Lowan electorate
Emma KEALY (Lowan) (14:43): (136) My question is to the Minister for Police, and I ask how the minister will guarantee there will be sufficient police available to ensure that trucks that are taking pigs to the Benalla abattoir will have unimpeded access. The Farm Transparency Project is planning a protest at Benalla abattoir on Mother’s Day to stop trucks carrying livestock from entering the business. I have got a lot of pig farms across the Lowan electorate, and local growers are very concerned that their pigs will not be able to get to the abattoir in a suitable time frame. Of course leaving this stock on a truck for a prolonged period of time is stressful for the animals. They do not have access to water, they do not have access to feed. The protest group are actually encouraging people to touch the animals – again, a massive risk to biosecurity. So I ask the minister: how will he ensure that there are sufficient police to make sure these trucks can get to the abattoir unimpeded?