Page: 17763
Mr ANDREW STONER (Oxley—Leader of The Nationals) [5.27 p.m.]: I advise the House of a matter concerning my constituent Mr Neil Lawrence, a respected cattle producer in the Macleay Valley, near Kempsey. Last year Mr Lawrence took a number of cattle to the saleyards at Wauchope. Some cattle had lost their tail tags, which is quite understandable as they are quite easily dislodged. I add that that situation would not arise today because the new National Livestock Identification Scheme requires cattle to have ear tags, which are not easily dislodged and which must be scanned at the saleyards. However, that situation was certainly possible last year.
Mr Thomas George: It is possible: it happens.
Mr ANDREW STONER: It does happen: it is quite commonplace. At the saleyards I have personally observed dislodged tail tags. They can be seen in the dirt and the mud. The loss of tail tags was not an unusual incident in itself, but what was extraordinary was the heavy-handed response of the authorities. The then Department of Agriculture, now the Department of Primary Industries, prosecuted Mr Lawrence rather than issuing him with a warning or a caution. Consequently Mr Lawrence was heavily fined and his name was dragged through the mud by the publicity associated with his court case. Clearly the Labor Government was looking for a scapegoat in relation to tail tags and seized on Mr Lawrence for that purpose. Hence Mr Lawrence has a very strong sense of injustice in relation to his prosecution.
That sense of injustice was heightened by Mr Lawrence's observation of numerous cases of precisely the same offence as that for which he was prosecuted. However, no action was taken in relation to those offences despite the relevant authorities having been made aware of those instances. Throughout Mr Lawrence's ordeal I have made numerous representations, including to the Minister for Primary Industries. The Government's response has been appalling. It has ignored pleas for fair treatment and ignored evidence of similar offences. It is no wonder Mr Lawrence feels that there has been unequal treatment and that the authorities have used him as a scapegoat.
With the trials and tribulations that people on the land have had to endure over recent years, particularly through the drought which affected the Macleay Valley, that prosecution has added insult to injury to Mr Lawrence, a cattle producer who is respected right across the mid North Coast. I call upon the Minister for Primary Industries to arrange a thorough investigation of this matter. I ask the Minister to furnish a satisfactory explanation as to why Mr Lawrence has been hammered by authorities while others who have done the same thing have not been pursued. The Minister should also apologise for the Labor Government's heavy-handed and unfair treatment of Mr Lawrence, a treatment that has taken a great toll on him and his family.
I add, for the information of the House, that this family has already suffered a terrible loss with the tragic murder of Mr Lawrence's brother, known as Trumby Lawrence, some years ago in the Kempsey area by drug dealers. Mr Mick Lawrence, Neil's father, is still waiting for the outcome of a police investigation into those matters. To date no-one has been prosecuted for the murder of Neil Lawrence's brother. I ask the Minister for Community Services, who is at the table, to draw to the attention of the Minister for Primary Industries, the Hon. Ian Macdonald, the substance of my private member's statement. It must never be forgotten that justice should not only be done, it must be seen to be done.