At the heart of our decision is upholding New Zealand's reputation for high standards of animal welfare. The Government started a review of the livestock export trade in 2019 in response to concerns the trade could be a risk to New Zealand's reputation. The objective of the review was to provide New Zealanders an opportunity to reflect on how we can improve the welfare of livestock being exported. The review consulted on several options including both regulatory improvement and a complete ban on the trade. The Cabinet paper and decisions around the future of livestock exports was delayed due to the Government's response to COVID-19, but not long after we initiated the review, there was the tragic sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1 in September 2020. This was the seventh livestock ship to have sunk since 2009, globally. Beyond the devastating loss of life—and I want to acknowledge the families of those New Zealanders who lost their lives—the sinking highlighted the concerns and the risks the trade poses to animal welfare. Since January 2019, 27 of the 50 voyages to have left New Zealand have been in non-purpose-built converted vessels. Travelling for long lengths of time on any vessel, let alone ones that are not purpose built for transporting livestock, creates conditions that are not suitable for livestock welfare. Any recurrence of negative animal welfare incidents like this has the potential to inflict lasting damage to New Zealand's reputation and trade—no matter how hard we set animal welfare standards for the voyages and everyone's best efforts on those boats.