Hon Jim Chown questions the Minister for Agriculture and Food regarding a Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development raid on the Anna Marra live export ship, specifically seeking information on prior knowledge, legal advice, and the legal basis for the raid. The Minister denies prior knowledge and cites sections of the Animal Welfare Act.

AnsweredQoN 683Legislative Council
Asked
25 June 2019
Portfolio
Agriculture and Food

QuestionView source ↗

LIVE EXPORT — ANNA
MARRA
683. Hon JIM CHOWN to the Minister for Agriculture and Food:
I refer to the raid on the Anna
Marra live export ship by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional
Development.
(1) Was the minister aware of the
raid before it was conducted; and, if so, did she approve the raid?
(2) Did the
minister seek legal advice from the State Solicitor's Office, request
the department seek legal advice or approve the department seeking legal
advice?
(3) Will the minister table the legal advice; and, if not,
why not?
(4) Under what section of the
Animal Welfare Act was the raid conducted?
(5) What section of the Animal
Welfare Act is alleged to have been breached that resulted in the raid?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for the
question. I presume the member was talking about the execution of a search
warrant when he was talking about a raid.
(1) No; we were
advised that a search warrant had been executed on the following day. The
investigation is being conducted independently by the department's
operations and compliance division.
(2) This question is too vague to answer. I am not
sure what the member wants to know about what legal advice we sought. We seek legal advice on many different
topics, so I am not sure what the member is seeking here.
(3) Not applicable.
Hon Michael Mischin interjected.
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN : You
can ask a question. You are entitled to ask a question.
Several members interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order!
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN : I am
explaining that we did not have an involvement in the decision to execute a search
warrant, so I do not know what legal advice the member is referring to.
(4) It is section 59 of the Animal
Welfare Act 2002.
(5) It is section 19 of the Animal
Welfare Act 2002, ''Cruelty to animals''.

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