NT cattlemen dealt blow in compensation push over Gillard government live export ban after judge shoots down $600 million claim
Northern Territory cattlemen have been dealt a blow in their bid for compensation over the Gillard government's decision to ban live cattle exports in 2011.
The federal court has ruled the government is only liable for the loss of income suffered in one year, not three years as sought by the cattlemen.
Former Labor agriculture minister Joe Ludwig announced the ban on June 7, 2011.
It was lifted on July 6 the same year, but cattlemen argued the impact of the decision lasted far longer as the relationship between Australia and Indonesia soured.
The ban followed an investigation by Animals Australia and Four Corners into the treatment of cattle in Indonesian abattoirs, that prompted large protest rallies in Melbourne and Sydney.
The cattlemen launched a class action over the decision arguing it had cost them up to $600 million across the supply chain.
In 2020, Federal Court justice Steven Rares ruled in favour of the lead applicant, the Brett Cattle Company.
Justice Rares found Senator Ludwig had acted recklessly when he implemented the ban, as he awarded the company $2.94 million in damages.
For the past five years, the cattlemen and the federal government have been locked in legal argument about how much compensation should be paid to the other members of the class action.
The government made an offer of $215 million to settle the case, saying the ban had only affected the export of about 88,000 head of cattle in 2011.
The cattlemen rejected the offer, arguing the ban impacted the number of cattle Indonesia would except from 2011 until 2013 as they sought up to $600 million in compensation.
But late on Thursday, Justice Thomas Thawley ruled the quota of cattle accepted by Indonesia had only been impacted in 2011.
He said a drop in the quota in 2012 and 2013 was due to the Indonesian government's policy to pursue greater self-sufficiency in its beef market, not because of the fallout from the Australian government's 2011 ban.
His decision means the amount of compensation awarded is likely to be closer to the government's $215 million offer, than the $600 million the cattlemen had sought.
Justice Thawley placed a 48-hour embargo on the publication of the full reasons for his decision.
In a statement NT Cattlemen's Association chief executive officer Romy Carey acknowledged the court's decision.
'While the judgment marks a significant milestone in a legal battle that has spanned more than a decade, we are still working through the detail and assessing its full implications both for the families directly affected and the wider cattle industry,' she said.
'At the request of the Commonwealth, the Federal Court has placed the reasons for judgment under a 48-hour embargo.
'Accordingly, we have not yet been provided with access to the full decision and will refrain from further comment until we are in a position to respond responsibly and with the complete facts before us.'
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