AUSTRALIAN Dairy Farmers (ADF) has made further leadership changes in the wake of the recent milk pricing crisis with CEO Ben Stapley resigning after only nine months.
Mr Stapley’s sudden departure arrives shortly after South Australian Dairyfarmers Association president David Basham replaced Simone Jolliffe, to become acting ADF president until November.
Ms Jolliffe is a dairy farmer near Wagga Wagga NSW who replaced Noel Campbell – a dairy farmer from Gippsland in Victoria - in November 2015.
In August last year, Mr Stapley was announced as the new ADF CEO having spent two years as Director of Policy and Regulation at the Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association.
Mr Basham thanked Mr Stapley for his service over the past nine months saying it was a period which had presented unprecedented challenges for the entire dairy sector.
He said the ADF team remained committed to providing targeted assistance for farmers and would continue to advocate strongly on their behalf during the current crisis.
Mr Basham said ADF’s immediate and ongoing challenge was to maintain pressure on the federal government and Opposition to drive policy outcomes that provided dairy farmers with greater certainty about their businesses and the broader sector.
“The vacancy created by the departure of Mr Stapley will be addressed immediately so that ADF can continue business as usual and meet the demands of the current challenges across the industry,” a statement said last week.
Mr Basham said the ADF Board had contacted its former CEO John McQueen - now an industry consultant - to step into the vacant leadership role on an interim basis while the recruitment process was completed, to replace Mr Stapley.
He said he had every confidence Mr McQueen could step into the role as early today and that there would be a smooth, effective transition “so no time is lost in fulfilling ADF’s mission to lobby for a stronger future for Australian dairy farmers”.
Former dairy farmer and Nick Xenophon Team election candidate for the rural seat of Barker in SA James Stacey said it was disappointing that major industry leadership changes had occurred during an unprecedented period of crisis.
Mr Stacey said dairy farmers needed strong and experienced representation and leadership to guide them through such a crisis and give advice to government rather than changing over key personnel.
He said ADF was “missing in action” shortly after the price clawbacks were announced in early April which sparked the crisis but had made up for lost ground in advocating farmers’ interests, once the issue became more public.
Mr Stacey said if elected, he would be the NXT’s agricultural representative and would hold talks, with whoever became Agriculture Minister in government, about the dairy crisis to ensure concessional loans were delivered effectively, to provide timely support.
Last week, ADF also demanded the federal and State governments stop playing politics with the livelihoods of about 4000 dairy farmers impacted by the pricing crisis, by making dairy recovery concessional loans immediately available.
Mr Basham said the dairy industry welcomed the federal government’s efforts to provide targeted assistance but he wanted essential details released urgently.
“It’s now been over two weeks since formal announcements were made regarding assistance for farmers,” he said.
“In order for these measures to be meaningful they must be delivered now.
“ADF, together with state dairy farming organisations, has clearly communicated to all levels of government that all farmers, not only those who supply Murray Goulburn and Fonterra, need immediate access to the promised dairy loans.
“This must consider share-farmers and those who have previously been ineligible for government assistance due to their residency status.”
Mr Basham said the urgency for making the loans available was compounded by impending July 1 milk price announcements to be made by processors.
“Farmers need to know right now whether or not they are eligible for the 10-year recovery loans so they are able to compare with loans being offered by milk processors,” he said.
“It’s time for all parties to come to the table and back industry’s efforts to support farmers through the challenging times.
“Government to government bickering is helping no-one, least of all those most in need – dairy farming families.
“We continue to urge bipartisan support from all levels of parliament to deliver swift and comprehensive assistance for farmers, to safeguard the dairy industry’s long term future.”
ADF’s statement came after Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce accused Victorian Labor Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford of “crude politicisation” over the federal government’s handling of the dairy crisis and delivering the concessional loans.
Last month the Coalition announced a $579m assistance package for dairy farmers hit by the retrospective farm gate milk pricing crisis including; $2m to establish a commodity milk price index; $555m in concessional loans; and $900,000 for additional Rural Financial Counsellors in Victoria, Tasmania, SA and NSW.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is also investigating the timing and notice of the milk price cuts and the period in which farmers had been given to consider their options.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is also conducting an inquiry into the milk pricing crisis.