The board of the Cattle Council of Australia (CCA) has issued a media release this morning calling on the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport committee to to adopt the full recommendations made by the CCA to its inquiry into industry structures and systems governing levies on grass-fed cattle.

The CCA board and consultative committees, made up of over fifty beef industry representatives, met in Canberra last week, and hosted the fifth Beef Industry Rising Champions Initiative and Gala Dinner attended by Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Joel Fitzgibbon and beef industry leaders.

The Cattle Council, as the peak industry body representing over 14,000 Australian cattle producers, spent time at Parliament House to reiterate the recommendations that they put to the Senate committee.

“As the most significant beef representative body in Australia, we will be extremely disappointed if CCA’s recommendations are not reflected in the final report” President, Andrew Ogilvie said.

“We have developed these recommendations, through consultation with thousands of producers, and we are sure they will benefit all Australian cattle producers. They ensure that the structures and systems governing grass-fed cattle levies are transparent and representative.

 The Cattle Council recommendations are:

1. To improve the MLA selection committee process to ensure greater grassfed beef producer representation on the MLA Board.
2. To divert 7pc of the Marketing Levy to Cattle Council to undertake legitimate, non-political industry oversight functions (strategic planning, strategy policy development and industry management).
3. To make the appropriate longer term legislative changes to allow more flexibility for industry to determine the apportionment of the levy between MLA Marketing, MLA R&D, Animal Health Australia and the National Residues Survey (as long as the total amount of the $5 levy stays the same).
4. To review levy collection mechanisms; and
5. To automate levy payer identification and voting entitlement process.

“These recommendations were developed in consultation with beef producers, are well researched, logical and realistic improvements that will benefit all beef producers and we expect the Senate Committee to give them full and appropriate consideration” Mr Ogilvie said.

Source: CCA