Senior Federal Labor MPs visited a dairy farm in Queensland recently to learn about issues affecting the industry.
Glamorgan Vale dairy farm Tim Beattie hosted Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt and local MP Shayne Neumann.
The three Labor MPs were given a thorough briefing from Mr Beattie on how the enterprise operates, and the issues impacting dairy farmers.
eastAUSmilk president Matt Trace, board member Kay Tommerup and member Errol Gerber were also on hand to help ensure the visitors took away the best possible understanding of industry issues.
The eastAUSmilk team pressed the MPs on many issues of importance to dairy farmers, including the behaviour of major retailers, inadequacies of current competition regulation and the Dairy Industry Code, business resilience and planning, on-farm technology uptake, and animal welfare.
The four dairy farmers spoke first-hand of the fears of dairy farmers across three states at the proposal for Coles to purchase milk processing plants from Saputo in NSW and Victoria.
Such an unprecedented level of control over the supply chain would allow Coles to severely impact the business of competitors, and once more drive farm gate milk prices down to poverty levels, as Coles and Woolworths did with dollar-a-litre milk, the group told the MPs.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is currently reviewing the proposed purchase but can review only narrow competition issues.
eastAUSmilk wants the Federal Government to address this proposed purchase by looking more broadly at fairness, the need for a sustainable and profitable dairy industry, regional community resilience, and the community’s ongoing demand for locally sourced fresh milk.