NT Cattlemen’s David Connolly tells Canberra what he really thinks about compo backdown

NT cattlemen have said they have been betrayed by the Commonwealth’s decision to reject their live ban compensation claim. Read what’s happened.

The head of the NT’s cattle industry says the federal government’s rejection of its offer to settle the long-running Indonesian live export ban class action is “cowardly” and the sector had been “betrayed” by the Commonwealth.

NT Cattlemen’s Association president David Connolly said the federal government “doesn’t like” rural and regional Australia and its decision to reject the organisation’s offer without a counter-offer was political.

In 2020 the Federal Court backed a class action lodged by 215 claimants impacted by the federal Labor government’s 2011 ban on live beef exports to Indonesia, finding it “constituted malfeasance in public office”.

NT Cattlemen's Association president David Connolly

In December 2022, the Commonwealth offered cattlemen $215m to settle the class action, with cattlemen 10 months later lodging a counter offer of $510m plus interest and costs of up to $400m.

Claimants believed the Commonwealth was trying to skimp on its obligation to pay reasonable compensation.

The federal government on Thursday told cattlemen it had rejected its bid for $510m compensation for the ban and failed to lodge a counter offer.

Through a spokesperson on Thursday, the federal government said it was acting in “good faith”.

The Commonwealth’s $215m offer expired in September 2023.

Mr Connolly said the class-action claimants’ $510m offer had also now lapsed and he expected the Commonwealth to drag any resolution through a protracted judicial process.

“The Federal court has told the Commonwealth to pay and they’ll do nothing, draw it out and use legal nonsense to avoid settling,” he said.

“Who’s paying for it? The taxpayer.

“Our offer was a genuine effort to bring a close to the federal court’s judgement at a reasonable price for both parties and the reason they don’t want to do this is about politics.

“The votes for rural and regional Australia do not add up to one street in inner-Melbourne or Sydney where they’re trying to appeal to voters with a green agenda.

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“I feel betrayed. The claimants feel betrayed, the industry feel s betrayed and rural and regional Australia feels betrayed by a government that’s been disrespectful and acting in a cowardly fashion.”

Mr Connolly said this Labor government doesn’t want to acknowledge the 2011 Gillard government decision was “terrible”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was Infrastructure Minister at the time and Tony Burke, Penny Wong and Chris Bowen remain in the current cabinet.

“If we were expecting a different outcome we were wrong. This government doesn’t like rural and regional Australia and are hell-bent on punishing the rural sector and punishing those who didn’t vote for them or who will never vote for them. “

“And I mostly feel betrayed by Agriculture Minister Murray Watt, who I thought was a stand-up guy, who I thought would look you in the eye when you shook his hand and generally believed in looking after the people that practice agriculture in this land, that his portfolio is directly responsible for this.

“He’s let me down, he’s let all these claimants down and most of all he’s let himself down. This decision is contradictory to how he has acted around the class action.”

Minister Watt’s office declined to respond to the allegations made against him.

The federal government was also contacted for comment.

The ban was sparked by an ABC Four Corners report on cruelty to NT live cattle in Indonesian abattoirs.