Territory cattlemen concerned Canberra trying to skimp on export ban class action spayout

The Territory’s cattlemen are calling on the commonwealth to do the right thing and make a real class action payout for the 2011 Indonesian live export ban.

The head of the Northern Territory’s cattle industry said a federal government offer to settle the Indonesian live cattle export ban class action judgment was “low ball” and “disrespectful”.

The federal government has offered the 215 claimants in the successful 2020 class action against the commonwealth, following the 2020 Federal Court ruling that the Gillard Labor government’s 2011 ban on Territory live beef exports to Indonesia was illegal.

The 2011 ban followed a Get-Up researched report screened on the ABC’s Four Corners program that selectively showed instances of cruelty in Indonesian cattleyards.

NT Cattlemen's Association president David Connolly

The commonwealth had offered cattlemen $215m to settle the class action, with the original federal court decision finding the ban “constituted malfeasance in public office” and ordered government to pay damages and costs.

The cattle industry through lead applicant in the case, the NT’s Brett Cattle Company, has lodged a counter claim to settle for $510m plus interest and costs, which could take the total government payout to between $800m and $900m.

The government has five weeks to settle the class action before it returns to the federal court for a decision which could be more costly.

NT Cattlemen’s Association president David Connolly said it was in the Labor government’s own interest to settle the case, which he said had cost the Territory’s live export sector $1.2bn.

“The government’s offer was disrespectful due to it being an exceptionally low-ball offer, based on the case being in excess of $1.2bn,” Mr Connolly said.

“The federal government said the claimants should accept the offer or make a counter offer, and that we should get our lawyers under control.

“Our lawyers are running an extremely good case and the commonwealth should be worried about their lawyers because our lawyers won the court case. If not for our lawyers, the commonwealth would have got away with their repugnant actions.

“We think the counter offer is extremely generous and made to get the commonwealth to act on closing this case by accepting this offer so everybody can retire to their corners and this bad chapter in the Labor government’s history can be closed down.”

Mr Connolly is worried a number of members of the current Federal Labor cabinet were involved in the original 2011 Cabinet decision.

He said he was concerned current Agriculture Minister Murray Watt would be “left holding the baby” as his Cabinet colleagues involved in the original decision “slink from the light and hide in the shade” on this issue.

“The people hurt by this delay in making a decision are the mums and dads and families caught up by the ban, many of who still haven’t recovered from the devastating impact it had,” Mr Connolly said.

“Everybody in the Indonesian export supply chain was affected by this not just cattlemen. It was the live export yard owners, trucking company operators, fuel depots, truck tyre outlets and rural shops that sell to rural properties.