OUTSPOKEN Labor MP Kelvin Thomson has again weighed in on the live export debate.

Mr Thomson has written to Indonesian Agriculture Minister Dr Suswona urging "appropriate action" after images emerged of cows in East Java being hoisted by a crane with ropes tied around their heads.

Another image shows seven live cows being lifted by ropes.

In the letter Mr Thomson said, "I hope the Indonesian Government will take action in this case. I hope it will demonstrate, by its enforcement of laws against animal cruelty, that it shares with Australians a real commitment to animal welfare.

He said he found the pictures "distressing and confronting" and that he wrote his letter out of "disgust".

He also voiced his concerns about comments by Indonesian Veterinary Association chairwoman Wiwiek Bagya that animal welfare laws in effect since 2009 did not work because they did not specify the punishment for animal cruelty.

Mr Thomson, asked if he opposed the annual $1 billion live export trade, said: "I believe we should transition out of live exports to domestic processing."

One of the trade's biggest critics, he tabled a petition in the House of Representatives late last year calling on the Government to end the export of all live animals from Australia in response to the slaughter of Australian sheep in Pakistan.

He told the house "we should not be exporting animals to countries which can act in such a capricious, unfounded and inhuman way."

But a Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry spokesperson said the Australian Government supported the trade continuing, provided that international animal welfare standards can be achieved.

"The livestock export industry is worth around $1 billion a year to the economy and supports 10,000 jobs in rural and regional communities; it underpins cattle and sheep prices and the sustainability of regional communities," they said.

"The Australian Government will continue to work closely with the Australian industry and our trading partners, including Indonesia, to ensure Australian exporters deliver good animal welfare outcomes across all livestock export supply chains."

There had been no Indonesian response to Mr Thomson's letter until Monday.