PRESS OFFICE TRANSCRIPT WEDNESDAY, 4 JULY 1979
REPORT ON CATTLE STRIKE
FROM ABC'S
Report The Minister for Primary Industry, Mr. Sinclair has given a
strong warning to meat buyers; pay the new meat levy rates
or risk your licenses. This follows the decision by cattle
producers this week to withhold their stock from the sales
yards in protest against the meat buyers who want them, the
producers, to pay the levy. Critising the whole industry for
the dispute, Mr. Sinclair also warned that-the build-up in
unsold beef could lead a slump in the market. He is speaking
to Geoff Duncan.
Mr. Sinclair:
What I have said is that they ought to sell their stock on
the terms and conditions of sale that applied before the
1st of July. They are terms and conditions which have operated
satisfactorily for many years and of course, voluntarily, they
can change those terms and conditions of sale. But I am saying
that if they were to accept the threats that are being placed,
against them by the meat buyers, that I would expect that prices
might well collapse as a result of an inevitable over-supply,
of stock at the point when everybody starts selling stock again.
There are a range of ways of selling cattle, sheep and so on.
I would hope that they would all continue in the normal course.
Question B3ut if the meat buyers continue to i mpose the levy, do the
producers have any other choice but to go outside the auction
system? Mr. Sinclair
It is not a matter of the meat buyers setting the terms and
conditions of selling. If the meat buyers are not prepared to
buy stock there are other meat buyers, there are other meat
exporters. I have said in my statement, we are looking at the
present terms and conditions of meat export licenses and at the
restrictive trade practices legislation. By either means it
might be possible to either change the character of the conditions
so that if meat exporters do not comply with the terms and
conditions of selling that have traditionally been opposed, that
their licenses will not be allowed to operate.
Question That's a fairly tough statement. Is that something that the
Government would seriously consider?
Mr. Sinclair
I think that we've got to look at the effect on the Australian
market. Meat industries had a diabolic time over the last few
/ 2
Mr._ Sinclair ( continued) -2
years and it seems incredible that one section is prepared to
hold the whole of the industry at threat and also the
Australian consumer just so that they can make a point.
There are two issues concerned; one is the concern about the
extent of the rise of levy. I can understand and sympathise
with that concern but I believe at least part of the cost
needs to be borne by the whole industry and I don't think it is
fair to ask the taxpayers to pay them all. But the second part
is of course, the normal function of the marketplace. I bel~ eVE!
it foolish for the industry to now completely disrupt that
normal function of the market place simply to try and help one
section who wants to pass the charge which they, in gjencral, are
legally obligated to pay, being the owners of the stock at the
point of slaughter, onto everybody else.
Ques tion
But given that the growers have refused to put their cattle
forward and the buyers are insisting that they pay the levy,
doesn't this amount to a vote of no confidence in thle Government.' s
decision to increase the levy?
Mr. Sinclair
I think what it does is show that there is a real concern amongst
the buyers, at least amongst the sellers, the producers, aboUt
what is going to happen to the marketplace. Now the cattle
industry knows that if it wants to export meat the United States
Department of Agriculture lays down standards which we have to
meet in order to get into that market. Now, if they wish to
bypass that market, then there would be no reason to have the
charge. What we have said is not that the whole charge has
to be borne by the industry, but at least half of it should be.
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-T