The independent Red Meat Reform Taskforce tasked with providing recommendations on the future structure of Australia’s $18 billion red meat and livestock industry hasannounced a one month extension of the public consultation period for its discussion paper.
Submissions on the Taskforce’s Green Paper will now be accepted until 15 April 2019.
Lead Reviewer and Chair of the Red Meat Reform Taskforce, Jim Varghese AM, said the extension is in response to a number of requests for more time to provide submissions.
“Our initial one-month consultation period was deliberately focused to allow us to quickly capture a broad range of industry sentiments about the road ahead at a time when we know the appetite for reform is strong,” Mr Varghese said.
“In the past week, many people and organisations have told us they would like more time to provide their thoughts on the future roles, responsibilities and funding of Australia’s red meat industry bodies.
“Getting the governance of the industry right is critical, so we are listening to those requests and extending the submission period until 15 April in line with our aim for consultation to be wide-ranging and collaborative.
“Having said that, we won’t be extending the consultation period again, so it’s important stakeholders commit time to thinking through what future structure they want for the industry and providing their views to the Taskforce as soon as they can.”
There are three ways to provide comments on the discussion paper, or Green Paper. Comments can be made via email or online submission form, with details of both at www.rmac.com.au/mou.
The Green Paper can be downloaded at the same webpage.
A telephone hotline will be open until 5pm 15 April: 02 6110 2097.
An online consultation forum for stakeholders to express thoughts and respond to other ideas will be operating from 10 to 17 March at https://mindhive.org/issue/how-the-red-meat-industry-isgoverned.
The Green Paper is part of an Independent Review of the MoU, which aims to position the industry for a better future by having the best structure to meet increasingly urgent challenges including climate change and other environmental factors, animal welfare, low levels of investment, changing consumption patterns, and technological disruption.
The Green Paper outlines five options for potential reform: incremental change to the status quo; law of the jungle; a hybrid model; a revitalised red meat industry led by a new organisation, and; other options not yet identified by the Taskforce that stakeholders may suggest through the consultation period.
Source: RMAC
These Sydney/Canberra based people don’t understand that the beef industry is now in a far worse position than in the 1975-78 cattle depression.