Farmers have accused the federal government of deliberately delaying paying compensation to cattlemen almost three years after the federal court found a Commonwealth ban on live cattle exports in 2011 was unlawful.
The National Farmers' Federation said the government had become "much more aggressive" in its approach to negotiating the compensation — expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars — and questioned if the government had politicised the process.
"We've observed a significant shift in the government's legal strategy since they changed legal counsel (late last year). They're much more aggressive. We're keen to understand the rationale for that change, and we've made requests under freedom of information [laws] to understand the context," NFF vice-president David Jochinke said.
Mr Jochinke queried the "moral compass of the government" after its response to the federal court's 2020 finding.
"Has this case become politicised; is the objective to no longer honour the court's judgement?" Mr Jochinke asked.
"Industry is jack of it and saying, 'How long do we have to wait for this?' This is an emotional issue for so many producers. It's an open wound that is still causing so much trauma and pain more than a decade later ... what is the hold-up here? It sounds like it's being deliberately drawn out."
Hugh Nivison, the chair of the Australian Farmers' Fighting Fund, said businesses caught up in the class action were becoming increasingly frustrated by delays to the compensation process.
"The government has an obligation to be a model litigant, and they have been far from that in this whole process," Mr Nivison said.
"They have delayed, they have sought extra time, they have not produced documents when they were directed to, it has been an ongoing litany of poor procedure."
The Australian Farmers' Fighting Fund — established to help farmers fight legal cases considered in the industry's interest — contributed funding for legal expenses associated with the class action.
In June 2020, Justice Steven Rares found that former agriculture minister Joe Ludwig acted with misfeasance when the then-Gillard government introduced a ban on live cattle exports.
Justice Rares found Mr Ludwig had committed misfeasance because he acted unlawfully in his position of public office and that the blanket ban had been "invalid and capricious".
"We thought that the precedent of ministers making snap decisions without reference to proper process was a cause worth fighting for, and in the end, we've been proved correct," Mr Nivison said.
"What we're frustrated about now is three years post that decision, we still can't get the government to make any payments to the affected farmers."
Mr Nivison said only the lead claimants, the Brett Cattle Company, had received compensation and he expected "a couple of hundred" businesses, including cattlemen, trucking companies, livestock agents and shippers would be entitled to financial compensation of increasing value.
"It's getting bigger and bigger. That's the problem. We've got compounding interest for the last 12 years, so I think taxpayers would probably be reasonably happy with that result."
Earlier this year, class action facilitator Tracey Hayes told The NT Country Hour that the cattle industry had rejected an offer of compensation by the Commonwealth.
"That offer is not an acceptable offer; we're at the table negotiating to achieve a compromised position," Ms Hayes said in February.
"It's fair to say it has been a very long and frustrating process, however, we're very focused on achieving an outcome, and there's a lot of effort going into trying to draw this matter to a close so people can move on from this and achieve the compensation owed to them."
Ms Hayes was not available for comment.
A spokesperson for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the matter was not resolved during the former government.
"In December last year, the Commonwealth made an offer of settlement to the class," the spokesperson said.
"The Commonwealth has engaged in a good faith attempt to settle the claims made by the class by offering to pay as much money as it thinks it can properly offer, on the information that has been provided by the class to date.
"The Commonwealth remains open to receiving further information from the class and will continue to engage in attempts to settle the matter."
Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association president David Connolly called on the government to settle the claim soon.
"They know what's right, we know what's right, the Australian public knows what's right," Mr Connolly said.
"If a fair and genuine offer had been made, then everyone would have shaken hands and retired to their corners, but at this stage, no one has shaken my hand, and I'm definitely a long way from my corner."
