Cattle producers are being urged to attend one of four public forums being held in regional centres of Queensland on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
The meetings will be hosted by the chair of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport legislation committee, Queensland LNP Senator Barry O’Sullivan.
Also participating will be Australian Meat Industry Council chair Lachie Hart, Australian Meat Processor Corporation chair Peter Noble, and Meat & Livestock Australia managing director Richard Norton.
Producer input at the forums will help to inform current inquiries into saleyards, rail services and meat processing competition, the outcomes of which could shape how red meat producers do business in future.
Senator O’Sullivan said the meetings will look to tackle the “dog eat dog, feast to famine” cycle of relationships in the Australian red meat supply chain.
“The inquiries are being undertaken because there is a real need to bring about change in the red meat supply chain to make it more transparent and fairer,” Senator O’Sullivan said.
“I have consistently said that my ultimate hope is industry will self-regulate and address the structural issues because the last thing anyone wants to see is more government regulation.
“But if stakeholders in the supply chain do not act in good faith then government will have no choice but to take action.”
Senator O’Sullivan said the public forums would look for an industry based resolution to address the levels of mistrust within the supply chain.
“The future is bright for the Australian red meat sector, but first we must address the structural issues that will deliver more transparency and greater trust in the supply chain,” he said.
“I am encouraged that major decision makers within the post-farm gate sector have agreed to appear at my public forums next week.
“My great hope is we can facilitate a real conversation between producers and processors about what steps are needed to rebuild trust within the supply chain.”
MEETING DATES AND LOCATIONS:
LONGREACH – TUESDAY 4 OCTOBER – 12 – 2pm.
Venue: Agforce Offices, 33 Duck Street.
CLONCURRY – TUESDAY 4 OCTOBER – 6 – 8pm.
Venue: Gidgee Motor Inn, Mcilwraith St & Railway St.
QUILPIE – WEDNESDAY 5 OCTOBER – 10am – 12pm.
Venue: Quilpie Club, Brolga St.
ROMA – WEDNESDAY 5 OCTOBER – 3 – 5pm.
Venue: Canteen Area, Roma Saleyards, Warrego Hwy.
For more information contact Office of Senator O’Sullivan on 07 4638 7555.
UPDATED ACCC INQUIRY TIMELINE
The ACCC’s Agriculture Unit yesterday released an updated its timeline for the cattle and beef market study.
The ACCC will now publish its draft findings by late October 2016.
The ACCC will then consult on the draft findings in November, before a final report is published in December 2016.
Further information is available on the ACCC’s website.
For more details, contact the market study team by email marketstudy@accc.gov.au or call Sheridan de Kruiff on (07) 3835 4681 or Braeden Smith on (02) 6243 4936.
Absolutely agree. The processors make all the rules via their grids – user pays for the graders and ultimately that comes out of the producers pocket, so the producer must have arms length graders
Well said David self regulation is spruiked by pollies because they don’t want to be responsible and accountable and it is also spruiked by those who have the most to gain, as you said money wins every time. We have outsourced just about everything else why not graders? I am sure there could be an independent company supply graders for the industry, or several.
Well said David and why have just 4 forums – there needs to be 24! The beef industry in Australia is huge so why just have 4?
I suspect it is budget-constrained, Edgar. Given the locations and two aircraft involved, it would be expensive enough to put this circuit on, let alone another 20 locations. Queensland reprssnts close to half the national herd, so these four visits represent a fair footprint, we would have thought. Editor
I applaud Sen. O’Sullivan on ongoing public forums in Queensland next week, the issue of transparency and trust are being spoken about. Could I suggest that the issue of company graders could be thrashed out, this is a hot topic. To me self-regulation is a dirty word and never works where money is involved, imagine a racing industry with no stewards and the book makers in charge. If anybody wants window dressing keep on talking about self-regulation, the simple fact is it will not work in the beef industry.