Page 4 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Brian Ramsay
Littleproud asked. Bearing that in mind,
Most RDCs are legally obliged to consult with and report to at least one prescribed industry body for industry-owned com- panies or declared repre- sentative organisation for statutory RDCs on mat- ters like levy expenditure and strategic direction.
The life of Brian
I MUST say it was a ration, Pig Research and sion have wound forward shifting, risks empowering
refreshing blast from pork’s past when on June 29 I read an opinion piece by inaugural Aus- tralia Pork Limited CEO, Brian Ramsay in farmonline, an informa- tive and popular national e-newsletter produced by Australian Community Media.
Development Corporation and Pork Council of Aus- tralia.
long-term trends with a jolt, creating a window of opportunity to consoli- date and modernise peak bodies.
vested interests and more than likely stifles rather than improves RDC per- formance, accountability and innovation.
Headlined ‘Is a shakeout of peak bodies looming?’, it posed some topical questions.
He also maintains a Canberra pedigree as Ad- junct Professor at the Uni- versity of Canberra.
Many agricultural peak bodies can endure because of their govern- ment-backed status to in- fluence the work of the rural R&D Corporations.
The Australian govern- ment has just set an ex- ample by acting decisively to discard the Council of Australian Governments model and form the Na- tional Cabinet, in what Prime Minister Scott Morrison described as a “congestion-busting” move to “avoid endless meetings that do not re- sult in action.
Brian was APL’s CEO from May 2000 to No- vember 2003 and its in- augural ‘captain’, steering what was a new ship com- missioned to charter a new path through some- times murky waters fol- lowing the amalgamation of Australian Pork Corpo-
With that pedigree, Brian’s view on industry peak bodies and rural R&D corporations is worth noting, especially at a time when the fed- eral government, in- cluding Agriculture Min- ister David Littleproud, is shining a spotlight on RDCs.
Cant Comment by BRENDON CANT
There are 15 RDCs – 10 industry-owned and five statutory – which invest over $840m annually, in- cluding levy funds from businesses and matching public R&D contributions.
It’ s time for business and government leaders to take similar action and make agricultural in- dustry institutions more agile and effective for all.
These days Brian appar- ently advises on strategy and innovation in his role as Managing Director of Inovact Consulting.
It won’t be easy, as his- tory says these organisa- tions will linger on un- changed and continue to exert influence far beyond what their small member- ship base warrants.
Modernising institu- tions is vitally important if businesses are to lead the economy out of recession.
He was inaugural CEO of Australian Pork Lim- ited.
Australia’s 15 RDCs comprise five Common- wealth Statutory Authori- ties and 10 industry owned companies, or IOCs, of which APL is one.
let’s see what Brian Ramsay had to say in far- monline, so here goes:
Agri-food businesses can start by demanding that reforms to the RDC system begin with re- moval of obsolete regu- lations requiring pre- scribed industry bodies for industry-owned R&D companies.
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the levy payer?” Minister unfolding global reces-
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All RDCs manage R&D services, while most IOCs provide other industry services, mainly mar- keting.
Business viability is a major issue in the reces- sion.
The idea of a declared representative organisa- tion made sense in the early 1990s when all RDCs were statutory bodies and owned by the government.
Following legislative amendments in 2013, statutory RDCs can also undertake marketing ac- tivities at the request of industry, where supported by a statutory marketing levy.
However, industry insti- tutions like peak bodies must also confront a chal- lenging new reality where funding from govern- ment and businesses will tighten as the recession unfolds.
There are many good people involved in peak bodies and rural R&D corporations.
Littleproud in a July 30 address to the Australian Grains Industry Confer- ence said the government was looking into a “con- tinued modernisation” of RDCs to ensure they de- livered to stakeholders.
Agriculture has an ex- cess of peak bodies, with many struggling for finan- cial viability and to show relevance to farmers and other value chain busi- nesses.
Modern governance says that the boards of these industry-owned companies are first and foremost accountable for performance to their levy- paying members and the government as investors.
It’ s time for agri-food business leaders to do some congestion busting and unleash the true po- tential of the sector.”
“Is it a return to the levy payers, is it a return to the taxpayer, is there ac- countability of our RDCs through making sure that they’re consulting with
Today, the vast majority of businesses and value of industry production are no longer in member- ship of traditional peak bodies.
In a bizarre hangover from the days when all R&D corporations were statutory bodies, most in- dustry owned RDC’s still have prescribed industry bodies that they must re- port to.
Pondering the theme of unleashing the Australian pig industry’s potential, I recall Brian Ramsay back in 2002 when addressing a general meeting of WA Pork Producers’ Associa- tion saying that despite being a small player in the global pork industry, Australia could compete effectively in the global market by recognising its relative market power.
“Is a shakeout of peak bodies looming?
A shakeout of peak bodies is looming.
However, 30 years on there are 10 industry- owned R&D companies with levy-paying busi- nesses in direct member- ship.
They all need modern business models and gov- ernance arrangements that provide clear ac- countability and the flex- ibility to adapt faster and perform at their best.
The pandemic and the
At best, the arrange- ments create excessive complexity and confu- sion, and imposes bu- reaucratic red tape.
He said this would help identify Australia’s com- petitive advantages and how it could develop op- portunities in major and niche markets.
At worst, it creates a serious governance dis- tortion where industry owned R&D companies are legally obliged to ac- commodate the interests and priorities of third parties in the form of PIBs - many of which are unrepresentative.
“Australia’s most impor- tant competitive advan- tage is its unique and un- paralleled animal health status, which underpins the future of the industry.
A fundamental ques- tion for levy-paying busi- nesses is whether their in- dustry-owned companies must take direction from and be directly account- able to members or to an unrepresentative PIB.
“The Australian pork industry is in the envi- able position of having a national pig herd with a ‘world’s best’ health status that in turn under- pins the competitiveness and growth of our pork exports,” he said.
Page 4 – Australian Pork Newspaper, August 2020
muddy the waters. It enables
blame-
www.porknews.com.au
The problem is that today, most industry- owned companies are ac- countable to both their members and PIBs.
Weighing up the world’s perilous pork position, with ASF decimating herds, especially in China and COVID-19 wreaking havoc on global trade and economies, versus Austral- ia’s relatively healthy posi- tion, one wonders why we aren’t doing more to push our pork boundaries.
It comes at a hidden and crippling cost for levy- payers.
The conflicted gov- ernance arrangements