Cutting Off The Hand That Feeds Us
Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur has called on the Victorian Government to give a guarantee to the meat processing sector that it will not be unfairly discriminated against by closing all abattoirs in response to COVID-19.
The Premier was asked in his Tuesday press conference about whether there should be a short-term shutdown of all abattoirs after numerous sites had been linked to known clusters, to which he responded, “if we were to continue to see outbreaks … [and] people quite obviously attending work when they shouldn’t be … then every option becomes on the table."
CEO of Australian Meat Industry Council, Patrick Hutchinson has said, “We do not want to see the shut-down of our industry due to changing rules that we have limited to no control over.”
Quotes attributable to Bev McArthur MP:
“Daniel Andrews is threatening to close an entire sector that employs thousands of people across the state, provides substantial economic benefit to regional communities, feeds the people of Australia and prior to COVID-19, exported to the world."
“The reason so many positive cases have been linked to abattoirs is not private sector misconduct, but Victorian Government failure to adequately and quickly, contract trace and test - the job that seven out of the eight other states and territories got right.”
“There are around a dozen abattoirs in Western Victoria which are all essential businesses, all indispensable to the region and they cannot afford to be shut down by a government unable to manage a crisis.”
“Particularly with many foreign markets closed to Australian abattoirs, shutting down this vital sector of the agricultural industry could mean severe damage to future export markets plus thousands of job losses in the short and long term.”
“Abattoirs such as Midfield Meats in Warrnambool, Australian Lamb Company in Colac and Frewstal in Stawell, employ over 1000, 700 and 500 workers respectively, not to mention the hundreds of farms and allied industries across the region that supply product to them, and who in turn have their own employees and who all keep country towns viable.”
“This is a reckless idea that must be immediately repudiated by the State Government.”
“What this Government needs to do is lift its game or hand over the reins to those who can manage the state.”
29 July 2020