Agriculture ministers reveal details of live sheep transition package

Farm Weekly

Federal agriculture minister Julie Collins and WA agriculture minister Jackie Jarvis have revealed the specifics of the new $139.7 million "transition assistance" funding envelope, but WAFarmers CEO Trevor Whittington has cast doubt on the package's potential success. Video by Perri Polson.

Transcript

00:00It's important to make sure that people along the supply chain who are being

00:03impacted get the assistance to transition. So we will be investing in a

00:08long-term strategy for sheep and wool production here in Western Australia.

00:12We'll be investing in terms of shearers in the shearing industry. We'll also be

00:17investing in terms of the transport industry and those involved along the

00:21transport of the sheep industry here in Western Australia. We'll be working of

00:26course to make sure that we get more money to farmers in terms of on-farm

00:31adaption and of course in terms of ensuring that sheep producers as well as

00:36abattoirs can access the processing grants that will be run through the

00:41Western Australian Government. I'm really pleased to say that this package now

00:45that has been co-designed its implementation will be supervised and

00:51overseen by the transition advocate and a steering group. That group will be

00:55making sure that this money is rolling out in an appropriate timely manner but

00:59importantly that it is reflective of that co-design and that input that we've had

01:04from the people of Western Australia. The WA Government is able to assist in

01:09regard to $40 million in grants along the supply chain with a focus on on-farm

01:15finishing systems, feedlots, processes and the cold supply chain. This ties into our

01:22Made in WA narrative that we really want to see more onshore processing. My hope

01:27and my ambition out of this transition package is that we have a vibrant sheep

01:31meat industry, that we have a vibrant wool industry. We know that sheep numbers have

01:36been in decline in Western Australia for many years for many reasons. I'd like to

01:41see that decline reversed. I think there is a bright future for sheep farmers in

01:46Western Australia and wool producers. How are they going to possibly manage

01:51the $30 million, the $150,000 grants which half is dollar for dollar so a producer has to put in

02:00half that amount and stop that being gained by you know hobby farmers is beyond me. The processors can

02:09barely handle the sort of 8 million sheep we've got now. We're not going to get back to the 12 million

02:13sheep we had when the government you know originally rolled this out and they've completely missed

02:19the mark. They don't get it. The fact is we need competitors to the processors in the sale yards

02:27which is what the exporters were and when the next drought comes the price is going to collapse

02:32right back down so it's not going to move the dial at all. Seriously we would like it reversed.

02:36Obviously there's no indication the government's going to do that. We've said earlier they need

02:44to build a brand for merino sheep meat. Merino so we can have our wool, support our wool industry

02:51and we can go down the Wagyu line. Now that's hundreds of millions of dollars. That's building

02:56you know the Margaret River, the Buy Australia brand globally. It can be done, it has been done,

03:03but this has missed the mark. The speed, the timing, the rollout is just not going to give the industry

03:13the confidence it needs.

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