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Leonie Guiney.
Leonie Guiney remains undecided about contesting the upcoming Fonterra board elections.
Read: Fonterra faces ‘crisis of confidence’.
Guiney told Rural News she has filed her defence and is suing the co-op for defamation. The case is set for hearing on September 15.
“Fonterra has managed to conveniently push the defamation case out beyond the elections, keeping me silenced and unable to clear my name in the interim,” she says.
Nominations for three farmer-elected seats are open; three sitting directors — Nicola Shadbolt, Ashley Waugh and co-op chairman John Wilson — are retiring by rotation.
They may all stand for re-election if they wish; none has so far announced any intention.
The independent nomination process will be run first, with nominations needing to have been received by the returning officer by July 23. The self-nomination process where farmers can put themselves forward as a candidate for the board outside the independent nomination process runs from September 10 to 20.
The returning officer will confirm all candidates on Monday, September 24.
Legal battle resumes
Leonie Guiney, who is embroiled in litigation with Fonterra over alleged confidential board information leaked to the media, heads back to court on September 15 for a substantive hearing.
Fonterra obtained an injunction against media outlets publishing ‘confidential information’ which it claimed they had obtained from Guiney.
“The media and myself remain in a position where no one knows what the so-called ‘confidential information’ is that they are not allowed to report,” she says.
However, there is no law against people offering their opinions in NZ, she adds. “This is particularly true for co-op members offering input into their own cooperative which, perhaps some forget, exists to serve its members’ interests,” says Guiney.
She believes Fonterra can succeed as a co-op, but doesn’t rule out the current leadership pushing for a market float of the co-op, with shares and milk supply delinked to demutualise the co-op.
“We must put leadership in place that shows respect for farmer capital and can articulate the cooperative solutions with a simpler strategy.
“Those options exist and that conversation needs to be out there; the defensive ‘oh we had some bad luck in China but everyone does’ arguments are unsustainable.”
OPINION: There is zero chance that someone who joined Fonterra as a lobbyist, then served as a general manager of Fonterra's nutrient management programme, and sat on the board of Export NZ, a division of lobbyist group Business New Zealand, doesn't understand that local butter (and milk and cheese) prices are set by the international commodity price.
Kiwis love their butter, and that's great because New Zealand produces some of the best butter in the world. But when the price of butter goes up, it's tough for some, particularly when many other grocery staples have also gone up and the heat goes on co-operative Fonterra, the country's main butter maker. Here the co-op explains why butter prices are so high right now.
An A$2 billion bid for Fonterra's Oceania business would be great news, according to Forsyth Barr senior analyst, equities, Matt Montgomerie.
The world's largest dairy company may be in pole position to acquire Fonterra's Australian assets.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Kiwis love their butter, and that's great because New Zealand produces some of the best butter in the world. But when the price of butter goes up, it's tough for some, particularly when many other grocery staples have also gone up and the heat goes on co-operative Fonterra, the country's main butter maker. Here the co-op explains why butter prices are so high right now.
DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown has waded into the debate around soaring butter prices, pointing out that the demand for dairy overseas dictates the price to farmers and at the supermarket.
Farmers are welcoming new Government proposals to make farm health and safety rules more practical and grounded in real-world farming.
Missing fresh mozzarella cheese made at home in Bari, southern Italy, Massimo Lubisco and his wife Marina decided to bring a taste of home to New Zealand.
An A$2 billion bid for Fonterra's Oceania business would be great news, according to Forsyth Barr senior analyst, equities, Matt Montgomerie.
Irish meat processor Dawn Meats is set to acquire a 70% stake in Alliance Group, according to a report in The Irish Times.
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