Question Without Notice No. 448 asked in the Legislative Council on 22 June 2011 by Hon Lynn Maclaren
Parliament: 38 Session: 1
LIVE CATTLE TRADE — VISITS TO INDONESIA BY MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND FOOD
448. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the minister representing Minister for Agriculture and Food:
(1) Did the Minister for Agriculture and Food visit Indonesia prior to June this year; and, if so, for what purpose?
(2) Will the minister please provide details of each visit, including meetings and dates?
(3) Has the minister visited any slaughterhouses in Indonesia; and, if not, why not?
(4) If yes to (3), will the minister advise whether he witnessed Australian cattle being slaughtered?
(5) When did the minister first become aware that Australian cattle slaughtered in Indonesia were treated in a manner considered cruel by many Australians, as exposed on Four Corners on 31 May?
(6) Does the minister support lifting the requirement for pre-slaughter stunning of cattle in Western Australian abattoirs?
(7) Has the minister visited any other slaughterhouses in countries where Western Australian sheep and cattle are exported?
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question and, as the President has said, it is on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture and Food.
(1) Yes, to develop trade relations.
(2) Yes. The minister visited Indonesia from 8 to 13 April 2010. Dates and meetings were as follows: Thursday, 8 April 2010 arrived Jakarta from Singapore—no engagements; Friday, 9 April 2010, Australian Ambassador, Regional Director Western Australian Trade Office, Deputy Minister for Agriculture Bapak Bayu Krishnamurthi, KOPTI for the launch of Tempe made from WA Lupins, PT Far Eastern Pearl Flour Mills—reception hosted by the Australian Ambassador; Saturday, 10 April 2010, departed for Surabaya; meeting with Indonesia–Australia Business Council; Sunday, 11 April 2010, dairy feedlot at Nongojaja, PT Sekar Tanjung Dairy Co-operative, Pondok Pesantrem Nagalah Purwosari agriculture college; Monday, 12 April 2010, Kosaya School with students from Guildford Gramma School; PT Bogasari Flour Mills; Indonesia–Australia Business Council reception; Tuesday, 13 April 2010, the Governor of East Java; departed for Perth via Denpasar.
(3) No. The focus of the visit in 2010 was the grains and dairy sector.
(4) Not applicable.
(5) The minister became aware of the Four Corners footage about three weeks before it went to air. The minister saw the vision for the first time on the night it went to air.
(6)–(7) No.
I would like to congratulate Hon Terry Redman for going to Indonesia to support the live cattle trade. I am really pleased that Senator Joe Ludwig, who was very slack, followed his lead, and I condemn the federal government for coming in and stopping people’s livelihoods—especially farming people. I found it absolutely disgusting and disgraceful!