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May 16 2013
The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, joined Lyn White from Animals Australia to release new footage of cruelty to Australian livestock exported to Egypt and announce another attempt to progress legislation to ban the trade. Mr Wilkie said his Bill would phase out live exports in three years, as well as immediately impose mandatory stunning of Australian livestock slaughtered overseas. “The live export industry is systemically cruel, opposed by the vast majority of Australians and not in our economic interests,” Mr Wilkie said. “This latest evidence of horrific animal cruelty in Egypt demonstrates that this trade will never have appropriate animal welfare outcomes and must be stopped. “I have given formal notice of my intention to introduce the Live Animal Export (Restriction and Prohibition) Bill 2013 into Federal Parliament. “A similar Bill was rejected by the Government and Opposition in August 2011. Since then we have seen shocking evidence of more live export cruelty in Kuwait, Pakistan, Israel, Egypt and Indonesia. “It is my hope that the Government and Opposition will now see sense and support the end of this cruel trade.” May 14 2013
The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, says tonight’s federal budget is disappointing. “Australia is a rich country and we can afford a better deal for the disadvantaged members of the community,” Mr Wilkie said. “So it’s disappointing that there is next to nothing in this budget for those on Newstart, Parenting Payment for single parents and the Age Pension. Newstart really should have been increased by $50 a week, eligibility for the Parenting Payment should have been relaxed and a real increase in the Age Pension implemented. “This budget is also a missed opportunity to genuinely boost health including mental health, stroke awareness and treatment and life-saving prostate cancer drugs. “The decision to go ahead with the $2.8bn cut to tertiary education is especially galling, seeing as this government has now cut funding for the tertiary sector by some $5bn since 2011 with the result that universities are now underfunded by more than $1bn a year. “The decision to further delay the increase in foreign aid to 0.5% of Gross National Income is shameful. Australia has already reneged on its year 2000 commitment to 0.7% of GNI and it’s now clear the Government isn’t much interested in achieving even a sizable fraction of that. This means money that could have gone to highly effective initiatives such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will simply not be forthcoming. “This budget is not good for Tasmania in particular. An urgently needed enhancement of the Bass Strait Freight Equalisation Scheme has not been delivered. Some of the 165 staff being shed by CSIRO nationally will come from Tasmania. And of course there is no mention of funding for the Hobart Northern Suburbs Light Rail because the State Government couldn’t get its act together and get its submission in on time. “But despite these disappointments there is obviously still some very good news, in particular the plan to at least part-fund the Gonski education reforms and DisabilityCare. Regrettably though, finding the money to fully fund these commendable reforms is being left to future governments. “Good news for Denison is the confirmation that the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC at UTas has had its funding extended and $29.6m has been allocated for improvements to the Brooker Highway in Hobart. Oh the joy of being an Independent seat. How different things are in Denison since the last federal election and the end of the long days of Labor taking the seat for granted.” The budget also includes $119.6m for freight rail revitalisation, $17.5m for the Huon Highway/Summerleas Road Intersection Upgrade and $102.4m for the Midland Highway Safety Package. May 14 2013
The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, at a media conference this morning incorrectly stated that he had seconded the Australian Greens’ Minerals Resource Rent Tax Amendment (Protecting Revenue) Bill 2013. Mr Wilkie made the statement in good faith but on returning to his office learned of his mistake. In any case Mr Wilkie supports the move by the Greens to try and fix the mining tax and will support the Bill if it is put to a vote in the House of Representatives. May 14 2013
The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, joined the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) to condemn the $2.8 billion funding cuts for universities and university students recently announced by the Government. “This is an attack on tertiary education and our children’s future,” Mr Wilkie said. He met with NTEU president, Jeannie Rea, yesterday to discuss the effect of the cuts on Australian universities and to throw his support behind the union’s campaign. “I have told National Tertiary Education Union officials that I fully support their campaign to reinstate adequate funding to universities,” Mr Wilkie said. “In my home state of Tasmania these cuts mean 150 job losses in a sector that is underpinning a sagging economy. Regional universities will be hit the hardest. “I call on the Government to abandon its plans to make these brutal cuts. “If they do not, I call on the Opposition to show they value university education in this country and join me in opposing any legislation to enable these cuts.” May 07 2013
The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, is calling for live animal exports to be banned. “The latest shocking revelation of cruelty to Australian animals, this time in Egypt, surely must sound the death knell for Australia’s live animal export industry,” Mr Wilkie said. “With each new revelation come more promises from the Government to fix the trade, but each time these promises prove worthless and just more evidence that the Government doesn’t really care about animal welfare. “Making the situation in Egypt all the more appalling is that there is already an Australian presence at that abattoir. If the Government’s response this time is more talk about supply chain assurance then all it will really be saying is more of the same. “Since Four Corners blew the lid on the systemic cruelty in Indonesian slaughterhouses two years ago we’ve had revelations of more cruelty in Kuwait, Pakistan, Israel, and now Egypt. Given the live export industry’s track record we can assume similar problems in other countries. “The bottom line is that the live export business is systemically cruel and beyond remedy. It’s also not in Australia’s economic self-interest because exporting live animals also exports the jobs of those who would otherwise slaughter and process them. “On 18 August 2011 my Private Member’s Bill to wind up the trade received virtually no support and was voted down in the Parliament. In light of these latest revelations I will try to resurrect that Bill and expect the Government and the Opposition, or at least those people of good heart in the Parliament, to support it.” “The live export industry is systemically cruel, not in Australia’s economic best interests and strongly opposed by the majority of Australians. The Government must put an end to it. |
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