BUMPER OPINION SECTION
TRACEY HAYES, LAUREN MOSS AND MORE
ALMOST ten years ago to the day, the Gillard government banned the trade of live cattle to Indonesia.
That decision was described by a previous prime minister as the worst decision an Australian government has ever made.
The impacts of the knee-jerk reaction wreaked havoc in the northern cattle industry. It still plays out across some 60 per cent of Australia’s land mass and will not be forgotten by the generations forced to live through it.
In 2014, the Brett Cattle Company, led by Emily and Dougal Brett and supported by the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, spearheaded a class action to recover their losses incurred as a result of that decision, but more importantly to ensure that a decision such as this could never be made again.
The case was hard fought and finally won on June 2, 2020. The Federal Court ruled the live export ban of 2011 to be illegal. In recognition of the deep impact of the ban, the Morrison government did not appeal the Federal Court’s decision, allowing the pastoral industry to proceed to recover its losses.
The court’s decision is now a foundation for all others who suffered as a result of the ban to recover their losses.
This does not only include pastoralists who were involved in the live cattle trade to Indonesia in June 2011, but businesses through the supply chain and in regional communities who supported that trade.
The impact on the pastoral families, their staff and the communities that support them cannot be underestimated.
The human cost of the ban continues to this day. It affected individuals who saw the cattle trade across Northern Australia as a fantastic opportunity for their future.
The impacts of the cabinet decision made on the evening of 6 June 2011, in what is understood to be a 15-minute consideration, still play out to this day.
Family members left their land as the next generation could see no future.
Long-term, loyal staff could not be paid and suppliers could no longer do business.
In retrospect, the ban was equivalent to a stockmarket crash, not simply a halt in trade.
For individuals who have followed the decision, even outside the pastoral industry, it is not hard to understand how a government decision ought to never be made in such a kneejerk fashion.
Financial compensation is only one part of the healing process.
Family relationships and businesses now long gone are unlikely to be rebuilt.
The Brett Cattle Company’s bravery and their legal success has provided a foundation for financial compensation for all others impacted by the ban.
However, financial compensation can never replace the other losses which are so closely attributed to this decision.
The hard part of the legal process is done thanks to the ongoing support of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association and Australian Farmers’ Fighting Fund who are proud to continue
IN RETROSPECT, THE BAN WAS EQUIVALENT TO A STOCKMARKET CRASH, NOT SIMPLY A HALT IN TRADE
to support those seeking compensation. I encourage those who have suffered a loss to discuss their potential compensation with Minter Ellison, the lawyers who have represented the Brett Cattle Company for over ten years.
Perhaps most importantly, the court recognised that Australia had developed world class supply chains for the export of live cattle to Indonesia, even in 2011.
The last ten years has further allowed the sector, working with government regulators, to refine the systems that underpin sound animal welfare practice.
Given the effort that has been put in over the last ten years, the sector has the responsibility to ensure the trade continues to flourish, underpinned by continuous improvement and innovation to deliver the outcomes that our cattle producers and general community expect.