Cattle Producers to Maintain Meat Levy

AUSTRALIA - Despite the long term effect of drought, fires and flooding the nations cattle producers have decided to continue paying a levy worth $60 million annually.

20 November 2009

2 minute read

Oceania

Meat & Livestock Australia members voted to maintain the cattle transaction levy at its current rate of $5 per head at the MLA annual general meeting (AGM) in Darwin on 20th November.

MLA members voted to retain the levy with a convincing 72.5 per cent of votes cast in favour of the resolution (grassfed producers – 70.7 per cent; grainfed producers – 75.8 per cent).

MLA chairman Don Heatley said he was grateful for the industry’s show of support for continued investment in MLA’s marketing activities for Australian beef and livestock.

“It is pleasing to receive such strong support from the industry and I can assure producers that MLA remains committed to continuing to work hard to deliver a return on their investment.”

Having demonstrated clear industry support for the $5 levy, the producer peak councils will now present a full report to the Federal Minister for its retention.

Mr Heatley paid tribute to the work of the Beef Marketing Funding Committee and in particular the independent chair Peter Hughes.

“The Committee conducted their review thoroughly and sought widespread industry input before making their recommendation to industry,” Mr Heatley said.

The vote was the culmination of a 12-month process including the Committee’s review and a six-month campaign to create awareness among producers and encourage them to participate.

“Over 70 forums were held across the country with more than 6,000 producers attending to hear more about the industry’s promotional activities – it is pleasing to see how many producers participated in the vote this year and I thank them for getting involved,” Mr Heatley said.

In other results, current MLA Board Director Peter Trefort was re-elected, while first-time nominees Iain Mars and Dr Greg Harper were also appointed to the Board.

MLA members also voted in support of the resolution to amend the MLA constitution to enable the company to make greater use of electronic methods to communicate information to members. 92 per cent of votes were cast in support of the resolution. The resolution required 75 per cent support to be successful.

The voting process was conducted and the results of the resolutions declared by Computershare. The entitlement process was audited in accordance with MLA’s procedures. This year Ernst & Young was requested to overview this process.

Mr Heatley thanked all MLA members for their participation in the company’s activities during the year and at the AGM and also thanked three outgoing MLA Board Directors Professor Chris Hudson, Paul Troja and Dr Bernie Bindon for their service.