Mr HOGAN (Page—Deputy Manager of Opposition Business) (15:22): There's a term that has gone down in Australian political journalism history with some infamy called 'ideological bastardry'. It was mentioned by a left-wing journo from the ABC about a Liberal prime minister, but I can tell you right now that the legislation that I think shows one of the biggest acts of political bastardry since I've been in here has been the banning of live sheep exports by this Labor government. This ban has been done simply on ideology; it hasn't been done for animal welfare reasons—we are the best animal welfare advocates in the world in this industry—and it certainly hasn't been done for economics. It's being done simply because of animal activists and this government kowtowing to animal activism. And they have history with this too. Let's not forget that, back in 2011, the leftie Four Corners program did a hatchet job on live exports and the then Labor agriculture minister shut down live exports overnight. What that did, and what the live sheep export ban does, was more than harm the live export industries that they affect. That affected cattle prices across the country. This live export ban on sheep has already affected sheep prices across the country. It affects every sheep farmer, whether they be on the east coast or the west coast. It affects international relationships. That live export ban back in 2011 did a lot of harm to the relationship between Indonesia and Australia, as this live export ban is doing to many other countries that we export to. There were people in the gallery earlier and there are people in this building today who are good people. They're people who directly work in the live export industry, or they're suppliers; they might be truck drivers or veterinarians. But all their jobs revolve around the live export industry. I had the pleasure of speaking to many of them when I was in Western Australia a month or so ago, and they're good people. What they do is generate wealth and jobs for our country. I think we should—and we do on this side of politics—thank them for what they do. I think the Labor government should be apologising for the mental health anguish that they're giving to the people who work in this industry, as well as the financial and emotional trauma they're causing. I can say with great pleasure that, if we as a coalition of the Liberal and National Parties on this side of politics are elected at the next election under the leadership of Peter Dutton and David Littleproud, we will reinstate the live sheep export industry. We will not shut you down. But let's be very clear to them and for them who is shutting them down. Again, so often in the legislation we talk about in this chamber, it is this city-versus-country divide. Who has decided that what our farmers do or how they do it isn't okay? Again, it is these inner-city, elite MPs. They start over there. They're the teal inner-city elites. They're the Greens, who are all inner-city elites. And then we go around to the Labor Party, and the majority of them again are inner-city, elite MPs. Let's be really clear that it is these inner-city, elite MPs who have voted this industry out of existence because they, living in their concrete jungles more often than not, think they know best what farmers can or should do in regional areas. Again, this is just another example of this. We'll have five people get up opposite and talk about why they're doing this. They will say things like: 'We should process it here. We should do all the processing. We should value-add, and we should process here.' That again just highlights their absolute ignorance, because even the sheepmeat processors in Western Australia support the live export industry. They know that, for the sheep industry in Western Australia to have a future, they need processing, live export and wool. Even the sheepmeat processors know that they need this industry. They'll get up and go, 'No; we can process it all here in Australia.' None of them have probably been to a processor. I have had the pleasure of having a beef processor in my electorate, and right now no processor in the country can get enough staff. We are battling to process the demand for processing in this country right now. Ms Lawrence: Which is it? Mr HOGAN: Member for Hasluck, you keep interjecting. We're coming for you on this one! We had a whole lot of people in this building, and they can't wait to doorknock your electorate—through you, chair. I just highlight that to the member. Again, they'll get up and say, 'We should process it all ourselves.' They probably won't get up, or, if they do get up and talk about animal welfare, that will be interesting, because we have the best animal welfare processes in the country and indeed the world. No industry is perfect. We have all seen images from the live export industry and other industries where they needed to improve. They have continually improved processes and standards, which is why they are the best in the world. Australia, as I say, has the best welfare standards in the world. This again shows the ignorance: the Prime Minister got up today and said that this is a dying industry anyway. But the numbers don't support this. Live sheep exports in 2022 were 380,000 tonnes. In 2023, they went to 640,000 tonnes. This is a lucrative industry. This is an industry that there is more demand in, and it's a growing industry economically. Again, this was inner-city, elite MPs, listening to the leftie press that they follow and saying they know best. They weren't talking to farmers, or talking to them about how they improved industry or why it's important to them. They were just listening to the leftie press that they follow in the inner cities. I want to go through just some of the ways that this industry has improved its standards over the last few years. We've had: a moratorium on exports in the Northern Hemisphere summer; increased space for each animal; improved ventilation; automated monitoring; independent observers; and inspections of animals before they get on the boat to make sure they're fit enough to undergo the journey. Now, we even have examples of livestock putting weight on during these journeys. I'm a modest cattle farmer, Deputy Speaker, and I can tell you that if an animal is putting on weight, they're doing very well. Mortality rates are lower than the national mortality rates we have in paddocks. We even monitor—we have a look at—the feedlots and the abattoirs that these live exports go to, to make sure they're at standards that are up to our standards. Again, we have been a world leader in improving the standards of this. But no! No, that isn't okay, 'We know best, because the ABC have told us, or the animal activists, have told us, "You've got to shut this down.''' Again, it has been absolutely ideological bastardry. But— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): Member for Page, I'm just going to remind you that even quoting language that is unparliamentary is disorderly. Mr HOGAN: Okay. I'll tell Laura Tingle she used unparliamentary language— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No! I'm reminding you about the use of other people's words— Mr HOGAN: Okay, I won't use the term again— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: and to be careful about that. Mr HOGAN: Okay, I take that— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: You can make your point forcefully without it. Mr HOGAN: I take that point. The other thing I want to come to is international relations. What are we saying? Who are the biggest markets for our live sheep exports? I will run through the countries: Kuwait, Israel, Jordan, UAE, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Most of these countries do this because they want to do it; it's a cultural thing where they want to do their own meat processing. What are we saying to those countries? Ms Lawrence interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Hasluck! Mr HOGAN: Are we just saying to those countries that the fact that they want this, that they want live exports to their countries, means that they're bad? If we're saying that we shouldn't have the live export industry, are we then saying to the countries which want live imports that because they demand, or want, that product, that they're bad people, because of what that entails? Of course that's exactly what those opposite are saying, and that is insulting to every country in that trade—and there are a lot of other countries which we do live exports of beef to, and that's effectively what those opposite are saying. Again, as we know, the Keep the Sheep campaign—the 'farmy army'—is coming to a marginal Labor seat near you. I say to them right now: as the coalition, we support you and back you, and we'll reverse this decision when we win government at the next election.