Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (23:29): (2133) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Agriculture, and the action that I seek is an assessment into how the department is ensuring non-accredited livestock transporters are meeting their obligations under the Livestock Management Act 2010. I think many of us here know that sudden moment when you pull up beside a transport truck and lock eyes with a farmed animal. It happened to me just this week on the way into Parliament. The noise of the road fades and you are suddenly face-to-face with maybe a chicken, a sheep or a cow in distress. I was just four years old when that happened to me with a sow, fresh off watching Babe and completely fascinated by pigs. I asked my parents where she was going, and they did not lie to me, and from that moment on I knew I wanted to do everything I could in order to protect them.

According to Agriculture Victoria’s official guidance, any livestock operator involved in regulated activities must complete a systematic risk assessment unless they are operating under an official department-approved accreditation or quality assurance program, such as TruckSafe, National Saleyard Quality Assurance or Australian pork industry quality assurance program. A systematic risk assessment involves assessing the likely risks to animal welfare and biosecurity that may result from practices such as transporting to saleyards or to slaughterhouses. It must include the control measures in place to ensure ongoing compliance with the existing livestock management standard and explain how any identified risks to animal welfare or biosecurity are being minimised.

The potential lack of accredited operators in Victoria raises serious questions about how we can be sure animals are being transported safely when these programs are not in place. Evidence from independent investigators in our state shows that animals are being transported without enough space, exposed to extreme heat or extreme cold, handled in ways that increase stress or moved for extended durations, causing unnecessary suffering. We can even see this ourselves when watching transport trucks on our roads. Much of this stems from a lack of effective enforcement to ensure compliance with welfare standards. A sheep tightly confined in a truck during a long, hot journey may experience severe stress, dehydration or injury – issues that accredited programs are designed to prevent. Without these protections in place, animals are going to continue to be left in horrific conditions.

The action that I seek is for the minister to advise how many livestock transporters are currently accredited in Victoria and what measures the department is taking to ensure that non-accredited operators are meeting their obligations under the Livestock Management Act so that animals and their welfare are not being compromised during transport or at saleyards.