FORMER UDV president Adam Jenkins and Blighty dairy farmer Malcolm Holm headline the members of a dairy industry task force, which will advise on options to reform the industry’s organisational structures.
The eight-person panel was announced on September 3 and will report to the Australian Dairy Plan Committee, comprising the chairs of the four partner organisations and independent chair John Brumby.
Reform of current dairy industry structure and advocacy arrangements was highlighted as a priority issue for the dairy plan at regional workshops held across Australia and at a national workshop held on July 30 and 31.
“The number one issue during dairy plan consultation meetings was reform of current industry structure and advocacy arrangements," Mr Brumby said.
"In response we’ve established a dedicated task force to recommend options for transformational change.
“We opened up the application process for membership of this task force, to ensure that anyone with relevant experience had the opportunity to be considered.
"We received more than 30 applications, all of an extremely high standard.
"From these applications, we’ve appointed a strong team which can bring an enormous amount to this process along with an independent view.
“Ensuring that dairy has the most effective, agile and well-resourced structure is an absolutely crucial element for us to get right.
"We can learn from other industries which have successfully reformed their organisational structures.
“We all agree on the potential for dairy to speak more clearly with a strong and unified voice, to direct combined resources to industry priorities, to be more nimble in addressing challenges, to be more streamlined and remove duplication.”
Other members of the Joint Transition Team are: Shirley Harlock (Victoria), Wes Judd (Queensland), Greg McNamara (NSW), Bruce Donnison (Victoria/Tasmania), Lauren Finger (Victoria) and Michelle Lawrence (Tasmania).
A summary of key outcomes from the national workshop of the Australian Dairy Plan can be found at: www.dairyplan.com.au/consultation-summary