Offences pose export risk

A livestock agent and two local cattle farmers who pleaded guilty to livestock traceability offences could potentially have put Australia’s multi-million dollar export industry at risk, the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday.

Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions prosecutor Denny Meadows said the actions of the accused could jeopardise Australia’s cattle export markets and could risk export products worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

But defence lawyer Jessica Bland of McCullough Robertson told the court the offences were “relatively minor and administrative in nature.”

The accused included livestock agent Nathan Edwin Gibbon of Pakenham, Kristian Mark Bingham of Warragul and Peter Robert Armstrong of Darnum. Mr Gibbon also appeared as a director and co-owner of livestock production company Clayton Hill Pty Ltd.

They pleaded guilty to charges relating to misusing cattle ear tags and livestock traceability offences and will be sentenced by Magistrate Jacinta Studham next Tuesday.

The department alleged the offences related to moving and selling cattle without providing

Property Identification Code (PIC) information and changing the status of National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) devices.

The charges were laid under the Livestock Disease Control Act and its regulations following audits and inspections of four properties in Warragul, Darnum and Lardner in 2019.

Mr Meadows said the offences undermined Australia’s livestock traceability system and could potentially impact export markets and human health.

He said the NLIS was crucial for protecting and enhancing Australia’s reputation in producing quality livestock and a guarantee for export markets. Mr Meadows said the department did not allege there were animal disease problems “but there was the risk.”

“The integrity of the NLIS is essential in monitoring bio-security risks and disease outbreaks. Each of the offences are breaches of requirements that are necessary to maintain traceability,” he said.

Mr Gibbon, 47, faced 63 charges as the owner of a property at Lardner as well as four charges as a director and co-owner of Clayton Hill Pty Ltd.

The court heard department staff visited his property on three consecutive days in October and November 2019, when they scanned 700 cattle and sought documents relating to the cattle.

Mr Meadows said the charges faced by Mr Gibbon related to breaches as an owner of cattle, a livestock agent and as a director of a company.

The charges related to the movement of cattle to and from his property without recording PIC information and as an agent using two expired PIC numbers.

The court heard on 31 occasions, Mr Gibbon, as an agent, sold more than 300 cattle for clients without uploading the NVD information on the database.

The department also served 14 notices of documents relating to 12 clients, which Mr Gibbon did not provide.

Mr Meadows said Mr Armstrong, 69, was at the time running a beef cattle operation on his Darnum property where he had introduced cattle to his property without uploading the correct National vendor declaration forms within two days of obtaining the cattle.

The department also said Mr Armstrong dispatched 80 head of cattle under consignment to Wellington Livestock, for export to Indonesia, declaring the cattle were vendor bred when they had not been born on his property.

Mr Meadows said the cattle were not cleared for export because they contained the incorrect NLIS tags.

He explained to the court that cattle bred and remaining on the one property attracted higher prices in a number of markets.

Mr Meadows said Mr Bingham, 43, faced nine charges relating to offences committed on his Warragul property where he ran cattle.

He said department staff attended at the property in November 2019 and detected 30 head of cattle that did not include NVD information on the database.

Mr Bingham also dispatched cattle that were not properly tagged, branded or identified and were tagged as vendor bred.

Representing Mr Gibbon and Mr Armstrong, Ms Bland told the court the offences were administrative errors and less serious than other offences that involved the risk of transmission of disease.

Ms Bland said Mr Gibbon’s offences carried a maximum fine of $186,000. She said he and Clayton Hill Pty Ltd had put in place a number of processes to prevent the offences re-occurring including keeping cattle in a holding paddock for two days until all cattle were scanned and information entered on the database.

She said he also had purchased scanners to be connected to all employees’ phones.

“He genuinely believes these changes in his business will greatly assist to ensure these offences don’t occur in the future,” she said.

However, Mr Meadows said there were a number of offences early in 2021 that indicated Mr Gibbon had not changed his processes and similar errors had occurred.

Ms Bland said Mr Gibbon was regarded as “of good character” in a reference submitted by Chester and Smith stock and station agents.

She said he had a number of clients in Victoria and New South Wales but the charges had significantly impacted his reputation in the industry.

She said he had already “suffered greatly” with adverse media coverage impacting his ability to obtain finance.

Ms Bland said a conviction for the offences may result in his livestock agent’s licence being revoked and any future ability to obtain a real estate agent’s licence.

Ms Bland said Mr Armstrong ceased operating his livestock business in December last year and had since sold his Darnum property and retired.

“He has no intention of returning to livestock producing particularly considering the stress these charges have caused. There is no risk of him offending again. He has apologised and expressed remorse,” she said.

Mr Bingham, who represented himself, said he had nothing to hide during the investigation and the offences were the result of not properly understanding the system.

He said he was now in regular contact with department staff and had purchased a scanner to ensure all paperwork was correct.

“It was a lack of understanding on my behalf and I have learnt a lot to make sure everything is done right going forward,” he said.