Live exports: WAFarmers chief John Hassell kicked out of Agriculture Minister Murray Watt’s press conference

WAFarmers president John Hassell has been booted from a press conference with Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt after turning up unannounced to defend the State’s $92 million live sheep export trade. Mr Hassell walked into the press conference at a high-rise in the Perth CBD with media and took a seat towards the back of the room before being asked for his name and organisation. The Pingelly farmer confirmed he was the president of WAFarmers and said he would like to “listen but not say anything” but was escorted out of the building by Mr Watt’s senior staff. The press conference was called to explain how a four-person panel would work to phase out the live sheep trade, a move that would disproportionately affect WA as the nation’s biggest sheep exporting State. While walking out of the room, Mr Hassell was heard explaining he had just finished a teleconference with the Senator Watt and was interested in hearing what the minister would say to the media. Speaking outside the building, Mr Hassell said he wanted to take the opportunity to “say G’day to Murray” and answer any questions that he could. He said he was told Senator Watt was not comfortable having him in the room. “I was not there to make a show,” Mr Hassell said. “I think it is really important he gets the information on the ground . . . I am not sure the information he is being fed is the real story about how detrimental it will be to farmers.” Mr Hassell said he was able to have his say during a briefing this morning, but added he was concerned Australian Alliance for Animals representative Jed Goodfellow declined to say animal activists would not target live cattle exports next. “It was the Agriculture Minister telling us what was going to go on . . . Murray was basically saying: ‘This is what is going to happen’,” he said. “It really wasn’t consultation, it was just letting us know what was going to happen. The challenge is, how is this going to happen and how is it going to affect the farmers. “I just don’t think they are going to be able to do this without it being detrimental to farmers.” The industry employs about 3500 people across the supply chain, with 80 per cent of them based in WA, where the national trade is worth $136 million. More than 600,000 sheep were exported from ports across Australia in 2021. Federal Labor has pledged to phase out live sheep exports in the past two elections after the deaths of about 2400 sheep on a ship from Fremantle to the Middle East in 2017. But Premier Mark McGowan last year refused to throw his support behind the plan, saying a moratorium on exports during the northern hemisphere summer in recent years had been “effective” and “appropriate”.