Changing of the Guard: NTCA Preisdent Henry Burke  paid tribute to outgoing CEO Will Evans for his contribution to the NTCA for the past four years and welcomed incoming NTCA Romy Carey who is stepping up after having served as the Deputy CEO for the past two years.

NORTHERN cattle industry leaders have launched a scathing attack on the Federal Government for deliberately delaying compensation payments to producers affected by the 2011 suspension of live cattle exports to Indonesia.

Speaking at the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association (NTCA) conference in Darwin this morning, northern cattle industry and political leaders condemned what they described as tactical delays by the Albanese Government despite a Federal Court ruling that found the ban was illegal and ordered compensation be paid.

NTCA President Henry Burke (left) condemned the contradiction between Prime Minister Albanese’s claim that the ongoing legal process was ” not political” while the Attorney General has publicly criticised both cattle producers and the Federal Court’s decision.

“Next month we’ll again go to the Federal Court to attempt to finalie the compensation for the Brett cattle class action,” Mr Burke said.

“The Prime Minister has claimed that this is a normal legal process and there’s no politics involved, but the actions of his cabinet show something different.

“In July last year, the Attorney General of this country came out and claimed that the cattle producers were trying to line our pockets with taxpayer money, unreasonably, and that’s why the case hasn’t been settled.

“The most concerning thing was that he criticized the decision.

“We have separations of powers in this country, the courts, the parliament and the executive, attacking the courts based on a decision that found him and his mates liable to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars drives at the core of who we are, and it speaks to something bigger.

“This government is doing everything it can to drag this case out and to keep it going in the hope it won’t have to be them ( to pay damages), the people who caused this in the first place.

“It is not what we expect of our elected leaders, it is the opposite of the values we teach our children.”

‘It is quite simply cowardice’

Outgoing NTCA CEO Will Evans delivered his own personal view and equally scathing assessment, stating the Federal Government would “badly lose the fight over compensation” and ultimately cost taxpayers “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“It is the position of Federal Labor that they are hoping they get voted out before the quantum has to be paid,” he told the audience.

“There is no other word for this. It is quite simply cowardice.”

“Absolutely devastating”

Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Price said “the 2011 live export ban was nothing short of absolutely devastating” with many producers still recovering from its consequences.

She warned the recent ban on live sheep exports could signal future threats to the cattle industry, driven by the Federal Labor Government’s desire to “appease voters in their inner city electorates of Sydney and Melbourne.”

‘An insult’: NT Deputy Chief

NT Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley called the compensation delay “unacceptable” and “an insult,” noting that some who fought for justice were no longer here to see it delivered.

The compensation case follows a 2020 Federal Court ruling that found then-Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig committed misfeasance in public office when he suspended the trade in 2011 following an ABC Four Corners report about animal welfare concerns.

More than 1000 people have registered to attend the NTCA conference this year, which will culminate with a gala dinner tonight.

Beef Central will have ongoing coverage from the conference in coming days.

FACES FROM THE NTCA 2025 CONFERENCE

John Mudford, Moolooloo Station, Heytesbury Pastoral Company; Helen Groves, Magnet Agri Services, Pilton; Andy Gray, Andy Gray Land and Livestock, Rodney Beament, NTCA and Paspaley Pastoral Company.

Aaron Wakeley, AACo; Trent Thorne, Hamilton Locke; Adam Coffey, Cattle Australia, Carl Greaves, S. Kidman & Co Pty Ltd; Romy Carey, NTCA.

Rawdon Briggs, Colliers Agribusiness; Barry Gerschwitz, Rabobank and Michael Cook and Tom Barker, SunCable.

Andrew Simmonds, AACo, Corina Muckenschnabl from Toowoomba and Cheyne Williams, AAM.

AACo’s Callum Hampton-Brook, Tim Pearson and Joe Daly.

Mitch Taylor, Red Range Supplements; Mitch Tutill, NTCA; Nick Le Breton and Jessie McLoughlin, Kalala Station, Harry Stewart, Neogen and Megan Anderson, Black Box Co.

Tom Archbold-Manning, Office of the NT Deputy Chief Minister and Cabinet and Jed Matz, Deputy CEO, NT Department of Industry Tourism and Trade.

Jessie Daniels, NTCA; Jack Page, ACE; Kaitlin Townsend, NAB ane Jessie Phillips, Austrex.