News

Cattle Council selects new ‘Pilot Policy Council’

James Nason, 01/03/2021

23 people have now been selected for Cattle Council of Australia’s new Pilot Policy Council which will meet for the first time Canberra on Wednesday.

The identities of the successful candidates have not yet been announced, but it is expected the make-up of the new policy council will be released following its first meeting later this week.

The CCA said the policy council’s first task will be to set the strategic priorities for the year.

In an email sent this morning it said the pilot policy council is part of a “more contemporary policy development structure” being trialled in 2021.

This will involve replacing the existing five consultative committees, with the new 23-member Policy Council, which will be advised by a series of working groups/taskforces with specific skills, knowledge and experience.

It has been explained to Beef Central that a primary driver of the trial initative is to reduce costs and increase the effiiciency of policy development. The new pilot policy council is seen as a way to enable policy on all issues to be considered and debated in a single forum, supported by working groups as required.

The consultative committees involved some 75 people, and bringing them all to Canberra for several meetings each year was a major expense.

Members of the consultative committees were encouraged to apply for positions on the Pilot Council or a working group, CCA said in an email to members this morning.

While the details of who is on the Policy Council are yet to be formally released, it is understood it contains a mix of people with previous experience working on CCA committees and people who are new to Cattle Council.

“The Policy Council has been designed to better focus Cattle Council’s limited resources so it can more effectively deliver policy and advocacy for the beef cattle industry,” the CCA email said.

“It will also let the Cattle Council Board focus on governance, finance, risk management and strategic industry priorities and strategies.

“It is important to remember that the Policy Council is a trial, and the new structure will be refined over the course of 2021.”

It added that the working groups are intended to engage more producers in developing beef cattle industry policy, provide an opportunity to build their skills in policy development and provide a pathway for producers to move into industry leadership roles.

CCA said the 23 members of the Pilot Policy Council comprise up to five members of the Cattle Council Board, plus 18 members selected through the formal Expression of Interest process launched in December last year.

Candidates were then assessed to the board by a selection panel comprising the chars of the Cattle Council’s existing consultative committees, the northern and southern independent Cattle Council Directors, an independent representative from a service provider (e.g. MLA) and an independent consultant with knowledge of policy development.

The CCA statement this morning said the successful policy council candidates have now been endorsed by the Cattle Council Board.

The Policy Council will appoint the working groups as needed, the Cattle Council said.

 

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