The Inverell Times last week reported that the Greens candidate for New England in the upcoming Federal election, Mercurius Goldstein, had said that the ‘number one thing’ the people wanted to talk to him about was supporting the livestock industry, by bringing the cattle down from the north and processing them in the New England.
“What we know is that for every 400,000 head of cattle we can bring down from the north, it’s $200 million into this regional economy. A beast that is processed here in Australia is also worth 20 percent more to the Australian economy than one shipped off-shore,” Mr Goldstein told the Times.
He said such a move would “keep Bindaree Beef strong, re-open the Gunnedah meat plant, get the Armidale meatworks up and running and get Coonabarabran back on its feet.”
“I put this to a roomful of truck drivers in Tamworth at the Road Transporter’s Forum, and they much preferred the domestic processing option over live exports,” Mr Goldstein said.
“Will Barnaby Joyce, and Tony Windsor for that matter, commit to ending the live export trade?”
http://www.beefcentral.com/processing/amieu-condemn-barnabys-support-for-live-ex...