Agmates

When the 2005 Telstra sell-off occurred, Peter Corrish the then NFF President, stated that “a combination of strong legislation and a guarantee on funding will deliver the best outcome we can hope for.”

Commentators and journalists at the time pointed out that no fund could ever be given iron clad protection from a change of government and this is being born out right now.

“Had the NFF not backed the Howard’s Government’s sell-off of this important public utility and in doing so, removed the checks and balances put in place to ensure all Australians had access to world class telecommunications, the NFF would not have found themselves so embarrassingly and hypocritically, exposed”, Mr Bellinger said.

Mr Bellinger added, “The NFF’s Trade Policy for the 2007 election is even more short sighted and deregulationist than their Communications Policy in 2005. They advocated for the 2004 FTA with the USA. They are now pushing “Free Trade Agreements” with China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, ASEAN/New Zealand; - just to name a few.

Australian farmers are already being put out of business by cheap, subsidized, low quality imports.

The “free trade” mania of the NFF under David Crombie’s leadership has already become more irresponsible and dangerous.

It is a real concern that Mr Crombie has a record of being prepared to sacrifice some of our smaller and not so small agricultural industries. As the Chairman of Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), he supported the signing of FTA with the USA, in August 2004.

“Australian pig producers are currently being bankrupted by subsidized imports of pork from Denmark, Canada and the USA, with 60% of domestic consumption originating from those three sources.

Since the advent of the US FTA in 2004, US imports alone have increased 23 times from 1,200 tonnes to 27,900 tonnes,” Mr Bellinger said.

1. ABA calls on Government to “fix” policy that it says are destroying Agriculture in Australia
2. Overhaul AQIS to protect Australian Primary Industry
3. Producer referendums to decide the fate of producer paid levies.
4. National Inquiry into the Meat Industry
5. Scrapping of NLIS (National Livestock Identification System
6. Scrap US Free Trade Agreement
7. Removal of State Native Vegetation Acts
8. Farmers rights to trade Carbon Credits

We want some action now on policies that are destroying Australian Agriculture.

1. Bio Security Australia to be taken away from Trade influence and their charter altered so that their only purpose is to protect Australia’s primary industries from introduced disease.
   Australia’s farm sector is being systematically destroyed by allowing in product from countries with few hygiene rules, subsidies or very low wages.
2. Referendums to be conducted in each primary production sector to decide if producers wish to continue to pay Government regulated levies and, if so, at what level?
   There has never been a referendum for the meat industry levy despite it being Liberal Party policy for a referendum before any levy is put in place.
3. A full judicial inquiry be conducted into the undemocratic Meat Industry structure that is presently funded by compulsory regulated levies on producers in a form of compulsory unionism.
   The Senate Select Committee of 2002 recommended 6 changes to make the structure more democratic–none was adopted by the Minister.
4. The current, farcical charade that is the National Livestock Identification System for cattle to be disbanded and replaced by an inexpensive, practical system as was previously in place.
   The system is not working and will never work –as has been illustrated in UK. However the expense will cripple the beef industry .No Minister has had the courage to face up to this massive mistake.
5. Termination of the US Free Trade Agreement.
   The introduction of this agreement has already seen a massive increase in the imbalanced trade figures between USA and Australia. There are no positives for beef producers as we have been unable to fill the US quota for some years and the flood of cheap pork from North America affects beef prices here in Australia. Anyone reading” How to Kill a Country” or “National Insecurity” by three University Professors will see how seriously the agreement affects many Australian industries at a time when they were already under great pressure. .Either side has the right to terminate the agreement at 6 months notice.
6. ABA endorses the drive for the full restoration of Property Rights including the removal of the Native Vegetation Act and the cumulative weight of other land use restrictions.
   If the current legislation in Australia was to be fully enforced primary production would drop even faster.
7. If Carbon credit trading is to be introduced landholders must be entitled to payments.
   Carbon dioxide accounts for a tiny percentage of greenhouse omissions and Carbon Credit trading has already been shown to be a fraudulent transfer of money to multinationals in Europe. However, if it is to be introduced in Australia, landholders must receive their entitlements.

“Australia is now importing over 30% of its food and this is increasing. Prices to consumers are rising, whilst prices to many producers are falling. It is time for Government to re-assess the long term policies that have destroyed Australia’s self sufficiency in food and manufactured goods and taken our national debt to over $540 billion”, Mr. Bellinger concluded.

• How much has been spent on MSA since its inception and why is it not displayed in more retail outlets?
• MLA has refused to do a cost benefit analysis of NLS. The UK has done one on RFID NLIS for sheep and found that its costs would render their industry uncompetitive in Europe. As the NLIS implementation costs mount here in Australia and our international competitiveness falls, will MLA do a cost benefit analysis to show how its levy payers are being hurt?
• How many people are employed in the NLIS section of MLA? What is the total cost to MLA of running the NLIS?
• We read in the MLA Annual Report that $81,779 was paid to Ernst Young for their NLIS forensic investigation into the FarmOnline Rort. At the time we were told that we could see this Ernst Young report into the matter. When can we see it?
• We understand that the two NLIS employees who rorted the NLIS FarmOnline poll have not been dismissed. Â Was this because they were operating under orders from higher up the management ladder?
• Your staff claimed that Japan required NLIS for its imported beef. Â Can you explain why USA, with BSE and no NLIS is taking back our market share in Japan?
• Your predecessors last Chairman’s Report claimed that a USFTA would help Australian beef producers and that MLA was helping the Government in negotiations.  It has done the reverse through its “Side Letter”, which helped USA get back into Japan.  Can you explain your support for the signing?
• Can you guarantee that no MLA money will go to NFF under any pretext such as the City/Farm $1 million project?
• How much money has MLA spent in propping up the Cattle Futures market and how much longer will it continue to do so?
• You had a Committee push for a $1.50 increase in the transaction levy because your Officers claimed that the herd would rise to 31 million by 2009. How do you explain the falling herd and the falling prices when the US producers are getting almost twice what our producers are getting and only have a $1 levy?

Mr Bellinger said, “He will be attending the MLA AGM and would be happy to use any proxy votes directed to him”

For more information please contact Brad Bellinger on 02 6725 4282 Mob 0428 765 421 Linda Hewitt 07 4623 3707 Mob 041 978 9211Â

“Over the last eleven years, we have witnessed party politics in action within the Coalition resulting in them forcing through legislation, which on occasions, was against the will and best interests of the farming and the wider rural community,” Mr Bellinger continued.

Mr Bellinger said, “I agree with the Mayor of the Wakool Shire Ken Trevin, who was quoted as saying, ‘We have a policy crisis’” when he was leading a protest rally in Canberra over the Howard Government theft of water from the Murray Valley irrigators.

We have also seen the Coalition join forces with State Labor Governments in forcing through legislation that is making the farming community unviable. Ten years ago we did have a distinction between the Liberal and National Parties but that has become clouded; - the distinction between the Coalition and Labor is now going the same way.

Mr Bellinger said, “There is a long list of policy disasters that include the Native Vegetation Act, the Johne’s eradication program, the Dairy Deregulation and specific to the cattle industry, the white elephant that is the National Livestock Identification System. All of the policies were initiated by State Labor Governments and unfortunately supported in various ways by the Commonwealth Coalition Government”.

Mr Bellinger stated, “Cronyism seems to be at risk of becoming endemic in the Federal Government.  Various highly unrepresentative farm sector Peak Councils which are funded to promote Government policy and their leadership so are then reluctant to criticize the Federal Government, when deserved. The current NFF advertising campaign against Labor is more a result of political cronyism than an intelligent analysis of Labor’s policies.

If the decay in rural Australia is to be halted, we must have in power, leaders who can promote policy to stop the rot.  The Federal Governments $2.74 Billion drought aid package, of which only $1 billion has been spent is insignificant when compared to the $ 6 Billion spent on the first home buyers’ scheme that has done nothing but cause house prices to boom, beyond an affordable level for many Australians.

Mr Bellinger said, “The only recent glimmer of hope has come from the Nationals Senator, Barnaby Joyce. He is someone who is prepared to cross the floor and vote against the Government and to stand up for his constituent’s best interests. We need more politicians with intelligence, plus a conscience and not just loyalty to their Party.

 If the major parties cannot reform themselves, then perhaps more Independents may be our only long term hope.  The ABA hopes rural voters will quiz their candidates closely, before they give them their vote”, Mr Bellinger concluded.

For more information please contact Brad Bellinger on 02 6725 4282 Mob 0428 765 421, Linda Hewitt 07 4623 3707 Mob 041 978 9211

ABA Chair Brad Bellinger (pictured) said “the indicative price paid to producers on the east coast has dropped 18 per cent, but prices in the supermarkets are unchanged, or have gone up.

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The retail price for beef has actually risen more in Australia than any other country in the world in the last 11 years.Beef prices should be dropping substantially and it’s ridiculous when you hear comments made by the Prime Minister that due to the drought the price of food will increase”

ABA is not the only one that believes there is something very “fishy” about meat prices. This is what Futuris (Elders & AAco) chief executive Les Wozniczka told share holders at their annual general meeting last Friday:

“Given the price rises we have seen globally in input costs such as fuel, energy, fertiliser, labour and interest rates, we are expecting a major readjustment in food prices, We have already seen significant increases in commodity prices for dairy products and grains, but we have yet to see the flow-on effects to livestock, meat products, and eggs.

Prepare yourselves for some serious inflation in your cost of living, because, globally, we are seeing pricing power starting to return to farmers.”

But Mr Wozniczka also said that unless farmers could recover input costs via higher prices, more would refuse to produce, or convert, to alternative products such as ethanol and biofuel.

New South Wales Beef Producer John Carter (pictured) in his last Straight Talking with the calculation of his unique Global Cattle Index - ask’s the question - Why are Australian Cattle Prices falling when there is a global shortage?

 In this article John points out that Australian cattle producers are only recieving 53% of the price for Cattle that our American counter parts are receiving, even though they are suffering under drought and high grain prices just like Australian producers. You can read Johns full article by Clicking Here.

A report just released by the Agri Benchmark’s international information net quotes a study by the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil which finds that since January of this year Brazilian cattle producers costs had increased by 7.5% but had been offset by an over the hooks price increase of 16.3%.

Intersting that Brazilian beef prices paid to their Cattle producers had increased by 16% whilst Australian cattle producers have suffered not only increased production costs but copped a decrease in prices in the order of 18% for the same period.

No wonder Australia’s only independant cattle producing association ABA is demanding a National Inquiry. A clue to the answer might lie in the comment at the bottom of John Carter’s article made by Missouri USA Cattleman Joel Gill (yes we have Agmates in the US). Have a look at it by clicking here.

Another clue as to what the problem is can be found in the Cattle Council of Australia’s (CCA) Bill Bray “fireside” chat that he masquades as a column in last weeks Queensland Country Life 25/10/07 Page 10.

I’ve given you the page because you probably missed it or died of boredom trying to get through it. Honestly reading it is about as exciting as been mauled by a dead sheep.

According to Bill the CCA is doing a magnificent job of looking after the “15million Australian Beef Cattle he and his peak body represent through the State Farming organizations”. (His words - not mine).

Anyway not everybody agrees with Bill - Rob Wass a major cattle producer in New South Wales certainly does not and tells you why. You can read Robs reply to Bill’s little “fireside” chat by clicking here.

Rob sent Agmates his reply because he believes he’s got as much chance of having it published in the Queensland Country Life as drought breaking rain falling across Australia this weekend (he’s not holding his breath).

P.S. I don’t pretend there is any love lost between Agmates and the QCL. They have “black balled’ Agmates from advertising in their publication. The reason I was given was that Agmates is an online News and Advertising medium and they are a newspaper and they won’t promote their competition (even though the only promotion Agmates got was paid advertising.)

This happened 2 months ago and we are still here. That’s why we rely on you our faithful readers to tell all of your friends about us. Do your bit to preserve freedom of speech - tell a friend and contribute by way of comments or articles and advertising on the site.

There’s a lot more to run with this story ……what are your thoughts…..?

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