Page 1762 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2011
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It is important to talk about what we are voting against here today if we vote against this bill in principle. We are voting against the licensing of breeders. This means that we will continue the unlicensed breeding and selling of animals in the ACT. A licensing system works well elsewhere. The Greens spoke to those running a similar system of licensing on the Gold Coast and about the good results they are getting. We have even had representations from breeders overseas who have said that similar systems impose little extra burden on them and have improved the industry markedly.
In voting against this bill, the government and the Liberal Party are voting against controlling the free-for-all advertising that occurs every day in Canberra. We have animals being advertised in classifieds and sold at markets and fetes all over the place. This bill sought to improve that situation. The Liberal Party and the Labor Party are voting against point-of-sale desexing. It means that we will continue to have a problem with un-desexed animals, which leads to breeding and abandonment issues. We have talked to people who run shelters, and they will tell you that a lot of the problem is not from unowned animals but from litters surrendered by people whose animals, especially cats, have had litters. There are many studies to support the conclusions that a failure to desex animals is a major contributing factor to pet overpopulation and euthanasia.
In voting against this legislation today, the two old parties are voting against the regulation of pet stores. As Ms Le Couteur has said in the earlier debate, pet stores continue to operate without any enforceable code of practice. Puppy farms just over the border have been shut down, and it was discovered that they were supplying their animals to pet stores in Canberra.
Voting against this legislation today is voting against the banning of sow stalls. Mr Coe made some interesting comments on this when he said, “It’s bizarre to ban something we don’t do.” I would put a contrary view: this is a practice that is well known to be cruel. It would not cost the ACT anything to outlaw this practice, and it will ensure that factory pig farming does not establish itself here.
It is a fairly simple principle. Those on the conservative side of politics often say, “Business needs certainty. They need to know what the operating framework is. We need to know the parameters we can operate in.” Why do we not say clearly now that we do not want cruel sow stall farming in the ACT? It means it will never happen. It means that the business community has a clear set of understandings of what the rules are in the ACT and what this community expects when it comes to the welfare of animals. I think it is bizarre to not be clear about what our expectations are, but I guess that is a debate we are just going to have to keep having.
There is a number of things that in failing to support this bill in principle today the Labor Party and the Liberal Party are preventing from happening, things that will be positive for animal welfare in the ACT, things that mean we can put these improvements in place now. It is clear that the government are working on some of these issues; they have been for some time. As I say, unfortunately, it has reached a point where, frankly, in frustration, Ms Le Couteur has moved forward because the time lines keep getting passed. We will come to a motion later today under my name where I will talk about some of the other promises that have been made about doing
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