A few weeks ago, Matt Trace from Queensland replaced fellow Queenslander Brian Tessmann on the Australian Dairy Farmers board. Last week it was announced that David Beca was appointed to the board as the independent director and, subsequently, Ben Bennett was appointed president with Heath Cook to continue as vice-president. I would like to congratulate the two new directors and wish them, and the new president and vice-president the best for the coming years. Heath is an eastAUSmilk member.
The dairy industry has been in decline for decades across Australia. EAM is looking for ADF to lead the industry forward - none of us wants to watch as the ship sinks. I hope the new ADF board can demonstrate real leadership and be forthright in sorting out the problems in the dairy industry.
Dairy farmers spoke clearly when creating the dairy plan and want to see transformational change in the industry. It is impossible to argue against the need for major change, since we have seen around a third of Australia's milk disappear since 2000. Nonetheless outdated and ineffective industry structures stay in place or prosper.
Until now, this pressing need for transformational change has been unheeded by too many in leadership positions in the dairy industry. Some haven't understood it, some have not known how to lead the necessary change, and some have benefited from maintaining the status quo. Some of those blocking change don't even know why they are blocking it, and some probably don't even realise they are blocking but think they are just supporting their mates.
I hope that ADF can push through this and demonstrate strong leadership to finally stop the terminal decline of the dairy industry. To achieve this, ADF will need the strong support of industry bodies like eastAUSmilk - and we're committed to showing that support. ADF will also need to carefully manage the impediments to change, to ensure it can't stop what is necessary.
