Forum to probe live exports
A NORTH Queensland council is hoping a live export forum which will feature Federal Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud next week, will help to answer questions about the future direction of the industry.
Charters Towers Regional Council is hosting the forum and urges those with an interest in beef cattle live export or associated industries to register to attend.
The event is being held in response to proposed industry changes outlined in the federal government’s recently released cost recovery implementation statement: live animal exports 2020–21, which outlined reforms for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of export regulation.
The report revealed how the Agriculture, Water and Environment Department would recover the costs of providing regulatory services to the live animal export industry and would implement the government’s decision to freeze fees and charges for this financial year and the return to export cost recovery arrangements to full cost recovery by 2023-24.
Charters Towers Mayor Frank Beveridge said the changes were an important topic in the Charters Towers community.
“Our region is the beef capital of North Queensland,” Cr Beveridge said.
“We have between 600,000 and 700,000 head of cattle in our region, and this forum is important to one of our biggest sectors.
“This is an opportunity to have all stakeholders along the supply chain, from paddock to port, to come together and learn from one another so we are all on the same page.”
Cr Beveridge said Mr Littleproud's attendance at the forum highlighted the significance of the topic, and provided people an opportunity to hear from the Minister and, in turn, provide feedback to the him.
Panel members at the event include Mr Littleproud, LNP Queensland Senator Susan Mcdonald and Australian Livestock Export Council chief executive officer Mark Harvey-sutton, while the forum facilitator will be Agforce regional director for the north and grazier Matt Bennetto.
In March, Kennedy MP Bob Katter warned that the live export industry could be under threat from the new costs.
He claimed that an “exorbitant” number of “bureaucrats” working for the agriculture department in the live export space were to blame.
Mr Katter said the cost recovery for the beef industry would increase the price of exporting cattle by 400 per cent.
But Mr Littleproud said they were not bureaucrats but rather regulators who were there to protect farmers, Australia’s image and the animals and that Mr Katter had been misled.
Charters Towers Deputy Mayor Sonia Bennetto said the timing was right for growth in the beef industry, as she saw at Beef Week in Rockhampton this month.
The Live Export Forum will be held at the World Theatre in Charters Towers from 5.30pm on May 19.