FAMILIAR political adversaries have clashed over whether to highlight the actual number or percentage rate of live exports mortalities that occur on board shipments.
WA Liberal Senator Chris Back and NSW Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon faced off at Senate estimates hearings of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs Committee last week in Canberra over the issue of mortality rates.
Senator Back - a former live exports veterinarian officer - ignited tensions when he dismissed Senator Rhiannon’s assertion that the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) had failed.
“There is nothing factual that accounts for what you have just said - it should be withdrawn,” he said.
“She cannot come in here and make those statements without support.
“It is not right - it is wrong.”
Senator Rhiannon interrogated Department of Agriculture and Water Resources officials about the number of livestock animals that had died on board export ships during the past year - but ended up answering her own question.
“The figure that I have, according to your own reports, is 17,098 Australian animals died on live export ships during 2016,” she said.
But Senator Back expanded the point when he produced and read out figures from a report – that’s tabled every six months by the Agriculture Minister in parliament detailing livestock mortalities - which he said would “refute the statement that Senator Rhiannon has made”.
He said from 2009 - before ESCAS came into existence - the mortality rate was 0.1 of 1 per cent; in 2010, it was 0.14, and then 0.15, 0.11, 0.11 and 0.12.
But Senator Rhiannon said the WA Liberal Senator should, “talk about the animals - percentages are meaningless”.
Senator Back hit back saying Senator Rhiannon, in the past, had made “stupid statements” about how the number of animal mortalities on ships per week, equated to the number of humans who died per day.
But she replied, “Seriously, stop verballing”.
Senator Back said the Green Senator’s figures about the numbers of animals were also irrelevant.
“The point to be made, Chair, is that when we are speaking about mortalities we need to be speaking about the percentage of animals,” he said.
“I have previously provided information to the effect that fewer cattle die on ships than die on the rangelands each year in Northern Australia.
“It is safer, on the basis of that statistic, to be on a ship than it is to be on the rangeland.
“And you are nodding your head, which Hansard cannot see.
“So there has been no change at all to mortalities, and they become, in 2016, 0.13.
“Sheep mortalities have also remained unchanged: 0.9 of 1pc, 0.89, 0.74, 088, 0.74, 0.71, 0.62 (and) 0.86.”
Senator Back said “there is no value in dead animals arriving at the market at the other end”.
“The simple fact of the matter is that more than 100 per cent of the live weight of animals that leave Australian ports arrives - animals gain weight.
The Department’s Live Animal Exports Assistant Secretary Dr Narelle Clegg said in 2016 the number of mortalities was 17,098 animals out of 2,875,081 exported.
Dr Clegg said for cattle, there were 1485 mortalities out of 1.1 million exported; 15,591 sheep mortalities from 1.759m exported; and 22 buffalo mortalities from 4230 exported.
“That was just by sea - I do not have the data for the air consignments,” she said.
Derryn Hinch wants answers on Gina Rinehart’s China live cattle plans
In the same session, Victorian Independent Senator Derryn Hinch also asked Assistant Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Anne Ruston about mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s big plans to increase her involvement in exporting live cattle to China.
“Those of us who are opposed to live exports are trying, at least for now, to curb expanding markets, which Australia is doing fairly effectively in places like Japan and Indonesia,” he said.
“When the government approved the sale of the Kidman estate to Hancock Pastoral, were you aware that Gina Rinehart had done a deal with the giant Chinese company New Hope to hopefully, she says, export 800,000 more cattle to a port near Shanghai by 2020?”
Senator Ruston said she was not aware and would have to take the question on notice.
Senator Hinch continued his questioning.
“Has Gina Rinehart made any request to the government for any special treatment or consideration, because 800,000 more cattle going overseas in the year may need alterations to the regulations that Dr Clegg talked about earlier?
“Can you take that on notice as well?”
Senator Ruston said “Certainly”.
Pauline Hanson raises cattle rustling concerns
One Nation leader and Queensland Senator Pauline Hanson also quizzed department representatives about the removal of ear tags in cattle on properties being repossessed.
“I have been advised that when receivers and bank managers move onto properties to repossess property they actually impound cattle on those properties,” she said.
“In doing so these cattle are not always owned by the graziers or the farmers; they are being agisted on these properties.
“It has been reported that tags are then removed from these cattle and replaced with fresh tags.”
Dr Clegg said that was equivalent to cattle rustling.
Committee Chair Barry O’Sullivan said he’d been briefed by the same people and seen the same evidence on the issue.
“It is a valid thing and you should be encouraged to pursue it - but it is in fact a breach of law; it is a law enforcement issue,” he said.
“It is not for the Department of Agriculture.”
Senator Hanson said if the Agriculture Minister was aware of the issue, “then why hasn't anything been done about it?”
“We are aware that cattle are being taken off these properties when bank foreclosures happen,” she said.
Senator Ruston said tampering with the tag on any animal interfered with its traceability and was an offence, under state law.
“However, if you would like to pass on the information that you have, I am more than happy to make sure that the senior minister is aware of it,” she said.
“Also, it seems to me this is clearly a situation that should be passed on to the police because it is an illegal action and needs to be dealt with seriously and appropriately.”
Senator Hanson said it had been brought to police attention on many occasions and nothing had been done about it.
WA Labor Senator Glenn Sterle said “If the Senator does have evidence, put the names on the table - dob them in”.
“Put it on the record so people cannot duck and dive,” he said.
“I am actually supporting you, Senator Hanson.
“This is not the first time this committee has had heartburn over accusations of cattle rustling and swapping tags, but no-one has come up with names or proof, which is the frustrating part.”