Live export ban: Funding delay shows Albanese Government’s ‘contempt and ignorance’, sheep campaigners say

The Albanese Government has been accused of “playing fast and loose with the truth” after it emerged sheep farmers won’t receive any funds from Labor’s $139.7 million live exports transition package until at least July. Federal officials confirmed the timeline under questioning at Senate estimates on Tuesday, sparking outrage among industry leaders who claim they have been left in the dark. Keep the Sheep campaign spokesman Paul Brown told Countryman the delay was a “disaster” for the wool industry and sheep production in WA. “They (Government) won’t be appointing the transition advocate, they won’t be applying any money to the funding program, and it just shows the contempt and the ignorance that they have for the industry in WA,” he said. “All they’ve done is create more confusion and more frustration by continuing to delay any explanation to the industry in WA about how this money will be rolled out.” The revelation came as Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie grilled Agriculture Department official Andrew McDonald, who confirmed funding was expected to start next financial year after specific programs and guidelines were developed in consultation with industry. Directing her response at Assistant Minister Anthony Chisholm, Senator McKenzie warned the financial toll of the looming ban was already being felt. She said farmers were “shooting sheep now” and should not have to wait until mid-2025 for help. “In none of the design of shutting it (live sheep exports) down did you think about getting support front-loaded,” Senator McKenzie said. “How is this good enough, minister?” Senator Chisholm, who represented Agriculture Minister Julie Collins at the hearing, pointed out the industry was still open until 2028 as he defended the rollout of the support package. “I think that we are taking a proactive approach,” he said. “I know that the minister has been over there (WA) and consulted, as is appropriate. “The department are doing thorough work at the same time. “That is what you expect of a Government that operates in a sensible way and always wants to get these policy settings correct so they have an impact and support the people who need it.” Mr Brown, who had put the questions to Senator McKenzie, said the response highlighted how “out of touch and ill prepared” Federal Labor was. “This is just more evidence that the Albanese Government and Minister Collins are playing fast and loose with the truth,” he said. “It takes us to provide questioning through our Nationals Senators in Estimates to actually uncover the truth that no funding is going to be forthcoming until well into the next financial year.” WAFarmers livestock section president Geoff Pearson said the news was “very concerning” given the short time-frame allotted to phase out live sheep exports. He said sheep producers were already abandoning the industry and the drop in numbers would have a “knock-on effect” on the processing sector. “You don’t just create markets overnight... so there is an urgency to get the money into the system so we can start preparing for the transition,” Mr Pearson said. “It needs to come sooner rather than later, and I think delaying it, or using the comments that 2028 is a long way away — well, it’s not.” Mr Pearson said it was crucial the funding “goes into the right avenues” but the consultation process had been a “closed loop”. “We haven’t had a lot of access to it and hearing that the compensation package is not coming until July, but also not knowing what it entails, is the frustrating part,” he said. The Federal Government has committed $139.7m to manage the shutdown of the live export trade in May 2028, including support to help producers pivot to the booming sheep meat market. The package — which received an extra $32.7m last month — includes $45.5m directly for farmers and workers in the supply chain, such as truck drivers. Officials told the hearing that just $900,000 had been spent from the wider transition package — all on administrative costs. However, applications for a share in $4.4m worth of grants to help build the industry’s understanding of new sheep market opportunities will open on Friday. The program is targeted at peak industry bodies, researchers and consultants specialising in agriculture, economics or trade, rather than farmers themselves. Despite its opposition to the Federal-imposed industry shutdown, the WA Government has agreed to administer key parts of the transition package, including a grant program for onshore processing and community wellbeing program.