Agriculture Minister Kim Chance has announced that no changes will be made to the ministerial guidelines of the Grain Licensing Authority after an independent review found that the GLA system was of benefit to the grain industry.
Agriculture Minister Kim Chance has announced that no changes will be made to the ministerial guidelines of the Grain Licensing Authority after an independent review found that the GLA system was of benefit to the grain industry.
Agriculture Minister Kim Chance has announced that no changes will be made to the ministerial guidelines of the Grain Licensing Authority after an independent review found that the GLA system was of benefit to the grain industry.
The decision has “astounded” WA Farmers Federation president Trevor De Landgrafft.
Last year, Mr Chance asked the Department of Agriculture to commission an independent review about the GLA’s guidelines and operations to see whether they were of benefit to the gran industry.
The GLA is the body responsible for the issuing of bulk export licences for prescribed grain exports.
Mr Chance said submissions received in response to the RSM Bird Cameron report substantiated the review findings.
“This, together with subsequent discussions with relevant stakeholders, has led me to conclude that there is no need to change the ministerial guidelines,” he said.
While Mr De Landgrafft accepted the minister’s decision, he said the review was flawed because it only looked at a single season’s data (rather than five), and the pools were not finalised when the report was undertaken.
“The review is a snapshot in time, a one-dimensional review,” he said. “Because of the flaws, what the report didn’t show was that while some individuals benefited, the industry did not.”
The report estimated the GLA’s benefit to the grain industry at $3.37 million for the 2003-04 season.
Mr De Landgrafft called this a “measly amount”, suggesting if analysis had included the completed 2004-05 pools, that same amount would have evaporated altogether.
“If the analysis included the 2004-05 season the pool would have outperformed the average cash price for feed barley by $15, demonstrating the clear advantages of single desk marketing,” he said.
But Mr Chance said there was a dichotomy of views in the grains industry, with one group wanting a single desk and another wanting total deregulation.
“Neither can be satisfied, so we have to walk down a razor blade between the two.”
Mr Chance said although the legislation allowed for greater opportunities to trade grain both domestically and in export markets, the Gallop Government was committed to a policy of maintaining the single desk for prescribed grain, held by the GLA.