The sad part is that it seems to be impossible to expect any kind
of common sense from alot of these desk jockeys, wether they work
in politics, the public service or semi public service, such as
MLA.

If you are going to throw a ban into the works, at least give people
a few days notice. That way much pain could have been avoided
by those involved with real problems, with stranded cattle everywhere. For what? No common sense.

By what I saw of the MLA boxes installed in Indonesia, they surely
were not designed by anyone with practical experience in the field.
Of course animals are going to thrash around and bang their heads,
if you try to tip them on their sides without controlling their
heads. There are plenty of great cattle crushes available which can
do that with little effort. Who screwed up there? Again a lack
of common sense.

Sadly we cannot legislate for common sense. They hire some university
type for many of these jobs, but of course these are some of the
most impractical people around, in the real world.

Who will lose most out of all of this? The small pastoralist families
who relied on the system. Big companies will quickly be able to
introduce closed chain systems, much as they did in Egypt. It works
well and they will get up and running again. The smaller and most
financially stretched families will get the rough end of the
pineapple, yet once again.

Yabby <"80% of the people complaining about the live trade and local
manufacture etc, in fact drive imported cars. Hypocrites."

Really? Where's your proof?

I didn't know there was livestock being mistreated in the manufacture of cars overseas? If there was, I have no doubt the importing of these cars would be banned :)

Having a go at all people living in cities is hardly going to help the situation Yabby. I was listening to an ABC radio show on my radio here in RURAL W.A., where they were interviewing W.A. farmers, and they certainly said they knew about the fate of the cattle in Indonesia.

They defended themselves by saying they had sold the cattle on, and it was therefore none of their concern about what happened to the beasts after they left their possession!
Then they complained that the Meat and Livestock Industry sold them out by not doing something about the animal cruelty when knowledge of the situation surfaced YEARS ago. Hypocrites.

Obviously, you can't speak for all farmers Yabby.

*where they were interviewing W.A. farmers, and they certainly said they knew about the fate of the cattle in Indonesia.*

Well I listen to it to Suze, and I have never heard one farmer
say that. But try to dig yourself out of your uninformed hole,
whichever way you please :)

*Really? Where's your proof?*

Check the stats. 80% of cars sold are imported

Yabby <" I have never heard one farmer
say that. But try to dig yourself out of your uninformed hole,
whichever way you please :)"

No problems there Yabby, I am digging as you read the following...

Paul Holmes a Court is a major cattle producer in W.A., and I wouldn't mind betting that he and many other rural people like him, drive imported four wheel drive vehicles? :)

He appears to support the banning of live cattle exports:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/09/3239715.htm

Even good-old-boy Katter is upset that the cruelty to cattle in Indonesia was known about years ago:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/09/3239294.htm
"The decision to suspend trade has left tens of thousands of cattle in limbo across northern Australia, in feed lots or en route for port facilities.
Mr Katter told Lateline that "almost every single aspect" of Mr Finucan's comments filled him with anger.
"This person tonight admitted that they knew what was going on, that they'd sent people in to have look at this, they knew what was going on and they've known for years and years and years about it and they've done absolutely nothing about it," he said."

It seems to me that the current debacle around live exports to Indonesia might have been avoided had producers and their representative organisations taken notice of those animal welfare groups who've been working on the issue for many years. Instead, the response by producers has too often been one of arrogant dismissal along the lines we see here, where animal welfare advocates are stereotyped as "housewives" who should "stick to their knitting".

Putting aside the sneering chauvinism of such inappropriate responses to legitimate concerns, it seems to me that the industry has brought the current crisis on itself by refusing to acknowledge the unacceptable cruelty that the 4 Corners program brought to light. It has evidently been common knowledge within the industry, but growers have apparently preferred to prioritise short term profit over the humane treatment of livestock.

Since the industry - or some sections of it - has demonstrated that it is currently incapable of meeting minimum animal welfare standards in the live export trade to Indonesia, it has to be shown that humane slaughter is not an optional extra. Full marks to the government for acting decisively for a change.

Yabby here we are stumped, from within let me tell you government and semi government things have no chance of working EVER.
Good honest and informed workers at every level soon learn to pull their head in.
Put a shovel of sheep manure in to a barrel of water watch it raise to the top?
Rather crude thing to say? yes it is? but horrible in the fact it is true.
You will hear it said every day
See projects costed at a price cost three times as much because of the dead hand of such dysfunctional fools.
MLA is no different, yes your cradles would fix it in seconds, totally.
Chain pulleys to lift the dead cattle on hand not one person could complain.
OUTCOMES,not a hard word, but these folk are blind to it its meaning its results.
You and I could fix it,if they let us, today.
But it is not the wanted outcome.
AA and the worlds vegans do not want it.
Conservatives want to feed on this disturbing chance to flog Labor.
Ludwig, possibly under orders,wanted to jump on the popularity bus,hoping to cuddle those already his, while driving every one else away.
I think our OUTCOME could and should be, harshly treat MLA remove its dead meat now, if that means starting a new better thing ok.
Get rid of those failures right along the chain but not in a week or month today.
have the trade in place again it a week.
My view the OUTCOME is different and fixed already.
ALP forever will be known as the party that killed this trade harmed so dreadfully these folk.
And in time not far away be seen as a party willing to bend to the wishes of GREENS/ LEFT minority's at the expense of its own voters.