SHEEP Producers Australia proposed a draft five-year $381 million package and plan to the Western Australian Government for the transition to end live sheep exports by sea, Freedom of Information documents have revealed.

However, while confirming the preparation of the draft plan, the peak sheep producer body would not clarify whether it was presented to or discussed with the Federal Government, what its advantages were or if negotiations were continuing with the federal or WA state governments.

Sheep Producers Australia chief executive officer Bonnie Skinner

The FOI documents list initial costings for potential programs including $67m for supply chain transformation, $85m for farming systems, $50m for market development, $95m for the processing sector and $75m for community support.

The proposed plan also included $9m for project management by a taskforce, to cover governance ($2m) and project management ($7m).

Sheep Central has been sent the documents after an FOI request for correspondence between SPA and WA Minister for Agriculture and Food Jackie Jarvis was granted.

The documents cover text and email correspondence from April and July this year between SPA and Ms Jarvis’ office during the period in which the Albanese Government successfully passed legislation to end live sheep exports by sea from 1 May 2028, releasing a transition plan and $107m funding package to include a co-design process with industry. This was recently boosted by another $32.7m for market development.

SPA draft plan presented to Jarvis in late July

The draft plan was submitted to Minister Jarvis in late July after WAFarmers and the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA wrote to her about additional funding and a steering group in the event the ban did not get overturned.

The SPA draft proposal also outlined the scope and proposed membership for a transition advocacy taskforce as a substitute for the one-person transition advocate the Federal Government has sought to appoint.

In the draft plan, the SPA proposes the taskforce comprise members who are a trusted presence in the WA sheep industry or associated businesses and communities and who can represent their interests and viewpoints of all stakeholders. Apart from an independent chair, taskforce membership would be drawn from the sheep and processing industries, local grower associations/networks, mental health/social services, banking/financial, trade market access and the WA Government. The SPA proposed that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry be the taskforce’s secretariat and report on transition progress, though there is no funding suggestion for this.

Sheep Producers Australia chief executive officer Bonnie Skinner has told Sheep Central that transition funding support needed to be “four times” the initial $107m package to ensure no producers were left behind, and should include funding for on-ground farm business planning services and finance packages to support producers to explore alternative business models, solutions to mitigate reduced competition from the loss of the live sheep market and to increase air freight capability.

On 15 October, federal Minister for Agriculture Julie Collins announced the $32.7m increase to the $107m package, lifting funds “to assist sheep producers and those in the associated supply chains to adapt” from $64.6 million to $97.3 million. This included $3 million for Meat & Livestock Australia sheep meat market promotions, $8.6 million for agriculture counsellors in Dubai and Riyadh to support regional trade relationships and expand market opportunities, and $9 million for Austrade to promote Australian sheep products globally and trade growth in the Middle East and North Africa region.

At the time, Ms Skinner told Sheep Central the recent extra $21m for Meat & Livestock Australia, Austrade and ag counsellor activities was not approved by, or discussed with SPA before its announcement by the minister as part of the $32.7m boost in the transition package.

However, the draft SPA transition plan outlined in the FOI documents includes under a $40m ‘Market Development’ component, a $15m component for extending the Meat Standards Australia program to encompass hogget meat, $10m to promote WA sheep meat brands overseas and $10m to examine targeted air freight subsidies to encourage new market development – total $40m.

No SPA disclosure on status of plan

Ms Skinner was asked if the $381 million draft plan was presented to, or discussed with, the Federal Government, and what was the response. She was also asked what advantages SPA believe its plan had over the Federal Government’s funding package and if negotiations were continuing with the federal or WA state government. SPA responded with a “nothing further to add” when asked again to address the questions  directly.

Minister Collins has said the government was consulting with industry on a co-design process and the appointment of a transition advocate. However, Ms Skinner has said SPA has had no involvement in a transition co-design process.

Ms Skinner told Sheep Central today that SPA has been adamant in its opposition to the Federal Labor Government’s poorly-conceived decision to ban live sheep exports by sea “and we continue to strongly hold that position.”

“In July, following the Senate’s agreement to the ban, the Western Australian State Minister for Agriculture sought input from industry groups about how industry, farmers and their communities could be assisted in the face of the federally-legislated ban,” she said.

“Sheep Producers Australia along with a number of other industry groups provided advice to the Minister (Jarvis).

“Our advice included the development of a WA-led taskforce, funding to maintain competitive markets for sheep in Western Australia and further direct support of producers should the ban go ahead,” Ms Skinner said.

“Ultimately, Sheep Producers Australia wants to see this ban overturned. But if it cannot be stopped, our producers, their businesses and their communities must receive support,” she said.

“This demands discussions with governments including the Western Australian Government.

“To not have these discussions would be failing our industry.”

SPA intended to provide $381m plan to Federal Government – Jarvis

The WA Government submitted to the Albanese Government’s trade phaseout panel that modelling of only a 15 percent drop in the size of the WA sheep flock as a result of the ending of live exports, the cost to the agricultural industry without a reallocation of land asset to cereal cropping would be about $123 million annually for 10 years. With a redeployment of land assets to cereal grains as a replacement, the cost would be in the order of $22 million annually.

Ms Jarvis told Sheep Central the Cook Labor Government has been clear and consistent from the start: “We don’t support the Federal Government’s live export ban.”

“I regularly meet with several industry groups to better understand the impacts of the Federal Government’s decision to end live sheep exports by sea,” she said.

“Sheep Producers Australia shared a draft of their preferred transition plan with my office, that they intended to provide to the Federal Government.

“Their ongoing engagement with Sheep Producers Australia is a matter for the Federal Government.”