Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Matt Hepworth spoke with former NT Cattleman's Association CEO Tracey Hayes

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Matt Hepworth spoke with former NT Cattleman's Association CEO Tracey Hayes · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well.
• 0:00
  Speaker 2: In June, the Federal Court ruled the former Commonwealth government's
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: decision to ban live export trade to Indonesia in twenty
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: eleven was invalid. It follows a lengthy campaign led by
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: the Ant Cattleman's Association seeking compensation for the devastating impact
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: that the decision had on the industry. Now the industry
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: is being urged to come forward to get their share
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: in six hundred million dollars worth of compensation. To talk
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: more about it is the former Anti Cattleman's Association. Tracy Hayes.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Tracy, Good morning Maddie. Tracy. Can you take
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: us back to that decision back in twenty eleven to
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: ban live cattle exports? Just how devastating was that for
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Northern Territory cattle producers.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Look at the time, it was incredibly devastating and the
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: effects were hard and fast, if I can put it
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: that way. Essentially the Northern industries lost to market overnight.
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: And it wasn't just cattle producers, of course, it was
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: the service providers that supply services into the supply chain
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: and livestock transporters, helicopter company, these feed stop and station
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: agents to name a few.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: They're the direct suppliers.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: And for those that were around in Northern Australia in
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: twenty eleven, you really can't forget it. It was like
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: the wheels of the North stop turning overnight. So the
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: impact was fast and it was far reaching.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: I remember working as a producer on this program, funny enough,
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: back in twenty eleven, and I hadn't been in the
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: job too long and I was just blown away at
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: the anger of from a cattle producers and all those
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: that were affected by it. Our phones did not stop ringing,
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: and I remember Pete Davies, who was in the chair
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: at the time. He was lobbying very hard in support
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: of the cattle industry and GC had some fiery interviews
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: with those that were responsible for that decision. But I
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: just remember I'd been in the role about twelve months
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: and I'd never seen a community reaction like that before.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Of course the community outrage in relation to the abhorrent
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: animal welfare images that we saw was certainly.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: And warranted in a lot of cases.
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: But of course the response by the government was also
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: a major shock to any industry operating in Australia and
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: it was certainly overreach and a knee jerk reaction, and
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: it was done with very limited, if any, consultation with
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: those that would have been impacted by it. The decision
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: was made knowing full well the devastation it would have caused.
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: And the other part was also the impact it had
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: on our relationship with our biggest trading partner, and that
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: is Indonesia.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: Of course, they're are trusted and.
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: Valued trading partner and has been the case in Northern
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: Australia for many, many years. So there's been an awful
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: lot of work in repairing and rebuilding that relationship since then.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Then in June this year we saw the Federal Court
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: rule that that decision to ban live catalyc sports was invalid.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: How relieved were you when you heard that come through?
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Incredibly relieved.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: We filed the class action in twenty fourteen, and there
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: was a significant period in the lead up to twenty
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: fourteen trying to negotiate with the Commonwealth and out of
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: court arrangement. We had a neutral evaluation undertaken by a
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: retired judge that told us that we had greater than
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: meaningful prospects of success should we go to court. So
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: we knew that we had a strong case.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: We really backed ourselves.
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: We were discouraged by plenty though there were a lot
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: that felt that we didn't have a case. However, we
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: felt that we had no other option than to file
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: the action, and that happened in twenty fourteen. So it
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: took a number of years for the class action to
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: play out, and many many years in fact, so we
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: were incredibly relieved in June of this year because it
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: was a precedent case. Never before has misfeasance in public
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: office against the Minister of the Crown improven in a
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: court of law, so the bar was very, very high,
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: and so there was certainly mixed emotions on the day
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: that the judgment was handed down. But for me personally
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: that's been involved since the get go and playing a
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: facilitation role of the class action, it was definitely one
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: of relief.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: How frustrating was that to see that drawn out over
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: those six long years mentioned that that was launched in
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: twenty fourteen, and then for a decision to only come
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: through in twenty twenty, I mean not just for you,
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: but for all those cattle producers and all those that
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: were affected. To see this drawn out for so long,
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  Speaker 2: did it felt like it was never going to end
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: for a while.
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: Oh absolutely, it was becoming quite frustrating towards the end.
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  Speaker 3: It was initially devastation and heartache and heartbreak, and some
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: of that heels with time, but of course we were
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: seeking justice and seeking compensation, and so we needed to
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: let the courts run through its processes and beatient. And
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: the judge took quite some time to hand down his judgment,
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  Speaker 3: and that said to us that there was a large
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: body of evidence to work through. And we also took
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: that as a positive signal because if it was going
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: to if there wasn't a liability case to be had,
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: we felt that he would have taken that decision very quickly.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: So that sort of sort of tempered our heels to
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: some extent, and we were sort of being as patient
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: as we could be.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: As I understand it, the ruling means that those effective
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: could now share in up to six hundred million dollars
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: in compensation. Who is eligible for.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: That, Well, there isn't actually a cap on the quantum.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: So it could be more than that, it could be more,
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: it could be less. So we've been waiting on some
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: court orders since the judgment was handed down, and so
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: we're through that. Now, we were seeking some direction as
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: to how the class was going to play out. First
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: and foremost, we're looking for or an agile and a
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: lean model of administration for the administering.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Of the class.
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  Speaker 3: It's important that we're able to get compensation out the
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: door as quickly as possible.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: There are a number of things to work through before that.
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  Speaker 3: However, you would have seen perhaps in the antinues over
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: the weekend, we're starting to put some notices out and
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: advertise to those that feel.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: That they may have.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: A case a claim to make and they are certainly
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: considered part of the class.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: The class is.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: Still open and we're encouraging anybody that is either a
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: producer or an exporter or.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: A service provider.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: So that's quite a broad term, and you would have
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: seen in the ads that are running now that there
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: is some definitions there that give some guidance to those
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: that feel like they may have been impacted and some
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: losses were born as a result of the decision.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: How do you put a figure? I guess on that
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: component station because I guess the impacts of that one
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: decision were ongoing, and not only was there a financial impact,
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: but there was an emotional impact, there was you know,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: lots of properties like how do you put a figure
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: on that?
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so there's still I believe there are still some
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: categories to be tested. The lead applicant, the Black Cattle Company,
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: we were able to test some of those categories of
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: loss and you'll see that the judge talked about at
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: least eighty eight thousand head of cattle should have gone
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: to Indonesia but for the band, so the important the
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: important words there are at least, so that's a base
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: for us. So if the numbers, that's a very simple
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: category of course is it's a reduced number of guess
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: you can quantify that as it's quite simple. And there
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: are there are a range of other areas and so
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: some of them are yet to be tested.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: The court was able.
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: To answer some questions for us in the quantum and
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: the liability hearings that we've had to date. So the
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  Speaker 3: important piece of information to come out of this morning
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: is if you think that you do have you have
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: born some losses and you potentially have a claim, then
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: to come forward. And there is just another point that
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: I seek to clarify, Maddie. The Commonwealth there was some
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: legislation that impacted class action funders, and some regulation was
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: changed on August to twenty second, so we've been seeking
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: to get some clarification as to whether that would impact
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: on our class because our funder, the Australian Farmer's Fighting Fund,
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: it's actually a charity and it's a not for profit.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: It's a trust that was set.
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: Up not ideally to class sorry to fund class actions.
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: So we've resolved that this week. So the ages and
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: the judge essentially agreed with us, and in so far
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: as we had arrangements in place prior to these regulations
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: coming into effect in August, so we're able to proceed
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: now on that basis. So we haven't been caught up
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: in that, and that was a very important clarification for
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: us and Tracy.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: If there are people listening this morning and they go,
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: you know what, I was affected by this decision. I
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: want to be a part of this class action. I'm
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: seeking compensation. Who is the best person to contact?
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: So the best person to contact is Minter Ellison in Canberra.
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: Andrew gill is the lead counsel for us on that,
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  Speaker 3: and of course I'm happy for folk to reach out
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: to myself or also the Northern Territory Cuttleman's and.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: Just to seek clarification.
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  Speaker 3: But please don't assume that you may not be eligible.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: If you think that there is a chance you could be,
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: come forward and we'll have a look at it.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: And is there a timeline when people need to get
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: in contact.
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: Yes, that's the other important piece of information. We'd like
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: people to register their interests prior to the seventeenth of
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: November because we are keen to work through this and
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: to get compensation out the door. So essentially we have a.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: Month one month ago. All right, Well, we might get
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: in contact again in a month's time or so. And yeah,
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: obviously see if some more people have come forward. Tracy Hayes,
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: the former CEO of the Antiquettlement's Association, thank you so
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: much for coming in this morning.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Thanks Maddie,