ALEC Board

“The debate in the Senate last night was extremely hard to watch given the blatant lies put forward by the Government and the Greens about the live sheep trade.”

“There were repeated falsehoods put forward about the animal welfare conditions on vessels, the economic value of the trade. Some Senators openly mocked the Agriculture sector’s campaign against this policy – all cut and pasted from activist talking points. At no stage in the debate could they reference an industry body supportive of the Bill which is truly telling.”

“The most galling part of all, was the patronising insistence from government Senators that this policy presented an “opportunity” for WA sheep farmers and our trading partners. This has been repeatedly refuted by industry and it demonstrated a wilful ignorance by the Government towards the facts and the devastating impacts of this Bill. This government showed they simply do not care about Western Australian agriculture.”

“However, we hope governments of all persuasions mark 1 July 2024 as the last day they will make such a mistake again. We have consistently said this policy, if implemented, would be crossing a red line,” he said.

With the rushed and arrogant manner in which this Bill has been passed, the government has now crossed that line and the agriculture sector is left with little choice, but to fight in a manner that has not been seen before! The sector is mobilised, united and furious.”

MEDIA

0491 276 036   media@livexcouncil.com.au

Previous to ALEC, Mark was the Manager of Rural Affairs at NFF, the a/g CEO of the Sheepmeat Council of Australia and Policy Director of Cattle Council of Australia. Before joining those organisations Mark worked for the Australian Government across a range of roles and issues including as Assistant Director, Meat and Livestock Policy at the then Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, and as Departmental Liaison Officer for the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Laws for James Cook University, a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the Australian National University and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mark is also admitted as a Lawyer in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.

David is the former chair of the Australian Livestock Export Corporation (LiveCorp) and has extensive experience in the northern pastoral industry, land management, infrastructure, and tourism development.

David served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Torres Strait Regional Authority from 1995 to 2000, CEO of the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) from 2001 to 2012, and the Director of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia from 2010 to 2012. He is on the Advisory Board of the North Queensland Livestock Recovery Agency (NQLIRA), a non-member Director of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee), an Advisory Board Member of Paga Hill Development Company in Papua New Guinea, Managing Director of Tubarao Investments Pty Ltd, a Board Director of the Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) Board and Ex-Officio Board Director of LiveCorp.

David holds a Master of International Development from Deakin University, Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, a Member of Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a Certified CEO.

In 2020 SAILS was established after the sale of Landmark International, and Steve as the export manager is responsible for the company’s live export business operations.

Previously Steve worked for Elders for 14 years having started in the company’s feedlot sector managing Charlton feedlot and then overall company feedlot operations, before making a career transition into Elders Live export division and then as senior sales manager in the live export division.

Steve served on the Australian Lot Feeders Association board for seven years, including a term as vice president.

Steve was voted onto the ALEC Board in November 2021 at the AGM.

LSS was established in 1998, the company has drawn on the invaluable knowledge and experience of its global partners and has become one of Australia’s leading live export companies.

Mr Keenan has over 20 years’ experience and an in-depth knowledge of the live export trade and understands the needs of LSS’ global customers and how to best achieve optimal outcomes across all markets.

As part of the senior management team at LSS Paul is committed to ensuring the entire supply chain of operations is carried out to guarantee best practice animal welfare outcomes, high quality livestock supply, financial returns for its customers, and compliance with all regulatory requirements.

Paul joined the ALEC Board in January 2022.

Patrick has 30 years experience across Australian and international markets and all facets of the Northern cattle market as a station owner, exporter and managing director. He was elected to the ALEC Board in November 2022.

Mr Underwood holds a degree in Business/Commerce.

The Western Australian Livestock Exporters Association has been representing companies actively engaged in exporting livestock from WA for over 40 years. Halleen Australasian Livestock Traders Pty Ltd has been exporting livestock from Australia for over 35 years with a primary focus on cattle to South East Asia.

Mr Cunnington holds a Masters of International Business and Bachelor of Commerce (Economics and Finance).

Jim has experience across the live export supply chain with over 20 years experience spanning stock handling to management. He has extensive experience in finance, marketing and operations management and in exporting niche, high quality Australian products to international markets.

Mr Teasdale holds a Bachelor of Business and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.