Live export ban: Agriculture Minister says WA Govt won’t have say on appointment of ‘transition advocate’

WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis says her department is not working with Federal Labor in its recruitment of a “transition advocate”, but maintains both Governments are collaborating to support the sheep industry ahead of the live export ban. When asked by Countryman if the WA Government had any involvement in the search for a transition advocate, which launched earlier this month, Ms Jarvis said recruitment for the role was a “matter for the Federal Government”. However, she said the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development was still engaging with sheep producers and industry representatives. “I have met and continue to meet with producers and industry groups to better understand the impacts of the Federal Government’s decision to end live sheep exports by sea,” she said. “I have been advocating for more support for our State’s farmers throughout this process, and have repeatedly spoken to Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins and her predecessor, Minister Watt, about the need to boost WA’s processing capacity. “ It comes as WA farming leaders accuse the Federal Government of “falling asleep at the wheel” on its plan to phase-out live sheep exports by sea by mid-2028. The creation and funding of a transition advocate was one of 28 recommendations made by an independent panel commissioned by the Federal Government last year to advise on how to best implement a phase-out. The role of the transition advocate will be to identify and communicate key supply chain issues to the Government, and to provide recommendations and advice on how WA’s sheep supply chain can adapt ahead of the end of the trade. However, not everyone is hopeful the advocate will provide a smooth transition for the sheep industry. “The Government has created this problem and now they’re trying to get someone to be a frontperson to try and fix it,” WAFarmers livestock section president Geoff Pearson said. WA Nationals candidate and Keep the Sheep campaigner Paul Brown labelled the plan to hire a live export “transition advocate” a “Labor Farce” and an “outrageous misuse” of taxpayer funds. The job will pay between $1200-$1600 per day for 80 days a year if a single person is appointed. Members of a two-or-three-person advisory group would be paid $500-$800 a day. “No reasonable industry figure wants to be appointed as Anthony Albanese’s spin doctor, attempting to convince a thriving and sustainable industry they should roll over and accept defeat,” Mr Brown said. “$1600-a-day for 80 days work is an outrageous misuse of the funds Labor claims to have allocated to support the live sheep industry it is actively trying to destroy.” Mr Brown’s comments echoed those of Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council CEO Mark Harvey-Sutton, who called the role a “poisoned chalice”. Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA president Tony Seabrook said the Government had left behind a “shambolic mess”, which he did not expect a single person or group could fix. “It just shows how lost they are in regard to trying to compensate the harm they have done,” he said. “This (the live export ban) was a political decision that’s not to do with animal cruelty. “It was a political decision and it was wrong, and now they’re trying to ride their way out of it.” In response, Minister Collins said the Albanese Government had been engaging with both the WA Government and the sheep industry to help facilitate a smooth transition. “In relation to the Transition Advocate role, our Government has been working through options to find the right individual or mix of individuals,” she said in a statement to Countryman. “Our Government will be working with industry on the detailed make-up of the transition through a co-design process to prioritise the assistance that producers and supply chain businesses feel they need to plan, respond and adapt.”