Nothing like the threat of ending the live export trade altogether for the various players in the live export industry at both ends to belatedly get their acts together on animal welfare.

Full marks to AA, the RSPCA and even the Gillard government for a change. Just goes to show what you can do if you make a tough but correct decision and stick to your guns. This is a win-win result.

I tread on broken glass while walking in a mine Field here.
My honestly held view, that yes it was an over reaction/it could have been fixed faster.
That uninformed emotionalism, even commercial interests in stopping this trade got in the way.
I have my slippers on,creeping so as not to needlessly hurt the feelings of those groups who combined to? well who knows what they wanted.
Today, here in Australia, how many sheep cattle goats a host of living things will be killed for food.
Turkeys Chickens, Sea food cooked alive or left to die on the deck.
Such is life and death, out there some hundreds of places home kills are taking place.
Some can not except death, would react this way in any place meat is packed.
That is of no concern,what frightens me,true, is the increasing attempts by such uninformed folk to impose their failure to under stand on us all.
Yes Yabby we could have done this without a ban.
I leave now tip toe out of the thread ,dangerous country for those who put problem solving before emotions.

Morgan, your point is as logical as saying that because Tiger
airlines have a safety problem, we'll shut the whole airline
industry down, that will teach them.

Yet another Labor back flip, followed by a solution that involves a layer of bureaucracy and a paper chase. Most of this could have been achieved by a partial ban on offending abattoirs whilst the tracking was put in place.

What we have now is Indonesia intends to source much of its live cattle elsewhere, and also its imports of frozen beef. Another own goal.

Pelican,

The live export cattle are a specific breed so that they can be matured at a low weight which is easy to ship, and fattened at feed lots in Indonesia before going to the abattoir. These requirements do not apply in Australia, and thus the different criteria for the breed of cattle. I would try reading the papers before posting nonsense.

That's a spurious analogy, Yabby. The Tiger case is a single rogue operator identified in an industry with well-established regulatory systems and protocols to ensure safety. In the case of live exports to Indonesia, violations of international animal welfare standards appear to be endemic among processors in Indonesia, partly because no effective system had been put in place to monitor them until AA and 4 Corners forced the issue, causing the Federal government to act decisively for a change.

For your analogy to hold, the airline safety breaches would have to be widespread across that industry, which had been aware of them for some years but failed repeatedly to act on breaches brought to its collective attention by NGOs. In this case, the government has demonstrated in no uncertain terms to all involved in the industry both here and in Indonesia that Australia will not participate in trade that involves needless cruelty to animals. Finally, Australian producers and transporters, as well as Indonesian processors, have been forced - however reluctantly - to lift their game with respect to animal welfare in the live exports industry.

As I said, it's a win-win outcome - the live exports trade to Indonesia will be allowed to resume, subject to stringently applied conditions to ensure humane treatment of livestock at every stage of the supply chain. Surely this is ultimately a good result for all concerned, including the animals?

As I also said, this is a rare example of the Gillard government acting decisively and retaining the courage of its convictions in the face of determined opposition from groups with vested interests. I hope they learn from this, such that their newly-found collective backbone might also be exercised in other policy areas, such as its legislative response to AGW. Who knows, people might actually respect the government for developing the 'ticker' to make hard but correct decisions and then sticking by them.

There might be some hope for Gillard yet!

morganzola,

I am stunned ( no pun intended) that you think the problems fixed.
The Minister when asked stated clearly the normal dribble about safety check to the point of slaughter,.
To the POINT of slaughter.

When grilled by the media he has been forced to confess we have NOT any control over the way in which they are slaughtered.

So nothings changed- end of story.

Not even any agreement to use stun guns or have our own inspectors.

Lets get the facts straight