A recommendation to hold a vote on the mandatory wool levy every five years has been backed by WoolPoll 2018 panelist, Steve Harrison.
One of 82 recommendations in the Federal Government-initiated review of Australian Wool Innovation’s (AWI) performance released this week, proposed reducing the frequency of WoolPoll from three years to five years.
Mr Harrison supported the recommendation, and said gathering representatives from all states every three years was too costly.
The last WoolPoll held in 2015 cost levy payers about $660,000, more than $15 for each of the 43,000 eligible woolgrowers voters.
At the last vote, when more than 20 forums were held across the country, just 50.68 per cent of votes were lodged, marking the lowest number of votes in five WoolPolls.
Mr Harrison said the proposal would give AWI more certainty of funding, allowing it to set budgets knowing the levy rate for five years.
He would not divulge the five options that would be part of WoolPoll 2018, but said the options included in this year’s poll had changed from the 2015 poll.
“I am happy for the directors, who were elected by wool growers, to be able to make decisions about the wool levy funding split between marketing and research and development,” he said.
Mr Harrison said the change to a more on-line consultation and engagement process with growers would be a better alternative to the expensive and largely ineffective “road show”.
“Woolgrowers are on their phones all the time,” he said.
While consultation had improved, it needed more representatives from the grower bodies around the ICC (independent consultative committee) table to provide ”more robust input”, he said.
“Consultation has improved and engagement with AWI directors has been good,” he said.
Mr Harrison, was the Victorian representative on the 11-person panel.
He operates a commercial and registered sheep operation in Gippsland with his wife Lisa.
He said he volunteered to be part of the panel “because it was a process I really wanted to understand”.
