Greens spokesperson for animal welfare Senator Lee Rhiannon has said fresh evidence of live export abuse aired on 7.30 is further proof that the Australian government's regulations are doing very little to end the enormous suffering of animals overseas.

"The unwillingness of the Australian government to administer criminal charges against offending export companies means we have seen yet another expose of animal cruelty on TV," said Senator Rhiannon.

US media reports that Australia may have broken Californian lobbying laws in an attempt to overturn the ban on kangaroo products highlights how far the Abbott government will go to benefit a handful of exporters, Greens spokesperson for animal welfare Senator Lee Rhiannon.

This story has broken in the US following a response from the Department of Agriculture to a question asked by Senator Rhiannon about lifting California's ban on imported kangaroo products.

Senator O'SULLIVAN (Queensland-Nationals Whip in the Senate) (15:52):

I, and also on behalf of Senators Canavan and Williams, move:

That the Senate notes that:

(a) the Australian beef industry contributed $8.5 billion to the national economy in 2013 14;

(b) in 2014, the United States became our largest beef export market, worth $2.44 billion, or around 32 per cent of the total value of our beef exports; and

It is Country Liberal Party Senator Nigel Scullion, with his safari hunting plan for the Northern Territory, who is running feral not the crocodiles, Greens animal welfare spokesperson Senator Lee Rhiannon said.

"Minister Scullion should be pulled into line by the Environment Minister Greg Hunt who rejected safari crocodile hunting in the Northern Territory last year," Senator Rhiannon said.

"What Mr Scullion is touting is not about ‘science'. Having amateurs shoot wild animals is not an evidence based approach to wildlife management.

An independent Office of Animal Welfare is needed now more than ever, given the Abbott government's support for legislation that will prosecute vets, journalists, animal protection groups and other members of the public who uncover and expose animal cruelty, Greens spokesperson for animal welfare Senator Rhiannon said.

I am pleased to introduce the Greens' Voice for Animals (Independent Office of Animal Welfare) Bill 2015, which establishes the Office of Animal Welfare as an independent statutory authority - with its CEO responsible for reviewing and advising upon the protection of animal welfare in Commonwealth regulated activities.

Senator RHIANNON (New South Wales) (16:01): I move:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture, by 18 June 2015, the Rural Industries Development Corporation's market research report Characterising the Australian public and communicating about kangaroo management, Project ID: PRJ-008967.
Question agreed to.

"All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering, the animals are our equals."

 It is 40 years since Australian philosopher Peter Singer wrote this truth in book that shook our understanding of animals and continues to shape the way we treat them.

Tony Abbott's Liberal-National government has thrown its weight behind Senator Chris Back's bill to prosecute whistle blowers and investigators who expose animal cruelty, said Greens spokesperson for animal welfare Senator Lee Rhiannon.

The six member Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport, which has three Government Senators has recommended Senator Back's Criminal Code Amendment (Animal Protection) Bill be passed with a minor change.

The Greens have renewed their call to end Australia's live export trade following the latest exposure of the failure of federal government regulations to stop extreme animal cruelty in overseas abattoirs.

"The recent Animals Australia investigation reveals barbaric acts inflicted on cattle in a major Israeli abattoir, approved to operate under Australia's Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System," Senator Lee Rhiannon, Greens animal welfare spokesperson said.