Australia’s planned live sheep export ban could prompt court challenge

Australia’s live export sector has not ruled out taking on the Albanese Government in court if Federal Labor’s sheep shipping ban goes ahead, an industry leader says.

Though details of the planned phase-out have yet to be determined, Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council chief executive Mark Harvey-Sutton said the industry was “exploring every option” to save the trade.

It comes as the four-person panel appointed by Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt to lead consultation on the phase-out met with industry stakeholders in Perth this week.

“We don’t know what the panel is going to recommend … but we’re definitely preparing for the possibility that (court action) might be a step we have to take,” Mr Harvey-Sutton told Countryman.

“Our objective remains to change the policy, because we think the policy is fundamentally wrong. The evidence shows that the industry has reformed.”

A court battle between industry and the Federal Government would not be unprecedented.

In June 2011, the Julia Gillard Labor government imposed a snap ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia after ABC’s Four Corners broadcast footage of Australian cattle being treated cruelly in Indonesian abattoirs.

The ban, which was lifted after six weeks, led to a protracted class action, with a Federal court in 2020 ruling the trade’s suspension was unlawful.

An agreement on a payout figure has yet to be made but it is expected to cost the Commonwealth billions of dollars.

And while the circumstances of that case were different, Mr Harvey-Sutton said ALEC — the peak national body representing the live export sector — was not ruling anything out.

“At the end of the day, there’s not much to legally challenge at the moment,” he said.

“We don’t know what the final decision is … but we’re definitely exploring all options. We’re not going to give in. We are not giving up on this, because we’re doing the right thing.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the phase-out will not be implemented in the current term of Government, meaning it is at least two years away, and could be axed if Labor loses the next Federal election.

Both the Liberals and the Nationals have pledged to reverse the ban should it be implemented.

“That’s a really key piece of the puzzle for us, because it means that should we have a change of government, the trade will continue, which is incredibly important,” Mr Harvey-Sutton said.

“But we also haven’t given up on the current Government changing the policy as well, because essentially all of agriculture is united in this.

“As far as we’re aware, everyone that’s engaging in those discussions with the consultation panel is not interested in talking about what a transition looks like, and everyone will be using the opportunity to point out why the policy is wrong and the magnitude of the damage that it would cause.”

Mr Harvey-Sutton said it was telling that NT Cattlemen’s Association president David Connolly — the head of one of Australia’s most powerful cattle lobby groups — was among those to pledge support for the live sheep trade.

Speaking at the NTCA’s annual conference in Darwin earlier this month, Mr Connolly said he was not convinced Senator Watt — who was in attendance — personally supported the ban.

“I personally think Murray Watt doesn’t believe closing the sheep trade is the best policy. He knows the science, he knows this is not a good decision,” Mr Connolly said.

The NTCA was also among a group of 25 Australian agriculture bodies that sent a letter to Senator Watt this month calling on him to scrap the policy.

While Senator Watt has repeatedly insisted Labor will not come for the live cattle trade next, Mr Connolly, who was a signatory to the letter, expressed his doubts.

“For us, it is an unimpeachable truth that losing the live sheep trade will do nothing but empower those who do not just oppose live export, but livestock farming in general,” he said.

“Which industry is next?”

Mr Harvey-Sutton said Mr Connolly’s support was indicative of “the level of concern about the precedent the policy can set”.

“If this is allowed to happen, people are rightly fearful about what’s next, no matter how much assurance the Government gives that it’s not going to phase out cattle or other industries,” Mr Harvey-Sutton said.