Live export bans would have widespread impact, says NSW Ag Minister Dugald Saunders

Labor has vowed to phase out the live sheep export industry but no action will be taken during this term of government.

"There is no way we would support banning anything," Mr Saunders said.

"By simply banning something doesn't achieve what people think it achieves."

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It comes as Greens senator and the party's animal welfare spokesperson Mehreen Faruqi said her party would use its balance of power position in the Senate "to push Labor further and faster" on the issue.

"If they (Labor) follow The Greens on this, it would be suicidal I would have thought," Mr Saunders said.

"It's a ridiculous thing to propose when there are so many jobs, towns and regional areas that rely on money coming out of a product that needs to be delivered live."

Mr Saunders said the impact a ban would have in northern areas, particularly in production, was massive, and would have a flow-on affect.

"In some ways you might say it provides more opportunity for growers in our regions to take up markets in the north or benefit from that," Mr Saunders said.

"But all it does is creates impact in a negative way in livestock."

Mr Saunders said there had been a huge amount of focus paid to changes in the live export sector in regards to animal welfare.

"The way the industry has changed is significant and we need to support change and the benefit it brings to regional areas and not look at banning something for no reason," Mr Saunders said.

"In simple terms The Greens, they would be happy to have no animals for meat at all anyway, in any part of the world. I can safely say I completely disagree with that.

"The meat sector is one of our most productive sectors whether it's sheep or cattle or goats.

"We deliver the best food and fibre to the rest of the world. Labor needs to be careful how they look at that in the future."

The Greens will keep campaigning to end the live cattle industry, Senator Faruqi said, but the federal government has made it clear the sector was off limits.