Senator WATT (Queensland—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Emergency Management) (14:14): Thank you, Senator McKenzie, for giving me an opportunity to talk about the facts regarding the Albanese government's policy to phase out live sheep exports and to phase in more value-adding to Australian livestock products. What we're about in the country, in this government, is actually about more value-adding and delivering more jobs in agriculture, in manufacturing and in every other industry. Unfortunately, the National Party are yet to come to that point—that they actually support creating jobs onshore in Australia through more value-adding. There are a number of subquestions in what Senator McKenzie was asking. Senator McKenzie interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister Watt, please continue. Senator WATT: There are so many things this is apparently about! What this is about is delivering an election commitment. What this is about is delivering an election commitment that we took to the last two elections—to phase out a trade that collapsed under the National Party leadership of the agricultural portfolio. That's what happened with this trade. We know that Senator McKenzie, Mr Littleproud and all the Nats are working themselves up about this policy. What they haven't told the farmers of Western Australia is that, over the decades the Liberals and Nationals were in government, live sheep exports by sea decreased by 1.5 million head, amounting to $144 million. If you want to talk about getting rid of the trade of live exports of sheep, maybe have a look at your own record. You reduced the exports of live sheep by 1.5 million over your decade in office, valued at $144 million. Senator McKenzie: I have a point of order on relevance. I actually asked: who in the WA farming community did he consult with when he decided to shut this trade down? The PRESIDENT: You did indeed, Senator McKenzie. And there was also an introductory paragraph that went to a whole range of matters, and the minister is being directly relevant. Please continue, Minister. Senator WATT: I'm happy to specifically answer that point from Senator McKenzie. I have personally met with representative groups for sheep farmers and with sheep farmers themselves on at least a dozen occasions over the two years that I've held this role. I've met them in Perth. I've met them in Canberra. And we appointed an independent panel who spent several months meeting with these people face to face. Of course, we're not alone in wanting to see live sheep exports phased out. It was only in 2018 that Senator Henderson, as the then member for Corangamite, said that the sensible path for both sides of the debate is to construct a carefully considered transition to ending the trade permanently. We know there are Liberals who support this. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator McKenzie, first supplementary?