Wednesday, 4 October 2023

Animal welfare

Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (09:45): An animal protection adviser in every single representative’s office, a dedicated animal welfare caucus and cross-party collaboration on bills to end animal suffering – these are all features of the United States Congress, which I was so pleased to visit over the parliamentary break. And right now a bill to end the import of our native icon, the kangaroo, and their skins is currently before them with strong support from both Republicans and Democrats. It is a message that we should be paying attention to.

Up until the late 1920s a commercial koala skin industry was operating in Australia, and it was American lawmakers passing a bill to stop their import that helped bring that industry to an end. Now across the country they are threatened and endangered. It is confronting to consider that if our overseas counterparts did not push us to act, our precious koalas could now be extinct. It is a reality we have been saying our own kangaroos could face if we do not act soon. Even though our own government is not listening it seems the rest of the world is, and it will give us no choice but to listen. I want to thank Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy for helping us learn more about the advancement of animal protection legislation in other jurisdictions and importantly the bipartisan passion they have overseas for our native animals.