Local farmers head to High Court over noxious weed damage

Queensland farmers are headed to the High Court in a long-running battle for compensation over the spread of a noxious weed they say was caused by a global seed company.

Sorghum being harvested .

A long-running legal dispute over the spread of a noxious weed that has allegedly cost Queensland farmers millions is headed to the High Court.

The move is a big win for Brisbane-based law shop Creevey Horrell Lawyers, which has been running a class action on behalf of commercial sorghum growers against global seed manufacturer Advanta Seeds over alleged contamination of their crop with seed from Shattercane. Shattercane is a noxious weed, which if present in a crop of sorghum competes strongly with the planted sorghum and results in a reduced yield.

Once present on a farm it can spread vigorously and it can germinate, propagate and multiply quickly, infesting and overrunning land. It is difficult to eradicate with the eradication process often meaning that the land cannot be used commercially for a considerable time. Some farmers claim they have lost millions of dollars after planting contaminated seed.

Dan Creevey

In a ruling in the High Court last Friday, Chief Justice Susan Kiefel granted Creevey Horrell on behalf of applicant farmers special leave to appeal a decision by the Queensland Court of Appeal earlier this year in favour of Advanta Seeds

“We are pleased the High Court has given us an opportunity to continue to fight for justice for these growers,” Creevey Horrell principal Dan Creevey says. “The farmers have been suffering from the impacts of shattercane for a long time and continue to suffer.”

Creevey (illustrated) says he had submitted three grounds for appeal, including that the Court of Appeal made an error in failing to find Advanta owed a duty of care to farmers as end users of its seed product sold to them through distributors. “Advanta failed to take reasonable care to avoid the risk that the farmers who used the product as intended would sustain economic losses by reason of hidden defects in those goods,” Creevey says. Avanta has denied it acted negligently in the sale of the seed.

Playing chicken

Lenard’s chicken founder Len Poulter is a busy man these days. Poulter says the firm has just opened a factory outlet store for the first time in its 36-year history to cater for the rising number of budget conscious families.

Poulter says the outlet at 14 Tombo Street, Capalaba, will provide customers with access to discounted prices on their full range of meals, as well as exclusive products and deals not available anywhere else. Poulter founded Lenard’s from a single store in Sunnybank in 1987 but it been a long haul for the former butcher turned entrepreneur after personal circumstances forced him to sell Lenard’s to the now collapsed Blue Sky Alternative Investments a decade ago. But he bought it back in 2018 and the chain is once against flourishing with 23 locally owned franchised stores.

Lenard Poulter

Village sale

Aged care provider Aveo has listed Tweed Fairways Retirement Village with the property expected to fetch as much as $20m.. Located at 1-3 Soorley Street Tweed Heads, the 4,481sqm retirement village is being offered for sale with vacant possession.

The property was originally developed as a motel in 2007 before undergoing significant refurbishment to be converted to a premium retirement living apartment complex comprising 70 one-bed private rooms with ensuites, kitchenettes and laundries.

CBRE’s Will Carmen, Marcello Caspani-Muto,Adelaide O’Brien, Jimmy Tat and Mark Witheriff are managing the sale with expression of interest closing November 15.

Originally published as Local farmers head to High Court over noxious weed damage