Media Release

KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has reminded Australians to be acutely aware of the disastrous realities for our cattle and sheep farmers resulting from the emotion-driven debate about Australia’s live export industry.

Mr Katter urged Australians not to “submit to the emotional blackmail” being perpetrated in the media by the “hand-wringing, eye-daubing set” at the expense of these valuable domestic industries and our global food obligations.

“If it is the ABC’s personal objective to destroy one of the major sources of protein – a basic building block of nutrition – for third-world countries; and to have an absolutely devastating effect on our sheep and cattle industries, well they’re doing a wonderful job of it,” he said.

“It seems like they’re running a television series sponsored by the hand-wringing, eye-daubing set.

“But we will pay a terrible price for this moral arrogance, a little touch of xenophobia.

“The implication of this moral arrogance is that somehow these other countries are not quite civilised. Well, some aspects of our society wouldn’t bear the spotlight on them, either.”

Mr Katter was also critical of both the federal Agriculture Department and Meat and Livestock Australia, which is funded by a levy on producers to oversight the industry, for their disastrous handling of the situation in the 18 months since the government’s ban without warning of northern cattle live exports to Indonesia.

“We’ve failed with the MLA and with the Department of Agriculture, so we’re asking the Minister for Trade why assurances for the processing of animals and their disposal, if necessary, are not included in every contract.

“But the final question remains: what happens to all the sheep and cattle farming families around Australia? Their governments have let them down and their industry bodies have let them down. Who is there to fight for them?”