Australia: Neil Andrew to chair barley marketing working group

Widely respected former House of Representatives Speaker Neil Andrew has been appointed as the independent chair of an industry working group, which will consider options for amending South Australia's barley marketing legislation to bring it in line with National Competition Policy (NCP) guidelines, Erzigrain released June 27.

Mr Andrew, who was elected as the Member for Wakefield in 1983, was speaker of the House from 1998 until he retired from politics at the 2004 Federal election.

Prior to entering politics, Mr Andrew was a horticultural producer in the Riverland.

South Australian Farmers' Federation (SAFF) Grains Council Chairman Brett Roberts welcomed the appointment, saying that Mr Andrew had a good understanding of grain industry matters but was not aligned to any particular interest group within the industry.

"The aim of the working group is to determine a new model for barley marketing that protects the interests of all South Australian growers, while also taking into account the State Government's requirements to comply with the NCP framework," Mr Roberts said.

"I believe everyone can be confident that Neil's leadership of the working group will enable it to develop recommendations for new barley marketing arrangements that will serve growers' needs."

He said that while a recent ballot of growers indicated that a single desk, managed with greater independence, was the preferred marketing system for a majority of those surveyed, this was no longer an option.

"State Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister Rory McEwen and Treasurer Kevin Foley have made it extremely clear that the Government will not forego any more competition payments because of SA's barley marketing system, so we need to look at what other options are available;" Mr Roberts said.

In addition to Mr Andrew, three grains industry representatives have been appointed to the working group.

They are: Garry Hansen of Coomandook, Michael Schaefer of Buckleboo and Stuart Murdoch of Warooka.

The State Government will also appoint two members to the group, which will undertake widespread consultation with growers, grain marketers and representative bodies, as well as government departments that deal with National Competition Policy, such as Treasury and the Department of Premier and Cabinet

Interested parties will be able to provide submissions to the working group, which aims to report on its recommendations as soon as possible.

"Given that NCP has been hanging over the single desk in this State for a number of years, the formation of the working group is a positive way forward that enables growers to have significant input into a new system of barley marketing," Mr Roberts said.
Responding to the formation of the working group, Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister Rory McEwen said: "I am delighted the grains industry had taken up its role in this complex and long-standing issue and is moving forward in such a mature way."

28 June, 2006