![More than 2000 people attended a rally in Northam, Western Australia, last month to protest against Labor's live sheep by sea trade ban. File picture. More than 2000 people attended a rally in Northam, Western Australia, last month to protest against Labor's live sheep by sea trade ban. File picture.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/230597393/6e22c80d-d7d3-4705-aeab-b4151a08e935.jpeg/r0_307_6000_3694_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The federal government's controversial legislation to ban Australia's live sheep by sea export trade passed the Senate late on Monday night after winning the support of The Greens and crossbenchers.
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Labor's Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill 2024, which will end the industry by May 1, 2028, will now be returned to the lower house to be ticked off before passing into law.
The vote took place after dozens of senators spoke on the legislation along party lines, with some raising animal welfare concerns in supporting it and others, in detailing fears of devastation across Western Australia's rural communities and flow-on impacts through the sheep industry nationwide, speaking against it.
The agri-political lobbying of crossbench Senators had intensified over recent weeks and particularly after a rushed parliamentary advisory report into the proposed laws was released on June 23.
WAFarmers president John Hassell met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Agriculture Minister Murray Watt in Canberra on Monday.
He was joined in the nation's capital by a delegation from the Keep The Sheep group and livestock industry lobby representatives who also made a last-minute appeal to parliamentarians to not pass the amendment.
Meanwhile, the government's declaration of urgency, or a 'guillotine', on Monday afternoon also drew fire from Coalition senators.
The parliamentary procedure is used when the government can demonstrate it has the support of a majority of the Senate and wants to place a time limit on debate for a vote to take place.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt told the Senate that in passing the legislation the government was delivering on an election commitment and "delivering a substantial reform for animal welfare in Australia".
"I recognise that this policy is not supported by every single member of the sheep industry or every single Australian," he said.
The passage of the bill followed a failed motion moved by Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie last Thursday for the bill to be immediately referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee for an inquiry and report by November 25 this year.
Independent Senator for the ACT David Pocock told the House that while he supported the legislation it was "disappointing" a Senate inquiry had not been held "given the controversy around the bill".
He then asked Labor to address concerns raised by WA farmers on a range of issues and said he believes the government's $107 million industry transition package will not be enough.
Liberals Senator for WA Slade Brockman said the industry had done "every single thing" that government's had asked of it to correct animal welfare concerns since thousands of Australian sheep died of heat stress aboard the Awassi Express in 2017.
However, he said that it has fallen victim to an "ideologically-driven crusade".
"Every bit of science, every bit of evidence that we have shows that this industry is not only deserving of surviving but deserving of congratulations," he said.
He also raised an unsuccessful second reading amendment to try to force an inquiry into the bill.
However, Greens Senate leader Mahreen Faruqi said 2028 was "still too far away" and put forward a motion to bring the phase-out date forward to May 1, 2026 that was defeated.
She said the Greens had "worked alongside" animal activists and advocates to pursue the ban and that "the pressure from these people has finally pushed Labor to this day".
Greens Senator David Shoebridge likened the live sheep by sea trade to whaling and said "it is hard to understand" why the Coalition wanted to save the industry.
Meanwhile, several Coalition Senators reiterated a promise by Nationals leader David Littleproud to overturn the ban if the Coalition wins the forthcoming federal election.
Liberal Senator for WA Michaelia Cash said she feared the end of the industry would trigger an immediate and prolonged "mental health fallout", particularly as sheep prices plummet and WA farmers battle the effects of a "very, very dry Autumn".
WA Liberal Senator Dean Smith agreed that the psychological and social hardship and anxiety was already biting across the state as industry participants wondered why "those elected to represent them in Canberra had chosen not to".
Senator Smith was also one of several who referred to a decision by Independent WA MP Kate Chaney to oppose the bill in the House of Representatives last week, after earlier backing the ban, in claiming she did so to avoid a public backlash and "save her seat" of Curtin.
Meanwhile, Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said earlier that Labor had "teamed up with radical activists" to "criminalise" a farming industry that put the live sheep trade on a prohibited list that includes biological agents, nuclear materials, ozone-depleting substances and suicide devices.