❓ Hon Robyn McSweeney asks if the Minister for Agriculture and Food will have input into changing sections of the Animal Welfare Act concerning live sheep shipments, given potential misinterpretations. The Minister responds that he would be consulted if clarification is needed after the court case.
AnsweredQoN 430Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ANIMAL WELFARE ACT - SECTION 19
Western Australian ports account for 80 per cent of Australia’s live sheep shipments. Will the minister for Agriculture and Food have any input into changing section 19(3)(a) and (b) of the Animal Welfare Act so that those sections can be used according to their correct interpretation or intention? Hon KIM CHANCE
Western Australian ports account for 80 per cent of Australia’s live sheep shipments. Will the minister for Agriculture and Food have any input into changing section 19(3)(a) and (b) of the Animal Welfare Act so that those sections can be used according to their correct interpretation or intention? Hon KIM CHANCE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank Hon Robyn McSweeney for passing to me, a few moments ago, a note with the content of her question. The honourable member’s question no doubt refers to the actions that have been taken under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 in relation to a live sheep shipper and the sheep on a particular vessel. We do not know at this stage whether the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 have been misinterpreted. We will not know that until the court case has run its course. Obviously I cannot comment on the arguments in the case itself. However, in the event, hypothetically, that it became clear that the interpretation of the wording of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 was such that it was not the interpretation that was intended by the Parliament - I think the Parliament was quite clear in its intention with that act - the government would be in a position in which it would want to look at how to clarify that wording. In that event, my answer is yes, I would be consulted and involved in the process of clarifying the wording.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank Hon Robyn McSweeney for passing to me, a few moments ago, a note with the content of her question. The honourable member’s question no doubt refers to the actions that have been taken under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 in relation to a live sheep shipper and the sheep on a particular vessel. We do not know at this stage whether the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 have been misinterpreted. We will not know that until the court case has run its course. Obviously I cannot comment on the arguments in the case itself. However, in the event, hypothetically, that it became clear that the interpretation of the wording of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 was such that it was not the interpretation that was intended by the Parliament - I think the Parliament was quite clear in its intention with that act - the government would be in a position in which it would want to look at how to clarify that wording. In that event, my answer is yes, I would be consulted and involved in the process of clarifying the wording.
I thank Hon Robyn McSweeney for passing to me, a few moments ago, a note with the content of her question. The honourable member’s question no doubt refers to the actions that have been taken under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 in relation to a live sheep shipper and the sheep on a particular vessel. We do not know at this stage whether the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 have been misinterpreted. We will not know that until the court case has run its course. Obviously I cannot comment on the arguments in the case itself. However, in the event, hypothetically, that it became clear that the interpretation of the wording of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 was such that it was not the interpretation that was intended by the Parliament - I think the Parliament was quite clear in its intention with that act - the government would be in a position in which it would want to look at how to clarify that wording. In that event, my answer is yes, I would be consulted and involved in the process of clarifying the wording.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank Hon Robyn McSweeney for passing to me, a few moments ago, a note with the content of her question. The honourable member’s question no doubt refers to the actions that have been taken under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 in relation to a live sheep shipper and the sheep on a particular vessel. We do not know at this stage whether the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 have been misinterpreted. We will not know that until the court case has run its course. Obviously I cannot comment on the arguments in the case itself. However, in the event, hypothetically, that it became clear that the interpretation of the wording of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 was such that it was not the interpretation that was intended by the Parliament - I think the Parliament was quite clear in its intention with that act - the government would be in a position in which it would want to look at how to clarify that wording. In that event, my answer is yes, I would be consulted and involved in the process of clarifying the wording.
I thank Hon Robyn McSweeney for passing to me, a few moments ago, a note with the content of her question. The honourable member’s question no doubt refers to the actions that have been taken under the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 in relation to a live sheep shipper and the sheep on a particular vessel. We do not know at this stage whether the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 have been misinterpreted. We will not know that until the court case has run its course. Obviously I cannot comment on the arguments in the case itself. However, in the event, hypothetically, that it became clear that the interpretation of the wording of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 was such that it was not the interpretation that was intended by the Parliament - I think the Parliament was quite clear in its intention with that act - the government would be in a position in which it would want to look at how to clarify that wording. In that event, my answer is yes, I would be consulted and involved in the process of clarifying the wording.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.