I have been requested by the cattle industry in the Northern Territory not to politicise this issue. It would be very easy for me to rail against the Commonwealth government and say it is an appalling decision and it should never have been made.
Regardless of what my personal views are on this matter, the Australian government has made this decision and it is incumbent on me, and our government, to work with industry to get this ban lifted as quickly as possible, and that is working inside the tent, with the processes that have been put in place, with industry, to ensure that we get this trade resumed, and resumed as quickly as possible. That is the commitment I give to every single member of this parliament this evening.
Before I conclude my comments on this motion, I say to the Leader of the Opposition that I appreciated his telephone call from Indonesia the other night pledging not to politicise this issue. I am not going to get into semantics about some other people and the positions they have taken. I appreciate the telephone call I received from the member for Fong Lim in his commitment to work in a spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship to get this trade resumed. As a former federal member for the Northern Territory, he knows, as does everyone in this House, how important this industry is. It is beyond playing politics. This is about Territorians and …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I move an extension of time for the Chief Minister, if he needs one, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON: I thank the member for Port Darwin; I will be brief.
This is bigger than all of us in here; this is beyond politics. This is about Territorians across this wonderful Territory of ours who have, tonight, a very uncertain future. It is our responsibility as leaders in this community to work with industry, with the Australian government, and with our friends in Indonesia, to ensure that this trade is resumed, and resumed as quickly as possible.
Madam Speaker, I commend the motion to the House and I thank the opposition for working with me in coming up with the terms of the motion. I also thank Luke Bowen and the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association for their active and committed participation in working with this parliament in regard to the motion we are debating this evening.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you indicated you were tabling a document.
Mr HENDERSON: Two documents, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Two documents. Thank you.
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, given that this is a crisis, the least we can do is present a unified front to Canberra. Given that, the weight of an argument that is eminently supportable must bear upon Canberra to recognise that there is a way through this, and there is a way through this quickly.
I acknowledge that this is a matter of immense significance to the north of this country, but it also has an effect almost immediately and directly, and compounding right across our country. Cattle markets in the south have already had the effect of the decision and there is more to come.
On the home front, there is much pain and great and grave concern. To our north, the effect of this decision on our near neighbour resonates very deeply.
I acknowledge that these words we speak in this parliament, in this debate, must go to Canberra and bear an effect on their considerations.
These words that we speak in this Chamber should also be sent to Indonesia. I acknowledge the Acting Consul Bambang Daranindra – Selamat dating, Bapak dan Sandari.
This matter has caused us to come together in recognising the depth of this concern. The blanket ban on live beef exports to Indonesia is damaging families, businesses, Indigenous and non-Indigenous jobs here in Australia. It is very concerning when we see the cattle that are caught in holding yards right now, and the story that is told when you start to think through the implications of that. This ban must be lifted and must be lifted as soon as possible. In my view, it must be lifted in days - not weeks or months.
Members: Hear, hear.
Mr MILLS: There is a way through this. I responded, as members would know, by going to Indonesia to assess, from the Indonesian perspective, what this ban means to our near neighbour and, more importantly, to see if that practice which we saw on Four Corners, which was horrific, was representative of the whole. It was not. There is sound and quality practice in Indonesia that meets all the recommendations and all the requirements that could be accredited now and there would be much to be gained as a result of that.
With us coming together as colleagues in this Chamber, I hope our presence here and our support for this motion will bear influence on those who make the decision in Canberra, but will also send a message of encouragement to the nation of Indonesia.
The cattle production is worth around $300m per year to the Territory economy. We just do not talk about numbers though; it means much more than that. It is the heart and the soul of the Northern Territory. The live trade to Indonesia represents a massive 47% of our total live cattle trade. This ban impacts cattle producers, businesses such as feed suppliers, the transport industry, mechanics, fuel suppliers and food outlets. About 700 Indigenous Australians are employed directly in the cattle trade. There are an estimated 54 Indigenous cattle properties in the Territory, all of which face an uncertain future. The damage to the Australian industry in the short and long term will be immense, and will be difficult to recover from.
Like anyone who saw the Four Corners program I was horrified. I grew up on the land; I have been involved in raising cattle and we slaughtered our own beasts. What I saw there was unacceptable and I am here to say it is unacceptable to our near neighbours; they saw that as well. I can report to you one story that is indicative of the attitude. At this point, I compliment the President of Indonesia because being there watching and listening to conversations and following the media closely, the role the President of Indonesia has taken in this in response - there is the potential for this matter to compound and have a negative effect in Indonesia. However, the voice of the President of Indonesia has guided his nation at this time and provided clear leadership, and that leadership is an encouragement to us. It has said it recognises there are practices in Indonesia which need to be reformed. They see this as an opportunity to bear positive influence and bring reform into Indonesia; however, we must act swiftly. He had a voice which spoke and calmed people, and he is continuing to do so. We need to respond to that quickly.
The instinctive response when this was announced in Indonesia was that it was political; Australia is somehow insulting Indonesia through this issue. Those who understand Indonesia can understand how that could occur. However, the Trade minister, Mari Pangestu asked that question of senior trade people - the owners of Santori - saying: ‘Is this political?’ The answer was: ‘Minister, look at the footage and then we will have that discussion’. Minister Pangestu looked at the footage and said: ‘I have seen the footage; it is not political. Here is an opportunity for reform, and we need to respond to this’. That is a good response. It is indicative of our near neighbour that we can work together and find our way through this.
I need to add the Indonesian point of view to this debate. The commentary there is they are aware of the challenges Australians, Territorians and people in the north face as a result of this; however, I report to you, colleagues, that in Indonesia this matter has a very direct effect. I could speak to anyone at any level in Indonesia and they are very aware of what has happened. What they are primarily concerned about is there will be a reduction in the supply of beef - food. That will increase prices going into the period of Ramadan on 1 August this year - not far away. There has always been an inflationary effect around Ramadan because of the focus on celebrations, the focus on food.
In this situation, there is a reduction in the supply of beef so prices will increase. Every family, wherever they are in Indonesia, wants to celebrate and be part of this event. As of four days ago, the price of beef has jumped 20%. That has an effect here; however, it has an immense effect in Indonesia and it is only just beginning. I admire the leadership that has been shown by the President of Indonesia saying we must find a way through this; we must respond to this; we must get the trade going; we must affirm quality practice; we must bring about reform in Indonesia. They need to keep the supply going because what flows from, and during, this period is anger, and concern and the potential for social unrest as a result of food prices increasing in Indonesia. That is a very real concern.
Whilst I was there, the World Economic Forum was taking place in Indonesia and, following the commentary and having conversations with those who are involved in that, central to that is food security which is now recognised to be a global issue, and that means the food chain that supplies Indonesia is connected to Australia. We have a part. That is their concern: food security. We have an opportunity to respond to that and to bring reform into those practices.
I raise the unemployment effect in Indonesia. This message will be conveyed into Indonesia as well, and that is significant. There is no welfare. For those who lose their jobs, that is it. There are thousands upon thousands of people who will be directly affected in terms of their employment, direct or indirect.
I have visited an abattoir and heard of others that fulfil all the requirements of those four points the Chief Minister read out. There is the Santori abattoir west of Jakarta that I visited where all cattle were stunned. They bore brands and tags that were placed on them here in Australia, in the Northern Territory, in fact. They were all traceable; there were monitors to trace the origin of those animals. As they got off the truck into the holding yard they were scanned and weighed. They were then calmed and after a couple of days of feeding were rescanned and reweighed. Whilst I was there a number were slaughtered after being stunned. Every single one of them was stunned and it was one single and swift cut. It was the best abattoir I have seen, given that my last visit to an abattoir was about 20 years ago. It was high quality. Every level met international standards; certificates are all around the walls, proudly bearing that they comply with international standards. There was a gentleman there and I inquired as to what his role was. He was an inspector from the Indonesian government who regularly visits the abattoir to make sure that standards are maintained at every level and that they meet international requirements.
They have an export licence which is not an easy thing to get but they have it and are proud of it. The workers enjoy work at the highest standards. I asked them if they would welcome an Australian official to be present to oversee their operation and be involved at any level. They said they would welcome that and they would be happy to have them here tomorrow. So they could work alongside the Indonesian inspectors and make sure that what is occurring in that abattoir meets international standards. Every animal is stunned.
I did not visit the Elders abattoir but I did have a couple of conversations regarding that abattoir and it also matches the one I saw west of Jakarta.
These two abattoirs, complying with every point that has been raised and every requirement, could be accredited and approved for recommencement of trade tomorrow. People could be put in place to monitor and make sure and report back, and they could handle and process 8000 head of cattle a month.
I understand that Indonesia has up to seven abattoirs that could be accredited according to those four points that have been listed and they could start taking cattle immediately. That is really important here. We talk about where we apportion blame, whether it is MLA, and whether compensation is going to be required. I believe the best action would be to recommence immediately or as soon as we possibly can and that should be within days.
Members: Hear! Hear!
Mr MILLS: Once we have that base standard put in place, certainly over the two I am directly aware of and the others that have been referred to, and I cannot speak for them because I did not speak to people who run those, then you could begin that process that would bring about change within the industry in Indonesia. The welcome news is that Indonesia wants that level of engagement. Indonesia wants that support and to bring about reform, and sees this as an opportunity to do so.
We cannot wait. The ban to Egypt stood for two years and four months, and that was a very different and a very tight market. This is quite different, and the way that our industry is connected to Indonesia, it has a far more significant effect and we certainly cannot wait that long.
For people like Cyndi and Steve Bakalian from Northern Feed and Cube in Katherine, if we have to wait that long, it is all over. They provide feed for the cattle ships and employ 12 people who have families and mortgages to pay. That is 12 in a small community. The live ban threatens to destroy their whole life’s work. The sales of feed they produce are at a standstill, and they still have to pay wages, honour contracts and pay their bills. They are good, solid citizens who have stood there; they made the effort to come up here yesterday to show those that have worked with them over the years that they are fighting for them. We need to respond to that fighting spirit. It is those good people who are working right across the Northern Territory and the north of Australia who are working hard. They find it tough when it comes to times of drought or when prices drop. These things they would see, they cop it because there is not much you can do. Something like this is not a drought; it is a decision that has been made, and it is an action that is required and an action that can be taken. It is more painful than if it were a drought or a fire, or if cattle prices dropped for one reason or another, or if there were disease.
Without overstating it, colleagues, the effect of a market closing adds significant pressure on every line, and particularly when it comes to overstocking. Coming out of a big Wet Season, there was the expectation that they could now get back to business and get some of these cattle off to market. There had been some inactivity on that front for some time, but to find when they can do so, the door is closed, that then results in overstocking, and quite potentially and very seriously, the requirement for culling. Culling in these circumstances is not an easy thing. Culling when it comes to a time of drought is something that is hard, but it has to be done, but culling in a time of no drought, a problem that has been created that can be resolved, makes it particularly difficult.
My heart goes out to those who are on the land facing an uncertain future. I only hope that the processes put in place would be driven to an outcome and a result, and we find a way through this swiftly, because it can be done. It can be done because all those things the commentators are genuinely concerned about - the welfare of animals, the need for bringing about reform - all those elements are, in fact, there, and we can then respond and achieve so much if we do so. We alleviate potential animal welfare problems in the Northern Territory through overstocking and the requirement for culling; we reduce the animal welfare issues that would potentially flow if animals have to be trucked to market. It is a far less pleasant proposition for an animal to be on a truck rather than on a boat.
My attention has been drawn this afternoon to this T-shirt. This is a T-shirt which shows the great pride that Territorians have in their industry. It was produced in 2007. ‘World record cattle shipment, Siba ships’, and on the back it says: ‘Siba ships, 1 ship, 1 port, 3 exporters, 5 depots, 11 cattle per minute, 34 triple road trains, 34 hours, 102 trailers, 136 truck loads, 816 decks, 22 184 cattle, 1 world record’.
That is the great pride that is held in the industry here and the effort that has been put in by so many to have a quality operation here. The quality here can flow swiftly to be a positive influence in Indonesia, and to work and support those in Indonesia who want to bring about such support. The opportunity is there. I only hope that what we say here will bear that influence on the argument in Canberra.
The other concerning aspect is if there is demand for food in a marketplace, and supply has been reduced - as it has been in this case. As I have already reported, beef prices have increased in Indonesia. While I was there, the United States was aggressively pushing in to see how it could get in and exploit this opportunity. Brazil is already there, seeing the opportunity and moving into this space. There is a level of aggression and when it sees that chance, it will push in. They are there now and they are working as hard as they can to get their space in the market.
I am pleased to report, because of the long-term relationship and engagement between Indonesian importers, feedlot operators, and abattoirs in Indonesia - that long-term relationship and great credit to the cattle industry in the Northern Territory for developing and strengthening that relationship - there is still a connection that Indonesia does not quickly want to shift. They want to hold onto that relationship and they want to work together and bring about the reforms that they want to see in Indonesia. The quality and strength of the relationship is still there and I am pleased to report that.
However, when you have a large population and such demand, it can be a difficult pressure to push against when others try to get into the marketplace, because they simply have to keep the cost and the price of beef down. If the price of beef goes up, there are very real problems. That is another reason why we need to act swiftly.
Colleagues, this is an opportunity for us in this sitting, to come together to provide full support for this motion so that we can bear positive influence on the considerations of our colleagues in Canberra. I know there are many who are riding on this act of making a clear statement from this parliament. There are those who see what we are doing here as something that gives them hope. The Territory parliament can say something clear and meaningful, and provide some hope for those who need hope at this time. It means something. It is symbolic, but we trust that the authority of this parliament and the voices of this parliament would bear some positive influence and have a swift resolution to this. A swift resolution is the wisest thing to do. We can cut through, and we can win so much, here on the home front and in maintaining a quality relationship with our neighbours.
When I told people in Indonesia there was a possibility that our parliament could resume and we could debate this, they thought that was a good thing because it sends a clear message and that also gives them some hope. Much is riding on this, and we hope our support for this motion will bear positive influence. It is the least we can do.
Madam Speaker, I commend this motion to my colleagues.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr VATSKALIS (Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources): Madam Speaker, I also support the motion.
Like everyone in Australia, I was shocked by the footage showing inappropriate treatment of cattle in Indonesian abattoirs. I am probably the only person who has spent some time working in abattoirs. As part of my studies, I had to spend six months in Robb’s Jetty Abattoir in Western Australia, and also in the Watsonia abattoirs. It was not the most pleasant time of my studies.
Abattoirs are not pretty places. Working there and watching the reaction of the animals when they enter the areas – you realise immediately that they are well aware of what is going to happen to them. Their eyes widen; you can see they can smell death. Not many people find it pleasant.
In all the time I spent in Australian abattoirs I never saw anything like I saw on the Four Corners report. I was shocked. I was really ashamed that human beings could treat an animal like that. What upset me more was not only the fact they did not meet Australian standards, but what they claimed it to be it was not. What they did was the exact opposite of Islamic law in relation to slaughter of animals.
The Chief Minister mentioned that Meat and Livestock Australia should answer some questions. Yes, they should. Apparently, the MLA had been to that abattoir. I cannot believe the MLA could miss an abattoir where the floor was made of tiles, putting hard-hoofed animals where it was inevitable they would slip and fall down and break legs. Even the box the media refers was not used for the purpose a holding box is used. A holding box is used to hold the animal steady while it is stunned. In that case, the box was used so the animal’s legs would be tied and then pulled so the animal would fall on its side and then it would be killed.
It is not surprising Joe Ludwig, minister for Agriculture, reacted very quickly. The public outcry was too big for a minister not to react, for a human being not to react to that. On Tuesday, 7 June, Senator Ludwig implemented orders suspending export of all animals for slaughter. For the Northern Territory, the order covers export cattle and a small number of buffalo to Indonesia.
The federal minister announced the decision was made to ensure there were no further incidents of poor animal welfare when it comes to livestock exported from Australia. The order applies to the Indonesian market; the other international livestock markets are not subject to this suspension notice. The order suspends the export of live cattle to Indonesia for six months.
This suspension of live cattle is a crisis for the Northern Territory cattle industry; it is a crisis for the north Australia cattle industry, and can become a crisis for the whole Australian cattle industry. It is not only that we have lost an export market; it is the impact on property values, on the everyday lives of people who depend on the live cattle export. It is also a crisis for Indonesia.
Indonesia is not self-sufficient in cattle. Indonesia relies heavily on the import of live cattle to supply the people of Indonesia. They do not have the same standards as us. Most of them have to go to the wet market every day to buy meat because they do not have a refrigerator. The Indonesian government provides, through the live cattle export, good quality, high protein meats to its citizens, especially from a country that is free from some of the diseases we have seen in Brazil or the United States.
Since the announcement of the suspension, I have been working very closely with the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, the Northern Territory Livestock Exporters Association, and also with my state and federal colleagues, especially the Western Australian minister and the Queensland minister.
On Thursday, 9 June, I attended the opening of the CDU Pharmacy Building in the presence of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. I took the opportunity to brief the Prime Minister on the Northern Territory pastoral industry and the possible impact of the cancellation of live cattle exports to Indonesia, or a delay in reopening export to Indonesia.
I also had a personal discussion with Terry Redman, the Western Australian minister for Agriculture. Many Western Australian cattle come through the Port of Darwin, and we both identified the issues with the northern Australian cattle industry and the possible threat to the industry.
In response to approaches made jointly by the Northern Territory, Western Australian and Queensland ministers, Senator Ludwig convened a national teleconference on Friday, 10 June. The teleconference involved northern Australian ministers, the federal government, and key industry groups. The federal government has indicated that controls will require that the exporters demonstrate they are supplying animals into a supply chain that has been third party independently audited, and subsequently verified by Australian government officials as meeting agreed international animal welfare standards. The Commonwealth is looking for a system from the point of arrival in Indonesia through to, and including, the point of slaughter, which safeguards the welfare of Australian animals.
All of our live export trading partners are members of the World Organisation of Animal Health and have already agreed to implement those standards. This arrangement will need to cover the supply chain from unloading, transporting, feedlots and processing at approved abattoirs. Simply accrediting abattoirs and not the entire supply chain will not provide the certainty we need to ensure appropriate animal welfare standards are met. The Commonwealth has indicated judgment about whether the standard has been met would be made based on specific and measurable criteria which would be set out in guidelines and standard operating procedures approved by the federal government which issues the export approvals.
An Industry and Government Working Group has been appointed to jointly develop the protocols to ensure traceability of all Australian livestock exports to Indonesia. The group includes Commonwealth, Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australian officials and livestock industry representatives together with industry representative groups. I lobbied for the inclusion of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to be part of the working group rather than simply to be represented by the national body. I also lobbied that Indonesian government officials are included in this working group, together with businesses represented in Indonesia and certainly, at a later date, for the Islamic Council of Indonesia to be involved.
This group is working on a broad regulatory framework to manage livestock exports that will include rigorous third party external audit that includes guidelines for ensuring compliance against international animal welfare standards; the management of the domestic implications of the trade suspension; and a course of action for managing Australia’s relationship with other international markets.
The group recognises, as I do, the importance of an early restoration of the trade and they have noted the need for this to be done under robust supply chain assurances. The group will provide advice to government on how this can happen. Ahead of its next meeting on Friday, 17 June 2011, the group will look at the whole supply chain and identify the changes needed at each point to give assurance of animal welfare outcomes. When the supply chain has been approved and the exporter can provide evidence that they will supply into the approved system, the exporter would become eligible to gain an export licence.
Once the protocols are approved, industry will then implement the required on-ground arrangements for the traceability of Australian-sourced cattle throughout the entire supply chain. To ensure that appropriate animal welfare, an individual operator could lose their licence to export if animals were not being handled through the approved supply chain to which the exporter was granted permission to export.
As is the accepted protocol, the federal minister for Agriculture has been in discussion with his Indonesian counterparts. Senior federal government officials are also on the ground in Indonesia working with Indonesian officials. In a meeting held in Jakarta recently, Australian and Indonesian governments agreed to implement an immediate and long-term plan. This would involve both countries working together to identify abattoirs that adhere to good practice, and to identify those to be improved.
In my discussion with both the Prime Minister and Senator Ludwig I offered to travel to Indonesia to meet with Indonesian minister Suswono given our ongoing relationship.
I welcome that the Chief Minister has met with the Indonesian Consul in outlining the need to ensure adequate welfare standards to recommence trade. The Indonesian Embassy has also issued a media release confirming that both Indonesian and Australian governments will continue to work together to recommence the trade and ensure appropriate welfare standards.
Separately, Senator Ludwig, has appointed former Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Bill Farmer, to lead a review across the live animal export industry. This review is separate to the work of the joint industry and government working groups.
We fully support the Northern Territory cattle industry and live export trade within acceptable animal welfare standards. The cattle industry makes such an important contribution to the economic, social, cultural and environmental fabric of the Northern Territory, its producers, employees, contractors, Indigenous communities, businesses and their families.
The cattle industry in the Northern Territory employees between 1600 and 1900 people and was worth $251m in 2009-10. Some recent work done by the Department of Business and Employment indicates that live cattle export to all countries from the Northern Territory was valued at $236m FOB in 2009-10 with significant contribution to private businesses including fodder and freight.
The Centre for International Economics published a report in June 2011. That report was commissioned by Meat and Livestock Australia. One finding of that report indicates that the cessation of the live cattle trade would reduce the income of the farm sector in northern Australia by $128m per year, and it is so much more than large corporate businesses.
As the Primary Industry minister, I have been to properties throughout the Northern Territory meeting with the people and their families that make up the industry. It is not the corporate sector and boards and other companies. They are people like Roy and Janet Chisholm from Napperby; the Underwoods from Riveren and Rowan Sullivan from Cave Creek Station - people I meet with often - Keith Roxy, Henry Burke, the McBeans from Douglas Daly, the Hayes family, Kilgariffs, Tom Stockwell, Tony Searle and many more people in the Northern Territory, and because it is such a small community, we know them personally. We meet them nearly every week. It is not only about the corporate sector. It is about the small family holdings that are going to be affected.
To assist the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to maintain communication with its members, my department has out-posted an experienced officer well known to the industry. The role of this staff member is to assist with directing pastoralists to available services, and to identify emerging issues arising from the cessation of livestock exports, and to keep the industry informed.
The ban has had an immediate impact on the live trade industry, and the flow-on to other pastoralists and broader regional businesses will continue. My colleague, the Business minister, will convene a meeting with key stakeholders to get their input on what industries are being affected indirectly by the cattle ban. This initially would be Luke Bowen, Cattlemen’s Association of the Northern Territory; Adam Hill, Live Cattle Exporters Association; Louise Bilato from the Road Transport Association; Garry Hall from the Katherine Chamber of Commerce, Pam Dickinson from the Katherine Chamber of Commerce, Region Executive Officer; and the Chamber of Commerce in Tennant Creek.
The minister will meet individually with banks and agri-business managers to get a better understanding of the state of the pastoral industry and related businesses. The department of Business will distribute, through their client database, information to businesses directly and indirectly impacted, information on the various programs on offer by the Northern Territory government, and a point of contact with the department that will assist with easy access to government. It will remind businesses that the Department of Business and Employment has access to business planning, cash flow analysis, workshops, workforce planning, trade support, and research and innovation.
We are committed to work cooperatively to support the progression and expeditious accreditation of supply chains into Indonesia that deliver supply chain assurance and the needed resumption of cattle supply to those supply chains.
We strongly condemn all forms of animal cruelty. Everyone was shocked by the footage - pastoralists, exporters and the community. That is why we are committed to ensure appropriate welfare standards are implemented as a matter of urgency. I offered to the federal minister the assistance of my department to work with their federal officials, but also with Indonesian officials on the ground, in Indonesia, to train people in the humane handling of animals. We offer our expertise. Our links with Indonesia and the relationships have been built over the past 20 or 30 years. In the past, if we have had a problem like that, we work together cooperatively in order to resolve it.
The Chief Minister mentioned that in the past five or six years I have been minister for Primary Industry, I have been concerned that our major live cattle export was Indonesia. I always refer to putting all our eggs in one basket. I wondered what would happen if something happened in Indonesia - the economy collapses, there are some problems, or a change of direction in Indonesia. What are we going to do with these cattle? The cattle we produce are specifically for the live cattle export. They are specifically for the Indonesian market. They would be very difficult to sell down south. They will be sold, but only for the hamburger patty industry, which commands very low prices.
We have worked very well with other countries to identify potential markets. We have identified Vietnam. We worked very closely with companies in Vietnam. We have provided technical assistance and information, and we had the Khanh Hoa Trading and Investment Company constructing a feedlot and small processing facility to Australian standards with the assistance of my department’s officials.
The Philippines used to be a big export market for the Northern Territory, but for various economic reasons that went downhill. Recently, we have seen the return of the Philippines to the Northern Territory to purchase our cattle. A ship loaded last week in the Port of Darwin was destined for the Philippines. Once again, staff from the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources have provided assistance in relation to cattle and breeding projects in the Philippines. Prior to the arrival of the first shipment, which is scheduled for August 2011, we are providing on-ground assistance.
As I said before, Indonesia is not self-sufficient with their animals yet. There is a requirement by the people for good quality product, and many people rely on the wet markets. In addition to that, because of the customs and traditions, Indonesians prefer the live cattle for various reasons. Any changes in the supply chain will affect Indonesia’s ability to become self-sufficient. If Australian cattle do not go to Indonesia, cattle have to come from somewhere else and most likely will come from the local herd, which will further reduce the number of cattle in Indonesia, putting back for many years the program for Indonesia to become self-sufficient.
I am also concerned that if we remove the live cattle export from Indonesia, remove the Australian animals, the suppliers will find animals from other countries; from India, Malaysia, and Brazil. The issue is how to treat the animals humanely. If we are not there to pressure, train, and guide, these people we saw on Four Corners will do exactly the same thing with other animals. Not Australian, but Indian animals or Malaysian animals.
Our government is concerned about putting all our eggs in one basket, and we discussed this with industry. I am pleased to say that the Australian Agricultural Company has indicated it will build a new northern abattoir within the Darwin rural area. We have been providing information to AACo regarding government process and development approvals. The construction of a new abattoir will provide a necessary market, in addition to the livestock export trade. It is not going to resolve the issue. It is impossible for an abattoir in the Northern Territory to absorb 300 000 cattle a year, or even if you had more in Northern Australia. But, it will provide an alternative supply chain for abattoirs. The Batchelor abattoir has been leased by the Windy Hills Australian Game Meats and is currently being upgraded to meet licensing standards. We will see more abattoirs in the Northern Territory, but we have to make sure there is a continuous supply of animals for these abattoirs. Again, I point out the establishment of these abattoirs in the Northern Territory is not going to resolve the issue and will not absorb the entire number of animals we export to Indonesia.
Madam Speaker, in addition to senior staff in my Department of Resources participating in and providing advice to the national industry and government working group, there are a number of other processes that have been established to assist producers, other affected parties and inform and contribute to the expedient resumption of the trade.
A summary of these activities include:
a senior officials group from across relevant Northern Territory government agencies has been established. The Department of Resources out-posted officer to NTCA is a member of this group. The group will share information and should form an effective network so producers and other affected parties can receive assistance and advice from the appropriate area of government.
In closing, Madam Speaker, everyone was appalled by the footage of animal cruelty; it was simply unacceptable. Pastoralists, livestock exporters in the community were united in their call for a response. We have worked hard with the industry, and state and federal counterparts, to ensure that acceptable animal welfare standards are implemented for the Northern Territory cattle industry and live cattle export to continue.
A joint industry and government working group is formulating protocols to ensure the welfare of animals throughout the supply chain, and will meet again on Friday. Once protocols are agreed and approved, industry will implement the necessary assistance throughout Indonesia to ensure traceability and accountability, and then livestock trade can recommence.
Madam Speaker, our purpose is to see live cattle export to Indonesia restarting as soon as practicably possible. I am very pleased that we have bipartisan support - this is not an issue for politicians to play politics - it is a vital issue for the future of the Northern Territory cattle industry.
Members: Hear, hear.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I rise to support this motion before the House, to support the pastoral and cattle industry, its producers, graziers, families, employees, contractors, service businesses, and the countless Territorians who have been affected, and will be affected, by this short-sighted misguided action in regard to the Territory’s live export trade.
We support, also in the strongest terms, the improvement of animal welfare in the supply chain and abattoir processes, such that the standards meet, if not exceed, international and best practice standards and that the long-term sustainability of the live export trade is dependent on animal welfare issues being addressed in a cooperative and collaborative way between government, industry and the community.
There is no doubt this issue is a matter of huge significance to over 300 families on the 230 or so pastoral properties in the Northern Territory, along with the countless families who work with or are involved in the pastoral and agricultural industries, and service and export industry.
It is a matter of significance to the Northern Territory and Australian economies, and it is a matter of significance to the future confidence and investment into the Northern Territory. By no means last in thoughts, it is a matter of enormous significance to the social fabric of our rural communities.
Australia is the second largest exporter of beef in the world and, as such, has an enviable reputation, and rightly so. The reputation of the Australian and Northern Territory cattle and pastoral industry as the most efficient producer of beef in the world is not by luck; it is the result of decades of hard work, commitment and dedication. It is a position and reputation earned, not bought off the shelf, and everyone involved in the pastoral and cattle industry should be, and are, justifiably proud of their achievements and contribution to the Northern Territory and Australia’s history and successes.
In the Northern Territory, the value of the industry is around 3% of gross state product. That paints only part of the picture of the importance and contribution of these industries. Yes, 3% of gross state product and, yes, value of production valued at $450m and, yes, cattle production accounts for around 50% of all agricultural, horticultural, forestry and fishery Northern Territory production. Yes, there are around two million head of cattle on about 250 pastoral properties, and yes, around 300 000 head of cattle is exported to Indonesia.
These statistics are only part of the story; there is so much more to this once vibrant industry. Live export has been built up over 20 years specifically breeding cattle for this market, creating a whole primary industry of purpose-bred cattle and secondary industries including real estate, finance and insurance, transport, trucking, haulage, helicopter and fuel industries. With the helicopter industry in the Northern Territory already under pressure, heli-mustering will be put under substantial pressure.
The export yards, of which we have three in the Top End and one in my electorate - the one in my electorate in Noonamah has 30 drivers and about 10 full-time staff in the yards. They are all concerned at this point about their future employment.
There is the shipping and the stevedoring industry; the veterinarians and animal health; the Aboriginal employment through agistment and training, and there is any number of Aboriginal owned or co-owned properties and businesses that provide agistment for cattle. They too have been dramatically affected by this ban.
The hay producers, feed producers, processers and nutrition supplement manufacturers in the Northern Territory alone have been hit, and will be hit hard by this ban. One business, as we heard earlier this week, supplies exclusively to the ships and the export of cattle. Their business has stopped overnight.
There are specialised animal husbandry services such as horse dentistry, the rural contractors, and government jobs involved in servicing and facilitating this industry. Many of these businesses have already been affected and have suffered job losses, cancellation of orders, machinery orders have been cancelled, auction sales of pastoral properties have been withdrawn, and the value of 50% of the northern land mass of the Northern Territory is pretty much zero at this point in time.
In addition to these businesses and industries, there is a vast network of activities which are a component of the industry and the community who have not been mentioned or commented on at this point of time. They provide entertainment, but also are an excellent learning activity for the many young people who want to take up a career, employment or work in the pastoral and agricultural industries. These events include the camp drafts held at any number of places and locations across the Northern Territory, the rodeos, the agricultural shows, the field days, the ladies days, and gathering of children through the isolated parents, children and teacher associations. Workshops are held throughout the pastoral industry and the rural area dealing with horse shoeing, horse dentistry and horsemanship. Cattle sale days and bush races, to name a few, will all be dramatically impacted on if not already.
It is going to be a sad time during the Northern Territory agricultural shows if the suspension of the export trade is still in place come July. Many of these events are supported by the cattle and pastoral industry including transportation of stock, showcasing of stock, and entertainment for thousands of show goers. No cattle, no horses, no event, no families, no heart to our community.
There are thousands of people involved in the industry in the Northern Territory and around the industry, and to limit the industry just to statistics is wrong and does a complete disservice to the 300 or so families in the industry who, at this point in time, have no idea what the future holds for them.
The impact on lives of many people and families is not limited to Australia. Indonesia has an even bigger workforce involved in the export trade and provides Indonesian people with the opportunity to benefit from backgrounding, feedlotting, breeding, slaughtering and sale of beef into wet markets. More importantly, it provides food for a nation which currently has over 100 million people living on less than $2 per day. There are numerous small family farmers who supply hay or by-products from their farm activities to the feedlots. What will happen to them with no obvious source of income?
Madam Speaker, the implications of the suspension are far and wide-reaching and I am not sure that all issues and factors were considered before announcing the suspension. I am unconvinced that there is any great care factor for the Territory and our industries and the many families affected by this suspension by the vast number of the southern population.
Yes, any form of animal cruelty is, and should be, condemned and should be stamped out completely by practice, education and example of best practice in the abattoir industry. In making this decision in support for the suspension if not elimination of live export trading there is ignorance of the impact on the environment, ignorance of the impact on Aboriginal regional business enterprises and economic independence, ignorance of the financial and insurance consequences, and ignorance of the impact on the 50% of the Territory’s land mass, lifeblood and future. We need the suspension lifted and lifted quickly for the future of the Northern Territory and the families and businesses affected.
With the prospect of 12 000 head of cattle being returned to pastoral properties there is a range of consequences which will rapidly occur and have an impact on the landscape, health and personal and social wellbeing. With cattle being returned to properties and not being able to be turned off and sold, overstocking will rapidly deplete pastures and lead to landscape degradation. This will include denuded soil surfaces leading to soil losses and increases in stream and river sediment pollution. This will have consequences for bush people and food gathering and recreational fishing. With extra pressure on the land there will be potentially less focus on other land management issues such as weed management, bush fire control, water supply, and management of the land simply to name a few.
Many of the properties we have in the Territory are marginal and only through good farming practices do pastoral people and their businesses do as well as they do. Inability to sell cattle will have a two-prong outcome: overstocking resulting in an escalating deterioration of condition in stock and massive land degradation. I wonder if the people down south thought that degradation of the environment and the potential for large scale stock destruction was an okay thing to support.
There is a key issue of biosecurity to consider and so far I have seen little comment on this serious matter. Australia is one of the cleanest, disease free countries in the world and any threat to this situation should send alarm bells clanging around the country. Indonesia imports cattle from Australia for many reasons: price; type of cattle; short time in shipping; cultural; diplomatic; and, importantly, our cattle are foot and mouth disease free.
If Indonesia is put into a situation where it has to source cattle from another country, the probability of the cattle coming from a country with foot and mouth disease is high. I am not suggesting that this situation will occur; however, if it were to occur, it potentially will bring foot and mouth disease within one hour’s flight from Darwin. If foot and mouth disease entered Australia through the Northern Territory it would be catastrophic for all animals in Australia, the economy and the community at large.
In the past 12 months the pastoral industry in the Territory has undergone substantial restructuring and re-management as a result of the 350 kg weight limit that took effect. This re-adjustment has not been without some financial cost. Now that this ban has been implemented the industry is facing losses which would and could be overwhelming.
Selling to the domestic market is not an option, as was mentioned by the minister previously. The cattle that are exported to Indonesia are bred specifically for export. They are not the cattle that end up as steaks on plates down south. They will have to be agisted, go back to the properties, or they might have to be culled.
In all the upheaval as a result of the suspension of live export of cattle, people from down south have completely overlooked, if not ignored, the impact on families. As of Monday this week, around 300 families across the 250 properties in the Northern Territory did not know, and do not know, what their future holds. These families are ordinary people doing an extraordinary job. They put food on our plates and allow us to enjoy our Territory and Australian lifestyle, and a decent and healthy diet.
Most cattle stations are family owned, and I have gone through the full list and I found that there are only about eight to a dozen that are corporately owned. There is a small number that are corporate owned, but by far the majority of property owners or pastoralist leaseholders are families and young families. Many of the stations have multiple families residing on the property with young children. Many of these families also have children at boarding schools, and their future is uncertain too as to whether they stay at the boarding school or come back to the property, or leave the property altogether.
In the last weeks, families have retreated and gone inwards, not knowing what to expect. Farming is not just a job, but a lifestyle, and it is a 365 day a year commitment. Cattle do not stop for public holidays and do not take annual leave. Cattle station people who choose that life, it is work and life, and they are closely intertwined.
Madam Speaker, I commend the government for supporting this motion, and I commend all colleagues for supporting this motion. I urge the Australian government to act on this as quickly as they can, and to get the suspension lifted so we can give the pastoral industry and the agricultural industry, and all the industries that surround those families and those businesses, some kind of future and clear direction for where they are going tomorrow.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I also would like to welcome the Acting Consul, Mr Bambang Daranindra. I hope when he is reporting to his President that he might understand that this parliament is very rarely recalled, and it is also very rare that both sides of this parliament, including the other side, which is the two Independents here, get together and, with one voice, say to our federal government that we want this ban lifted.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr WOOD: That is something I would like you to take back to the President.
Madam Speaker, I will not repeat much of what the previous speakers have said, because I totally agree what they all have said. I will say something that was said to me the day before yesterday by a long-term cattleman in the Territory, Ian McBean. He is a pretty funny sort of fellow, generally speaking. You can always get a laugh out of Ian, but in this case he is not laughing. He says this is the worst disaster for the cattle industry that he has ever known. I believe him, and many people in the Northern Territory understand that as well.
This ban has long-term ramifications, not only for Territory live exports, not only for our relationship with Indonesia, but also for the red meat industry in Australia. There were reports on the Country Hour earlier this week that red meat sales have dropped by 15% to 20%. What we have here is not just an issue about our live cattle, it is about the meat industry in Australia and whether it will be permanently affected by what people saw on their televisions.
I understand why the ordinary Australian would be horrified by what they saw on the Four Corners program. When I was a young fellow, on the weekends or school holidays I used to work in my uncle’s butcher shop in Pakenham, in Gippsland in Victoria. He had his own slaughter yards, and I would watch him slaughter a beast. He would get on his horse, cull a beast, put it into the yard, shoot it, dress it, and get it ready for butchering. The next day you would have fresh meat in the butcher shop. There never appeared, from what I saw, any cruelty in what he did.
I also, believe it or not, have a love for animals myself. Whilst people might laugh about having chickens, they are also animals, and I hope I always treated them respectfully. Yes, you did have to chop the head off a chook occasionally; that is life. The issue is how you treat the animals. We all have to slaughter cattle to get meat; we all have to slaughter chickens to get meat, and the same with pigs and goats. I mentioned goats so the member for Wallaby Holtze Road would appreciate that. We expect it to be done in a proper and respectful fashion, because we should respect animals as well.
The way we respect animals highlights to all countries that we believe animals are important and, when we are dealing with them, we should deal with them in the most humane way. That is why the reaction from the public in Australia has been so severe.
I do not agree with the ban, but I do understand why politicians down south have reacted to it. If you get thousands of e-mails complaining about what people have seen on television, or you believe your electoral future is in doubt if you do not listen to what they are saying, of course you are going to react. What we have seen is that reaction.
It is something the industry has to address. We have to show the people of Australia that we will make an effort to change things around. I will not support this motion if I believe we will send cattle back to Indonesia and we will get a repeat of what we saw on Four Corners. As the member for Blain said, there are abattoirs in Indonesia which do come up to the standard we require.
We now have to say to the people of Australia, because they are not all anti-meat eaters, they are ordinary folk who were horrified at what they saw, and we need to reassure them that we are going to do our darndest to make sure this is not repeated. If it did repeat itself, that would be the death of this industry. There would be no turning back. We only have one chance to turn this around, and this is the chance we have to do it.
I expect the guarantees that our cattle leaving our shores will be slaughtered in a manner that is acceptable to the standards that Australians would expect. Governments and the industry must work together to achieve that purpose. As I said, if this was to be repeated that would be the end of our exports to Indonesia, probably forever, and that would be a tragedy for the Territory.
To me, the cattle industry in the Northern Territory is the heart and soul of the Territory, both for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. For many years, Aboriginal people were also the backbone of this industry.
This industry has been going 127 years. The first shipments to Indonesia were in 1884. We go back a long way. This is a relationship we have had with Indonesia and other countries for a very long period. It is important from a neighbour point of view that we work for better relations with our neighbour Indonesia; that we do not see ourselves as some arrogant little southern country telling Indonesians what to do. We work together with them as equal partners. Indonesians do not want to see cruelty to animals, Australians do not want to see cruelty to animals and, as the member for Blain said, here is a great opportunity to work together as two countries, two neighbours, for the benefit of the welfare of the animals. That is really important.
We need to lift this ban in days because we have Northern Territory families hurting. Long-term Northern Territory families are hurting, also short-term families hurting. I would hate to be part of a family that has just bought a property. Imagine the stress on that family knowing they may not have a future.
To all those people involved in industry - I will not go through them all, the member for Goyder did that - we know who those people are. Many of them live in our small communities in Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Katherine and the rural area of Darwin. Many people are dependent on this industry and they have families as well. Of course, there are Indonesian families. We are all human beings; we are all on this earth to look after one another.
It would be good in this day and age, when discussions about Muslims and Christians devours much of our time, that this be a good example of joining together as two countries with different religious backgrounds to work together for a common cause. We are feeding Indonesian people, many of them poor, and what better way to show our support for those people by continuing to work to have this ban lifted.
The other side of the coin is we have seen what the Four Corners program put forward. We know it is terrible. The question is: was it the whole story? There is a requirement for a more balanced story about animal welfare in Indonesia.
I received a copy of a letter from a gentleman named Scot Braithwaite who wrote to Four Corners recently. I am unsure whether Four Corners is willing to do another story on animal welfare in Indonesia; however, he introduces himself:
- My name is Scot Braithwaite and my life has basically revolved around live export since I was 10 years old. I was unloading cattle boats in Malaysia at the age of 13. I have worked for all the major cattle companies including as a Head Stockman in the Northern Territory. I have a degree in Economics from the Queensland University and I have personally sold more than 1.5 million head of cattle into Indonesia since 1991. I am presently employed as the marketing manager for Wellard Rural Exports.
I have prcised some of the letter, otherwise it would be too long. He raises point one and is referring to the Four Corners program:
- The ship that appears in footage ‘for less than 30 seconds’ is a vessel that cost tens of millions of dollars to build.
Point two: the feedlot shown for 10 seconds on the program is without doubt world class. Viewers should have been shown large numbers of cattle eating and sleeping comfortably in fantastic facilities.
Point three: within a three hour drive there are another three world class facilities not shown in the program.
He says the cattle being fed and the rations being fed led to fewer animal health issues than a similar sized operation in Australia. One of these facilities is owned and operated by a large Australian pastoral house managed by a north Australian Queensland man and, through his dedication to excellence in feedlot and slaughtering systems, the system is closed and all cattle are killed in there own abattoir. They import 20 000 to 25 000 head a year. How can the government justify closing this facility down?
Point four: another within three hours is owned by a large publicly-listed Indonesian company. They have on feed 50 000 head, import about a 120 000 head a year, have built their own abattoir shown briefly on the program with modern methods of slaughter. Total investment from these three feedlots in infrastructure and stock is over $100m. These people have invested in the welfare of the animal all along the chain. They deserve to have their side of the story told. These three importers handle 45% of total imports.
The other major issue not covered was social responsibility that all feedlots in Indonesia practice. They are located in relatively isolated poor areas. Eight thousand people are directly employed by the feedlots. Over one million people are reliant on the regular income made from supplying corn silage and other feedstuffs.
It does happen sometimes, but after watching literally thousands of cattle being slaughtered, 98% of the time it is done quickly and without fuss. Steps are already being taken to ensure cattle are stunned. There are privately owned operations which will do as we ask because they have too much invested not to. Some abattoirs will not accept the new way - no commitment, no supply of cattle, no negotiation.
I quote directly from Scot:
- I am asking for a fair go. You have been expertly manipulated. Hear the actual other side of the story, and let the Australian public see both sides. I am happy to make all the arrangements. This is too important to let sit with the images you portrayed on Monday without recourse.
So, Madam Speaker, whilst we are here to pass the motion asking the federal government to lift the ban as urgently as possible, if that ban was lifted tomorrow, the industry has a great deal of work to do to recover from this disaster. As I said, in the last week or so, there has been a drop in red meat sales of 15% to 20%. This is affecting all of the industry because people have been turned off by what they saw.
I say to the federal government: by all means lift this ban as soon as possible for the benefit of Territory families; workers in the Territory; Aboriginal people who will go back onto welfare if this ban is not lifted soon; Indonesian families who rely on the trade; Indonesian people who eat our meat. Not only will you put an effort into restoring this live cattle trade as soon as possible, you will continue to turn things around for the industry and to repair the great damage that has been done by what I believe was a short-sighted decision by the federal government. I believe, because of that, it needs to take some responsibility to make sure this industry gets back on its feet and Territory families and Territory producers have a future to look forward to.
Members: Hear, hear.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank the opposition, and the Independents - I know the member for Macdonnell supports this motion as well - for their support in the House this evening.
I would appreciate a copy of the letter read out by the member for Nelson. It sums up that if there is real effort and goodwill, given the contents of that letter, what the Leader of the Opposition saw when he was in Indonesia, we should be able to get this trade up and running in days, not weeks with the right amount of effort.
To the producers and people in the gallery this evening, and I know a couple of people up there, I will say ‘G’day’ at the conclusion of this debate. I believe you have heard on behalf of everyone in this House, our absolute determination to do whatever we can and to commit - I commit - within our government whatever resources are required to work with this task force to get this trade back up and running as quickly as possible.
For the Acting Consul here this evening, Mr Daranindra, you have heard, Sir, first hand in debate, the level of friendship and commitment by every person in this parliament to work with Indonesia to resolve these issues. Regarding the letter that was just read out, I spoke at length about the effect this ban was having on families across the Northern Territory, but also, understand better as a result of the debate tonight, the many thousands of families in Indonesia who are also tonight wondering where the next pay packet is coming from.
In my time in this House, and I have been here since 1999, I cannot recall another event that has brought us together as one as this particular issue has. I commend this motion. It will be sent to the Prime Minister and the President of Indonesia first thing tomorrow. I will do all I can as the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory on behalf of everyone who is affected by this to work with my colleague, the Minister for Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources, and through our departments, to get this trade recommenced as quickly as possible.
Madam Speaker, I thank every member of the House for their support of the motion tonight, and thank the leadership that has been shown by the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association in assisting us in crafting this motion.
Motion agreed to.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Transcript of Motion - Availability
Transcript of Motion - Availability
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, for the information of guests in the galleries, the transcripts of this debate will be available on Hansard tomorrow morning.
SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly, at its rising on 15 June 2011, adjourn until approximately 1.30 pm on Thursday, 23 June 2011, or at such other time as notified by the Speaker, with one hour’s notice being given to the Government and Opposition Whips and members by the Speaker, or such other time and/or date as may be advised by the Speaker pursuant to sessional order.
Motion agreed to.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016