DAY three of the Indonesian live cattle ban
class action trial was dominated by the defence presenting extensive and
intimate details of animal cruelty practices that underpinned the
government’s sudden decision to cut off trade.
Lights
in the court room were dimmed as Defence Senior Counsel Neil Williams
showed selected extracts from the controversial ABC Four Corners episode
of May 30, 2011 “A Bloody Business” which was also introduced into
trial evidence.
Graphic images of cattle
mistreatment ignited the public uproar that applied intense pressure on
the former Labor government and a few days after the ABC broadcast the
then Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig eventually suspended the entire
market for up to six months.
The Federal
Court case is being held in Sydney and seeking to prove misfeasance by
the commonwealth - claiming about $600 million in damages - in Mr
Ludwig’s signing of the second control order that shut trade, to try and
address animal welfare standards in Indonesian abattoirs.
On
day three, the plaintiff’s Senior Counsel Noel Hutley spent the day
presenting his argument and allowed several Four Corners extracts to be
shown to the court room.
