John Hassell, President, WAFarmers

I write on behalf of the Western Australian farmers and service businesses that rely on the live sheep trade to support their families and communities.

A trade that for purely political reasons your government has decided to end on the logic that it has lost its social licence to operate.

As primary producers we do need community support for what we do, as the production of food and fibre requires us to work the land, utilise irrigation water, spread inputs such as fertiliser and chemicals, generate carbon emissions and breed and manage livestock. 

This is no different to the mining or petroleum industries and the fishing and forestry sectors which also need community social licence to operate. All these sectors impact the environment to generate economic outcomes that benefits all Australians.

In the case of live exports, we are one of the most highly regulated sectors of animal production, with the federal Department of Agriculture taking a lead role in overseeing the welfare of the sheep and cattle that Australia exports.

Despite this, your government has decided that meeting and exceeding the new standards is still not good enough as it fails the social licence test.

Which raises the question, what is this test?  What are the thresholds we need to achieve, who sets these benchmarks and what is the science behind the measurements?

These are important questions as other sectors of primary production will be targeted by activist groups who will apply this ‘social licence’ test to the trade of everything they don’t like. Be it the live cattle trade, intensive pork or chicken production, feed lots, the long distance trucking of livestock, the irrigated cotton or rice sectors, GM produce, or the use of agricultural chemicals like glyphosate.

At the recent National Farmers Federation members council in Canberra, which involves every agricultural industry in the country, a unanimous motion was passed opposing this policy.

At this meeting, I asked both the Minister for Agriculture, Murray Watt, and Tim Ayres, the Assistant Minister for Trade, how social licence was defined and how they can guarantee that the live cattle trade is not next to be cancelled.

Neither could answer the questions.  This is a great worry to the industry.

In taking this on, you are picking a battle with the entire Australian agricultural sector.

Your government, by relying on an undefined test, is putting at risk all of Australia’s primary production, from agriculture, to mining, fishing and forestry, as there will always be an activist group that will claim that sector has lost its social licence to continue and should be banned. Future governments chasing seats will be tempted to use the precedent you have set unless it is codified and defined.

If your government is going to continue to rely on this test it needs to be defined. Hence WAFarmers invites you and the Minister for Agriculture to attend an industry meeting in Western Australia at a time that suits your diary to explain your policy and the associated social licence test to the growers and service providers it impacts the most.

This will also be an opportunity for your government to front the community in person as decision makers rather than what we have recently experienced, a panel of people being dispatched from Canberra to undertake industry consultation on when the trade should end and how much money should be given to transition. We are not interested in being compensated – we simply want to keep running our businesses.

If a policy is important enough to enact then politicians should have the courage to front those impacted the most. If your government is confident that its social licence argument is robust then come and explain it to those who have the most to lose.

We offer you a platform for a community forum in Katanning, preferably post seeding, here in Western Australia, around mid year. 

The forum will be independently moderated and professionally run. There is nothing to fear and much to be gained as this will be an opportunity for you to explain an important new policy test that no doubt will be used by future governments to defend or close the many different sectors of primary production that the growing number of activist groups are attacking.

We look forward to your positive reply on making to time to attend.

Respectfully yours,

John Hassell
WAFarmers President