Update on progress of Industry Reform

Update Brief – Serious Developments Concerning Cattle Industry Representative Reform August 2022

We are disappointed to inform cattle producers of a number of developments that are of considerable concern to Cattle Producers Australia. The representative reform being conducted by the Australian grass-fed cattle industry Restructure Steering Committee (RSC) has been seriously compromised.

The agreement between the participants of what was termed ‘Industry Roundtable Meetings’ that included CCA, Cattle Producers Australia (CPA) and other stakeholders to consider a new democratic representative model to represent all grass-fed levy paying cattle producers. The agreed model was shared with the then Minister of Agriculture the Hon. David Littleproud, who supported the model and the plan. Subsequent Industry Leaders Forums where industry stakeholders had the opportunity to consider the proposal, agreed with the proposal and set-up a representative Australian grass-fed cattle industry Restructure Steering Committee (RSC), to roll-out the proposed new organisation. This was embraced by the broader industry with considerable enthusiasm.

Much of the framework for the RSC had already been undertaken by the Roundtable Group who developed a Value Proposition and Flight Path report which was to provide guidance to the RSC and also provided to the Minister and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) in order to access a seed funding grant of $500,000.

At an RSC face-to-face meeting in February 2022, the structure was endorsed. Unfortunately, since that meeting the SFO and CCA members of the RSC have undermined that agreed structure. Moreover at the end of June the SFOs and CCA have reneged on the agreement that was reached in the roundtable meetings and at the Industry Leader Forums.

With the apparent complicity of the CCA and SFO members of the RSC, the RSC Independent Chair declared at a virtual Industry Leaders Forum on 30 June 2022 that responsibility for the completion of the CA Constitution, finalising CA resourcing arrangements, overseeing the conducting of the CA representative elections and managing the transition of Peak Industry Council status from CCA to CA, be taken over by CCA. During the course of the virtual meeting the Chair of the RSC announced the wind-up of the RSC and handover to the CCA. This was contrary to the RSC’s agreed position and had not been communicated to, or agreed to, by the RSC and is in breach of Article 7 of the RSC Terms of Reference which states: The Steering Committee will convene on and from October 2021 and will cease to exist when the New Peak Body is installed.

The draft CA constitution current as of 30 June 2022 contained flaws and was not approved by the RSC. These flaws along with further alterations, not endorsed by the RSC, would, if enacted, fundamentally compromise the functionality and structure of CA and could reasonably be expected to obliterate levy payer engagement with CA, consequently defeating the purpose of the representative reform agenda.

We have communicated our concerns to the Hon. Minister Murray Watt and DAWE providing the following recommendations / solutions.

1. RSC appoint a person with the required expertise to oversee and facilitate the transition from CCA to CA as the cattle industry’s peak industry council.

Requirements of appointee:
a) Oversee the completion of an appropriate CA constitution which empowers levy payers and encourages levy payer engagement with Cattle Australia.
b) Work transparently and co-operatively with the RSC and the CCA to conduct the necessary CA Board and Policy Council elections in order to facilitate as seamless a transition as possible to the new peak industry council.
c) Ideally, be available to fill a position on the inaugural CA board if a mutually agreed arrangement can be reached.

2. The RSC, under the guidance of the implementation / transitional facilitator, to refocus on its core function to develop and oversee the implementation of a well-resourced representative structure as the cattle industry’s peak industry council by the end of this calendar year.

We welcome your support and suggest you write to Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Hon. Senator Murray Watt, Parliament Office, P O Box 6100, Senator Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600, Email: minister.watt@agriculture.gov.au

Links to recent correspondence:
10 September 2022 Letter from CPA to CCA in response to CCA letter dated 7 September 2022
7 September 2022 Letter from CCA – Call for RSC circular motion to endorse draft CA Constitution
30 August 2022 Letter from CPA re: CCA call for Circular motion to endorse draft CA Constitution

Links to important letters and briefs:

1. Options paper to compare creation of a new organisation or rebaging CCA
2. Major Outstanding Cattle Australia Constitutional Issues
3. Brief from CPA to the Industry Leaders Forum Attendees
4. Open Letter to the then Chair of the RSC in response to his announcement of the unconfirmed wind-up of the RSC at the ILF Meeting held 30 June 2022
5. Letter to the RSC Secretariat
6. Letter to CCA 10 August 2022
7 Link to Farm Online Article headed: Littleproud Lashes out at Floundering Cattle Reform
9. Letter from CCA 15 August 2022 in response to CPA letter 10 August 22
10. Letter dated 24 August 2022 in response to CCA letter dated 15 August 22
11. Brief to guide lawyers on Constitution 15 March 2022 (without the knowledge of the RSC this document was not given to the Lawyers)
12. Farm Online – CCA pulls out of moves to a new representative body
13. Beef Central – Former President warns against “rebadged Cattle Council”
14. CPA Media Release longer version: P Wright slams latest CCA reform takeover bid

Industry Roundtable Meetings 2020 /2021

Cattle Producers Australia initiated arrangements for a roundtable meeting with various industry stakeholders as outlined in a recent media release titled: Cattle Producers Australia Progressing Reform for Industry. Following on from this Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, David Littleproud has offered to provide support for the roundtable meetings.

Minister Littleproud has highlighted the important role that good industry representation can play in guiding the policy and funding deliberations of the Australian Government and noted that well resourced and high performing industry bodies are in everyone’s best interest.

Minister Littleproud expects the support will assist in settling a forward pathway, mechanism and timeline for reaching agreement on a national cattle producer representative model that will satisfy the needs of cattle producers across Australia.

Following on from Minister Littleproud’s offer of support, a meeting was arranged between members of Cattle Producers Australia and Cattle Council of Australia by the Department of Agriculture in Brisbane on Wednesday16th December 2020. The meeting was facilitated by Brain Ramsey of Inovact Consulting. A Subcommittee was set-up to progress the reform process and a Communique prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on the outcome of the Roundtable Conference was issued.

The meeting has raised significant expectations among our ranks that this process may be a catalyst for effective representational reform,

We are pleased that there has been recognition and agreement across the grass-fed beef industry for strong levy-payer representation, engagement and say in how levies are spent. We continue to work with key stakeholders to seek cohesiveness across the grassroots to further the progress for reform.

Progressing CPA / CCA reform

A second Roundtable meeting took place on the 22 February 2021 in Brisbane where the Grass-fed Cattle Industry Roundtable National Representation Discussion Paper was tabled and agreement to explore these options further provided in the Discussion Paper Post Roundtable Meeting.

CPA’s initial consultation process also indicates broad agreement from other leading stakeholders within the grass-fed cattle industry.

The proposed organisational restructure for the grass-fed cattle producer sector will deliver a financially sustainable organisational model that directly and truly represents the grass-fed cattle sector in an accountable, transparent and inclusive manner. The new model will assist in guiding the policy and funding deliberations of the Australian Government.

As can be seen in the links, the agreed structure duplicates the two-company structures that apply to the red meat processing and live export sectors which both have a representative advocacy body and a levy funded R&D Corporation. This revised structure will provide the grass-fed cattle industry with greater control and direction over the expenditure and investment of the levies that its members pay. The MoU would be amended to ensure agreement on the amount of funds to be distributed to Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) to safeguard its ongoing role.

The Representative advocacy body (temporarily named Beef Industry Australia (BIA)) will initially have a 23 person Policy Advisory Council made up of 15 democratically elected levy paying cattle producers and 8 cattle producer Councillors will be appointed by the SFOs. The 15 Policy Advisor electorates and the 23 person Policy Advisory Council will be reviewed by the grass-fed cattle producer sector through a plebiscite after two years.

The BIA Board will be guided by the Policy Advisory Council and focus on organisational governance and industry strategy. The BIA Board will be elected through a split voting register to cater for both small and large cattle producers.

It is important to note that the proposed R&D Corporation (CattleCorp) will be a low cost structure and a skills-based board appointed by an independent selection committee.

The Roundtable Committee under instruction from the Minister developed in April 2021 a Beef Industry Australia communications Strategy 2021 – 22 and in July 2021 developed a report on Restructuring national representation for the grassfed cattle industry – Value Proposition & Flight Path.

See Diagrams below for better understanding of the proposed Structures:

a) Representative structure and function for cattle levy payers

b) BIA representative organisation

c) CattleCorp R&D organisation

d) Potential Funding Mix Diagram

Cattle Producers Australia in January 2019 wrote a submission to the Red Meat Advisory Council’s (RMAC) Task Force Review who were seeking advice from stakeholders within the red meat industry on proposals for a new model for the Red Meat Industry – seeking a review of the Memorandum of Understanding, levy funding arrangements, industry representation and agreed priorities. A Green Paper was written and the RMAC than sought comment on the the Green Paper and a White Paper named a Better Red Meat Future, A White Paper for the Red Meat Advisory Council was produced by the Task Force.

See the link to: The CPA Submission to the MoU Task Force Review

CPA also responded to the Green Paper with a submission which sets out a further option for a logical strategy to underpin the future of our industry. See link to: Cattle Producers Australia – Final Red Meat MoU Review Submission 150419 which was designed to define the reform process needed to bring the red meat industry structures up-to-date for current and future industry needs.

For convenience direct link is provided for pages 11 to 19 of the 25 January, 2019 CPA pre- RMAC Red Meat MOU Review submission on Peak Industry representation and a link to the Executive Summary and Chapter 2 (Current and Prospective Red Meat Industry Organisational Needs) of the 15 April 2019 CPA Red Meat MOU Submission are attached.