live sheep exports

Yesterday in Canberra, the WAFarmers and the National Farmers' Federation (NFF) joined a walk out of the federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt during the budget breakfast, with industry leaders wearing a ‘Keep the Sheep’ tee shirt. The Minister was not impressed ... The farmers might be irrelevant to the ALP, but the voting public are suspicious of governments that are seen to sell out the farmers that grow the grain used to breed the geese that feed the workers that mine the gold that the government uses to buy votes.

Overnight, NAB’s team of leading economists has analysed the 2024-2025 Federal Budget, looking at what it means for regional Australia and agribusiness. The government is allocating $519.1 million from the Future Drought Fund over the next eight years from 2024-25...

In an unprecedented move at today's Agricultural Industry Budget Breakfast, the National Farmers' Federation and multiple peak agricultural bodies walked out during the Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt's address. Together they demonstrated to the Minister he had crossed a line by announcing a radical 4-year timeline to banning live sheep exports on Saturday.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says the federal Labor government’s decision to ban live sheep sea exports could have dire consequences for Victorian farmers and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the entire agricultural industry.  VFF President Emma Germano said the move has sent shockwaves across the industry and has left many local farmers questioning the motive of our decision makers.  

The export of live sheep by sea from Australia will end on 1 May 2028, with legislation enacting the phase out to be introduced in this term of Parliament ... While the live sheep export industry has been in decline for many years, down from $415m in 2002-03 to $77m in 2022-23, the demand for processed sheepmeat both here and overseas has been rapidly expanding. This presents an opportunity for more processing to occur onshore in WA ...

NSW Farmers has condemned the Federal Government’s catastrophic ban on live sheep exports by sea as it released a four-year plan to transition away from the live sheep trade ... According to an announcement made by Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt ... Australia’s live sheep exports by sea trade will be phased out by 1 May 2028...

What activists want Watt delivers. Watt farmers fear. What's next on Watt's hit list. What to do with Watt. All questions Western Australian farmers are now asking after last week's decision to move ahead with the live export ban. On the hookup when the Minister announced his plan, Murray Watt is quick to call me out when I questioned his motives claiming I was being personal.

Traditionally when the Australian Labor Party gets serious about winning elections, it looks to the grownups in the right wing of the party to provide the leadership that will appeal to the centre of Australian politics. Unfortunately, it seems this time around, things are different, as Australia now has its first Prime Minister who hails not just from the left, but the hard left of the ALP.

Geoff Pearson. Two weeks ago 300 farmers from across the South West convened an urgent drought meeting to address what is one of the driest seasons experienced in living memory across what is traditionally the wettest part of Western Australia. It’s at times like these that the State and Federal governments need to step up and support farmers to rectify where they have made things worse through past policy mistakes.

... the water reserves in WA farmers' dams are now running dangerously low and farmers are being forced to quit stock at rates that are competitive with the price of a bullet ... What's the trade got to do with the weather? For our farmers, the link is so obvious they remain dumbfounded that the Government has not joined the dots.