A public information session about a class action against milk processor, Fonterra, will be held in Traralgon on Monday, February 8.
The meeting, called by lawyers developing the class action, will provide information on how Fonterra suppliers can join the action taken following the 2016 price claw-back.
The lawyers accuse Fonterra of engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct, acting unconscionably and breaching contracts it had with dairy farmers.
It alleges that Fonterra failed to honour its obligation to match the price of Murray Goulburn, another major dairy processor.
Fonterra denies the allegations in the class action and is defending the case vigorously.
In May 2016, Fonterra revised the prices it had set for the season and contacted dairy farmers informing them that this revision was retrospective – meaning they had to effectively pay back what Fonterra had already paid them.
Further meetings are expected to be held in Western Victoria and northern Victoria as well as Tasmania.
The action, led by law firm Adley Burstyner and backed by Harwood Andrews, Victoria’s oldest regional law firm, seeks compensation for farmers who suffered as a result of Fonterra’s actions and findings that Fonterra’s clawback was unlawful.
Dairy farmer Wendy Whelan has worked in the industry since leaving high school and said Fonterra’s action set her career back several years.
“I worked my way up through the industry, building skills and experience to run my own dairy farm. In 2016, I was share-farming and supplying milk to Fonterra,’ Ms Whelan said.
“To suddenly have this debt thrust upon me, it felt like I had no choice at all. Usually if you take on debt, it’s by choice but in this case, we had no option other than to pay it back.
“For people like me who were relatively new to owning a herd it was even harder because we didn’t have many assets to draw on. I don’t know how Fonterra got away with it and I’ve joined the class action because I want to see them investigated,” she concluded.
For Rachael and Hayden Finch, the price claw back, on the back of a poor dairy season, was the final straw, and resulted in their decision to sell their dairy farm.
“We completely lost our faith in the dairy industry and Fonterra. Both Hayden and myself had been involved with dairy nearly all our lives and moved from New Zealand in 2008 to achieve our dairy goals in Australia. We'd finally achieved our dream of owning our own farms, but then made the heart wrenching decision to sell our first farm,” Mrs Finch said.
“I know a lot of people want to move on and forget what happened, but I'd encourage them to think about how soul destroying that year was, particularly for those of us who dried off cows immediately, and what we can do to ensure it doesn't happen again,” she said.
David Burstyner, founder of law firm Adley Burstyner, said several hundred farmers have already joined.
“We’d like to make sure the case goes ahead with all affected farmers getting their fair share.”
Litigation Lending Services has been engaged to fund the action.
Mr BBurstyner said registration did not create an obligation and the case was being run effectively on a no-win no-fee basis for farmers.
The information session will be held on Monday, February 8 from 12pm – 2pm at the Traralgon Town Hall.
A Fonterra spokesperson said over the past four and a half years, they had completely overhauled the relationship with our farmers, starting with the Fonterra Australia Suppliers’ Council which replaced BSC, and the benchmark agreement.
“We are proud of the good relationship we have today with our farmers and industry.
“The class action relates to the milk price step-down in the 2015/16 season following changes in the global market.
“The class action is funded by a litigation funding provider whose business is to fund litigation in order to gain a commercial return,” the Fonterra spokesperson said.
The ACCC investigated the 2016 milk price reduction and decided not to take any action against Fonterra.