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Fed Farmers president Katie Milne and Agricultural Minister Damien O’Connor at last weeks Feds’ national conference in Wellington.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says a wide-ranging review of dairy industry legislation isn’t an attempt by the Government to force changes to Fonterra’s constitution.
He says the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) review doesn’t say anything about the constitution. Fonterra’s 10,000 farmer shareholders will ultimately make a judgment on the constitution, O’Connor told Rural News.
The minister was grilled last week by Federated Farmers dairy leaders at their annual conference in Wellington; they questioned him about the DIRA review and recent attacks on Fonterra leaders by cabinet minister and NZ First MP Shane Jones.
O’Connor says how Fonterra is managed is up to its shareholders, but he had a bold message for shareholders: “if you don’t discuss it, we will”.
When Fonterra was set up in 2001, a draft constitution was part of the approval process. O’Connor notes changes have been made to the constitution over time.
“Farmers have to work whether those changes to the constitution have worked positively or negatively,” he says.
O’Connor forsees the DIRA review “tweaking legislation to ensure Fonterra is fit for purpose”.
However, Opposition agriculture spokesman Nathan Guy says the terms of reference for the DIRA review “are very wide and a moving feast”.
Guy says O’Connor isn’t ruling out changes to Fonterra’s constitution.
“This isn’t written anywhere in the review document,” Guy says.
“After Shane Jones’ outburst this will be seen by farmers as the Government wanting to meddle further in the co-op’s business. There is already a lot of suspicion about this wide-ranging review and Fonterra farmers are becoming weary of this Government’s agenda.”
Federated Farmers leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach on how the DIRA review pans out.
According to the latest Federated Farmers banking survey, farmers are more satisfied with their bank and less under pressure, however, the sector is well short of confidence levels seen last decade.
Fonterra has slashed another 50c off its milk price forecast as global milk flows shows no sign of easing.
OPINION: Federated Farmers has launched a new campaign, swapping ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ for ‘The Twelve Pests of Christmas’ to highlight the most troublesome farm pests – a serious issue that needs some urgent attention from the Beehive.
Fonterra shareholders say they will be keeping an eye on their co-operative's performance after the sale of its consumer businesses.
Fonterra chair Peter McBride says the divestment of Mainland Group is their last significant asset sale and signals the end of structural changes.
According to the latest Federated Farmers banking survey, farmers are more satisfied with their bank and less under pressure, however, the sector is well short of confidence levels seen last decade.
Farmer confidence has taken a slight dip according to the final Rabobank rural confidence survey for the year.
Former Agriculture Minister and Otaki farmer Nathan Guy has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy (SATE).
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.
Fonterra has slashed another 50c off its milk price forecast as global milk flows shows no sign of easing.
Meat processors are hopeful that the additional 15% tariff on lamb exports to the US will also come off.
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OPINION: Federated Farmers has launched a new campaign, swapping ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ for ‘The Twelve Pests of Christmas’ to…
