Labor's controversial Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill 2024 has passed the House of Representatives with the Senate now being the last remaining barrier to stop the phaseout of the industry from entering into law.
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Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said on Wednesday that the passage of the bill marked "a considerable step forward for animal welfare"
A farm lobby has been ramping up pressure for an Upper House showdown in urging the Senate crossbench to call an inquiry into Labor's proposed ban.
It is understood that a delegation of industry stakeholders and representatives of the Keep the Sheep campaign are heading to Canberra next week to meet with Independents and minor parties to argue why a Senate inquiry was needed to dissect the bill.
The tactic was employed successfully by agri-political groups in raising awareness of issues that led to the blocking of another of the government's controversial agriculture sector policies in the Biosecurity Protection Levy.
But that will obviously be too late if the bill passes the Senate this week.
The pro-sheep trade lobbying has intensified after a parliamentary advisory report into the proposed laws released last Friday recommended they be passed to "absolutely" end the trade by May 1, 2028.
However, as it stands, a Senate inquiry will unlikely be called given the Greens hold the balance of power and its leader in the Senate, Mehreen Faruqi, wants the phase-out fast-tracked to 2026.
The means the industry will be relying on the support of numerous Independents, such as David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie, to block the passage of the legislation.
But even then it is doubtful the numbers will be able to force an Inquiry. Mr Watt foreshadowed the likelihood of a Senate inquiry into the bill during a recent Senate Estimates hearing.
Meanwhile, the Albanese government has come under fire from industry stakeholders since unveiling its industry transition package on May 11 with stakeholders saying the $107 million on offer was not enough.
Mr Watt said on Wednesday that the government had delivered on an election commitment to voters.
"The passage of this bill will provide certainty to all stakeholders and enable the roll-out of the programs under the transition support package to begin in the next financial year," he said.
"Our transition plan strikes a balance between improving sheep welfare and providing time for a sustainable pathway for sheep farmers, the supply chain participants and communities in Western Australia, and for our trading partners to adjust.
"The Australian Government is committed to seeing Australia's domestic and international sheep meat markets continue to grow and offer more opportunities to Australian producers and processors."
However, Australian Livestock Exporters' Council chief executive Mark Harvey-Sutton labelled the bill "an act of political bastardry".
"This is an outrage, which hasn't been seen by Australian agriculture in decades and industry will continue to fight the ban. We would welcome a Senate inquiry to examine this entirely unfair nature of the bill, which has no scientific basis at all," he said.
"This move is a slap in the face to Australian farmers and ignores the needs of our growing overseas markets."
Nationals leader David Littleproud last week made a clarion call for a "convoy to Canberra" that would take grassroots protests against Labor's live sheep by sea ban in Western Australia on the road to the seat of federal government power.
Meanwhile, the live cattle by sea industry might be "very, very nervous", according to a former deputy Prime Minister, while participants in the greyhound racing industry should also start looking over their shoulders.
Nigel Austin, who penned the definitive history of Australia's live export trade, said the trade has had a long history of political battles with the Australian Labor Party.
The first big one involved trade unions.
"The trade unions wanted to ban live exports in the 1970s and '80s, in an effort to boost jobs for meat workers," Mr Austin said.
"Inquiry after inquiry came out in favour of allowing livestock exports.
"The unions and the Australian Labor Party tried everything to stop the trade, but ultimately, they were outflanked by the National Farmers Federation.
"The unions were forced to accept the right of producers to a free market system, but the defeat rankled and coincided with a rise in animal activism, often from the left side of politics."
