Boyup Brook farmer responds to Federal Government’s “gutless” decision to end live sheep exports

A South West farmer has described the Federal Government’s decision to ban live sheep exports from 2028 as “blatantly shocking and insensitive”, accusing them of being “gutless” with the announcement. Boyup Brook sheep farmer Charles Caldwell expressed his anger at the decision, describing the financial toll the transition will take on primary producers. “Effectively, farmers are going to lose a large amount of money transitioning to another industry, because the Labor Party doesn’t like sheep farmers,” he said. “It’s blatantly shocking and insensitive, and the timing of it as well with sheep prices being the worst they have been, it’s staggering to see them do that to farmers. “The farmers are going to wear the bill and none of the compensation package will be compensating farmers for the next ten or twenty years.” The Federal Government has announced a $107 million transition support package over the next five years. The package includes $64.6m in support for sheep producers and the associated supply chain such as processors, truck drivers and shearers, with the bulk of the money set to be made available early on to encourage early uptake. But Mr Caldwell said the money being spent was equivalent to “about one per cent of the impact”, describing it as “an insult”. “It’s a pathetic number,” he said. “It should be $2 billion or $3 billion and they might get close to the amount to compensate the industry.” Mr Caldwell said he was not surprised by the decision, claiming the Labor Party “doesn’t care about people that live outside of the metropolitan areas”. “People are shooting sheep and putting them in a hole because they’re not worth sending to a saleyard, because they’re going to get less and it’d cost more to send them through freight,” he said. “They’ve destroyed an entire industry.” Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt announced the phase out in Perth on Saturday, stating it delivered on an election commitment after “years of community concern”. “I want the Western Australian sheep industry to thrive and grow into the future,” he said. “Seizing what is an untapped opportunity — more onshore meat processing. “Today, we are mapping out a plan for the future of the sheep industry in Western Australia that delivers more value added on-shore, which means more jobs locally.” Mr Watt said the end date — announced seven months after the minister received an independent panel report that consulted on the phase-out — provided farmers with certainty. Mr Caldwell said he was still coming to terms with the Federal Government’s decision. “I don’t think it’ll be personally viable for my business to get back into sheep, and it’s staggering to see the Government do this to people when they are down,” he said. Mr Caldwell described the announcement as “gutless” and said Mr Watt should have fronted up to farmers and made the announcement to industry leaders in the regions. The State Government has also expressed its opposition to ending the trade by May 1, 2028, with Premier Roger Cook arguing the support package is not enough. “The Federal Government needs to come to the table with more funding to help WA farmers in this transition,” he said. “I have been clear right from the start: their plan will negatively impact our regional communities in WA. Our position has been consistent.” State Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said the end of the industry would cost the WA economy $123m every year. “Around 400 people could also lose their jobs and that will have a heartbreaking flow-on effect to our regional communities,” Ms Jarvis said. “This support package does not meet the needs of our hardworking farmers, who are currently living through drought conditions. “This phase-out will negatively impact our regional communities and the livelihoods of many — our Government has been consistent and clear from the start — we don’t support it.” Mr Watt said the WA Government was entitled to its view, but that the package was a “fair and reasonable” amount to an “industry that is already in long-term decline”. “I think the transition would go more successfully if the Western Australian Government does partner with us, but that’s ultimately a matter for them,” he said. The minister said the State Government’s figures assumed farmers’ transition was going to be in 2025 and that farmers would exit the industry entirely. “We don’t think that will happen, especially because of the funding that we’re putting on the table,” Mr Watt said.