Live cattle trade ban could cost 1000 jobs AT least 1000 jobs could be lost as a result of the Gillard government's live cattle export ban to Indonesia, with Western Australia alone predicting it would cost its economy $170 million. Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig yesterday announced the government would provide affected farmers with $3 million in government assistance for up to 13 weeks but refused to say how many jobs were affected. He confirmed a delegation of Australian vets had not been able to inspect abattoirs and the controversial Mark 1 slaughter boxes when they flew to Indonesia last week. The West Australian government estimates 800 jobs have been affected, and internal federal government advice suggests 1000 would be lost if the suspension remained for a year. Tony Abbott said 10,000 jobs were at risk and $500m at stake if the government could not resume trade. The increasing cost of the ban, which was enacted on June 8, comes as the industry races to get Indonesian abattoirs accredited to resume trade before the deadline for import permits expires on Friday. It is understood Senator Ludwig is preparing to deliver the final draft of standards abattoirs have to meet to resume trade. But the cattle industry is worried the plan will not be approved by the Indonesians in time to get quarterly import licences issued before July 1. As the political fallout from the ban intensifies, Julia Gillard has hired 25-year veteran political adviser Jack Lake to handle the crisis while flying to the Northern Territory this week to meet affected cattlemen. WA Agriculture Minister Terry Redman told The Australian the ban would cost the economy $170m and more than 800 jobs. The $3 million in compensation announced by Senator Ludwig was not enough for an industry "cut off at the knees," he said. Internal federal documents seen by The Australian say: "The immediate impact . . . of suspension of trade for one year would be a loss of around 1000 jobs both directly and indirectly. "Indigenous employment is an important (part) of this industry," the documents add.