The death of 46 cattle on an Australian live export ship to China has been blamed on a respiratory virus rather than the shocking conditions which plunged the sheep industry into crisis.
Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the livestock deaths were not related to heat stress which was behind thousands of sheep perishing on Middle East-bound voyages last year.
"The initial reports that I've received only indicate that they relate to a respiratory problem," Mr Littleproud told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
After the sheep scandal, the government imposed a raft of reforms on the industry including independent observers on all live export ships.
But the changes haven't gone far enough for Labor.
The opposition is attempting to amend government legislation to put harsher penalties on dodgy live exporters with a five-year phase out of live sheep exports and suspension of the northern hemisphere summer trade.
Mr Littleproud said the penalties, which include 10 year jail terms and multi-million dollar fines, would cover all livestock exporters.
"They've chucked an amendment about live sheep on it," he said.
"This is a political stunt and it hangs around their neck."
The government has parked the legislation amid concerns rogue Liberal MPs might support the Labor amendment to end live sheep exports.
Mr Littleproud insists his hand is still out to the opposition, which wants the government to test the support for live sheep exports in parliament.
Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon says his party is ready to support the increased penalties, despite believing they will be ineffective.
"If the government is confident it has the numbers in the house and therefore we lose the amendment, then we will simply pass the bill unamended," Mr Fitzgibbon told reporters.
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