Meat NZ Must Try Harder
If Meat New Zealand wants farmers' support for proposed future activities, it must provide clear details on the intended
use of levy funds says Ian Corney, Chairman of NZ Meat & Fibre Producers.
"Unless Meat NZ rethinks its draft proposal on levy funded activities farmers are unlikely to vote yes for a commodity
levy in the referendum.
"The current draft lacks detail and its late release has meant the timeline for circulation and discussion was extremely
tight. A large number of farmers have not had a chance to obtain a copy of the proposal and consider it.
"This is a crucial issue for sheep and beef farmers and Meat NZ must allow farmers time to give the proposal the
deliberation it needs. An issue of this level of importance deserves an appropriate timeframe to facilitate more
thorough analysis and consultation.
"Meat NZ should delay going for a vote until a clear and coherent draft has been circulated to farmers. It is vital that
Meat NZ gets this right.
"While one can see the efficiencies to be gained by Meat NZ going for a vote at the same time as SheepCo, this is at the
expense of detail and input from farmers. If Meat NZ wants farmers to vote yes in the referendum they are going to have
to try harder," Mr Corney concluded.