WA Farmers Slam Leaked $45.5M Live Export Transition Plan as “Incompetent” and Ineffective
West Australian farmers have criticised a leaked draft outlining how the federal government might allocate $45.5 million in support for the sheep industry following the end of live exports, calling the plan a “farce.”
The draft proposal, circulating within WA’s agricultural sector, comes from the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and is marked “confidential.” It outlines potential funding allocations under the Commonwealth’s $139.7 million transition package, $45.5 million of which was set aside to assist sheep producers and related supply chain workers ahead of the live sheep export ban scheduled for May 2028.
Farmers argue the proposed funding is inadequate and point to the department’s own internal notes, which acknowledge potential shortcomings. One such note states the $15 million earmarked for satellite feedlots and confinement feeding may not be enough to make a meaningful impact. Another warning suggests a proposed $5 million strategy to guide the future of the wool and sheep meat industries could be too underfunded to address key priorities.
Corrigin-based sheep producer Steven Bolt expressed frustration over the plan, questioning the government’s commitment and calling DAFF’s handling of the situation “incompetent.”
“It’s just incompetence from the department,” Bolt said, adding that crucial parts of the industry — like seed cleaners and ram breeders — were completely overlooked in the draft.
According to the leaked document, sheep producers would be eligible for confinement feeding grants of up to $150,000, matched dollar-for-dollar. Those who have exported an average of 1,000 sheep per year over the last three years could receive an additional $40,000 for business planning and financial advice. Trucking companies and shearing employers would each be eligible for $30,000 in support.
Bolt argued these amounts fall far short of what’s needed to cushion the industry: “The funds that are available will never be anywhere close to enough to mitigate the damage that has been caused or provide sustainability or growth in the industry going forward.”
Industry Leaders Demand Real Solutions
WA Farmers president Steve McGuire also condemned the proposed allocations, calling the approach a “shemozzle” devised in the “Canberra bubble.” He accused the government of seeking an easy fix for a complex problem.
“They’re looking for an easy solution, but there is no easy solution, and this is what we warned them about from day dot, and they did not listen,” McGuire said.
He mocked the practical value of the proposed grants, saying: “So $30,000 for a trucking company — that will buy one tipper — and the idea that shearing contractors will become agricultural employment brokers? Good luck with that.”
McGuire warned that live exports serve as a crucial risk-management tool by allowing mass offloading of sheep during peak periods — a flexibility that no current policy replaces. Without long-term contracts from processors, he said, producers remain exposed.
“Until processors offer a contract a year ahead … no one is taking the risk away from the farmer.”
