Mr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (16:42): Earlier today people from the Keep the Sheep campaign were in Canberra and met with the coalition backbench. I congratulate the 15 or so Western Australians that have come here for the Senate debate on this very, very important subject. There is no doubt, and no doubt in their minds or my mind, that Australian farmers are under siege at the moment. Whether it be fishing, forestry, irrigation, biosecurity levies, ute taxes or the scope 3 emissions to come, they are all going to be major impediments to our Australian agricultural industries.
We had the likes of: Holly Ludeman, a vet who actually sails on some of these vessels and who came this morning to meet with us; John Hassell, representing Western Australian farmers; and Paul Brown. They’ve now got, I think, over 60,000 signatories to their petition. They’ve raised over $400,000. They will be active campaigners going into the next election. Those people in Western Australia that have been supporting the bans on live sheep exports and those people that hold seats in this place should mind their patch. This is a growing movement. There are people all around Australia that are taking great interest in this and watching how they organise. Every farming organisation in Australia is behind them. There are local issues, and we will dig into those local issues as the election approaches. I wish them well.