WESTERN Australia’s two peak farming organisations have taken opposing sides in the debate over the governance of grain handling and marketing cooperative CBH Group.
WESTERN Australia’s two peak farming organisations have taken opposing sides in the debate over the governance of grain handling and marketing cooperative CBH Group.
The Pastoralist and Glaziers Association, which typically takes a free market stance on agripolitics issues, has supported proposals to change the way CBH Group’s board is elected.
WAFarmers has criticised the proposed changes, which are also opposed by the current board of CBH Group.
An extraordinary general meeting of CBH Group will be held on Thursday August 5, when a proposal to change the cooperative’s board structure will be voted on.
A group of dissident grower-members want the board’s composition changed from 12 directors comprising nine grower directors and up to three board-appointed directors with special skills.
They want a board of between seven and nine directors comprising four grower directors, three board-appointed directors with special skills and up to two executive directors.
The resolution also calls for the scrapping of the five-district election system in favour of a statewide election system.
The proposal coincides with a wider review by CBH Group of its cooperative structure, which is continuing.
Supporting the changes, Western Graingrowers chairman Rick Wilson said they would help take the multi-billion dollar storage and handling business into the competitive world of the 21st century.
“In order for CBH to survive and thrive into the future, decision makers must dispassionately analyse the entire CBH system and implement changes that improve efficiency across all segments of the system. This will not happen so long as politics dominate the board election process,” he said.
“My committee sees merit in the resolution, and we’re encouraging members to continue to push for the necessary changes to ensure that our CBH remains viable in the competitive world of a deregulated marketplace. We’re voting ‘yes’ on the resolution.”
WAFarmers Grains Council said the requisition for an extraordinary general meeting was made by a very small number of grain producers.
“By attempting to reduce the grower-member representation on the board, the proposed amendments are completely incongruent with cooperative principles and therefore the wishes of the majority of growers,” WAFarmers said in a statement.
