NEWS IN BRIEF: Live-ex class action appeal dismissed + bush budget fallout

What's making news this week.

The Federal Court dismissed an appeal in the Brett Cattle Company Class Action on Friday. The appeal was to overturn a 2025 Federal Court decision that found live cattle exports to Indonesia were in decline before the ban was enforced and that exports in the following few years were not affected by the ban. AgForce Queensland has vowed that northern cattle industry producers will not give up their long-running fight for compensation in the class action over the 2011 suspension of cattle exports to Indonesia. AgForce Cattle President Lloyd Hick labelled the ruling was another setback for the industry. “This decision is a devastating blow in what has been a series of blows over the past 15 years for the entire live cattle export industry,” Mr Hick said. “To hang the industry out to dry for so long after we proved in court that the decision to shut down the live cattle trade to Indonesia was unlawful is both cruel and unfair." AgForce General President Shane McCarthy said it was time for the Commonwealth to settle this case with a suitable compensation payout. “The industry has waited long enough.” Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association Chief Executive Officer Romy Carey said the judgment was not the outcome affected families, businesses and communities had hoped for, and the industry would now take time to carefully consider the decision and its implications.  

It was Federal Budget week, and the National Farmers' Federation (NFF) both welcomed and raised concerns about what was revealed. NFF President Hamish McIntyre said the NFF welcomed changes ensuring primary production income would be exempt from the new 30% trust tax, confirmation there will be no changes to small business capital gains tax concessions, the $10 billion fuel security package and the permanent extension of the instant asset write-off.  However, raised concerns about sweeping cuts across key areas impacting agriculture, including the Department of Agriculture, pests and weeds, Inland Rail Project and regional connectivity including the Regional Tech Hub. “This Budget contains some hard-won wins for agriculture, and we welcome them," Mr McIntyre said. "We’ve had the opportunity to be at the centre of some of the most important discussions of this generation, around fuel and fertiliser supply and capability. But if Australia is serious about building a stronger, more productive economy, this must be the starting point, not the finish line.”

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) called on the Federal Government to modernise small business capital gains tax (CGT) concession thresholds, warning outdated settings are putting family farm succession at risk across Australia. VFF Acting President Peter Star said current thresholds no longer reflected the reality of modern farming businesses. “Farmland values have increased dramatically over the past 20 years, but the thresholds governing access to CGT concessions have stayed frozen in time. We’re working off a framework that is no longer relevant,” Mr Star said. Using ABARES and ABS data, the VFF estimates the asset base of a typical family farm has increased around six-fold since 2007, driven by soaring land values and ongoing consolidation required to maintain commercial viability. The VFF is calling on the Government to reset and index the key concession thresholds, proposing increasing the maximum net asset value test from $6 million to $20 million representing a moderate and practical recalibration based on published economic data and should be indexed annually into the future.

A global oversupply of grain has compressed margins has put a dent in GrainCorp's interim earnings. GrainCorp on Thursday reported a $5 million net profit for the six months to March 31, down from $58 million a year ago. Excluding the impact of its GrainsConnect Canada business, the underlying profit was $33 million, down from $69 million. The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell to $136 million, compared to $202 million previously. GrainCorp chief executive Robert Spurway said all of the world's grain production areas had performed well over the past 12 months, with no global droughts, creating an oversupply of grain. 

A cattle station has been given permits to kill up to 20,000 little corellas and galahs, sparking outrage from conservation groups. Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife issued two permits to Newcastle Waters Station, owned by beef producer Consolidated Pastoral Company, to carry out the parrot culls using firearms or poison. The permits allow the killing of 5000 corellas and 15,000 galahs. In a joint statement on Thursday, NT environment groups said the cattle station was adjacent to Lake Woods, a wetland of national significance supporting over 100,000 waterbirds during the wet season. Responding to questions in the NT parliament, Wildlife Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said bird numbers at Newcastle Waters, 280km north of Tennant Creek, had reached "unsustainable levels".

Record livestock values are reshaping Australia’s grazing property market, with surging enterprise revenues underpinning land prices even as herd numbers tighten. New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the national beef herd fell 2.6% to 27.6 million head in 2024-25, a result that might typically signal weakness. Instead, it reflects a sector capitalising on strong global demand and historically high prices. Ray White Group Head of Research Vanessa Rader said the decline was not a negative indicator, but a sign of strength. “The herd declined not because beef farming lost its appeal, but because the enterprise was performing well enough that producers chose to sell,” she said.