eastAUSmilk chief executive officer Eric Danzi and government relations manager Mike Smith met with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in Sydney last week to discuss the proposed purchase by Coles of Saputo processing plants in Laverton North (Victoria) and Erskine Park (New South Wales).
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The ACCC is investigating the impact on competition of the proposed acquisition.
Unfortunately, the ACCC's investigation is very narrow, and pays zero attention to the aspirations shared by all Australians - ongoing access to locally sourced fresh milk, regional community resilience, fairness, and the like.
It is also unable to take account of the appalling record of the major retailers in treating dairy farmers like serfs.
eastAUSmilk has made a strong submission opposing the acquisition, and the discussion with ACCC focused around the content of what the submission said.
Politicians in Queensland, New South Wales and federally will be actively pressed by eastAUSmilk to ensure the acquisition is blocked.
Discussions with minister
Errol Gerber and Joe Bradley, both eastAUSmilk district councillors, along with government relations manager Mike Smith, showed Queensland's Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner around Mr Gerber's Clarendon dairy farm last week.
As well as showing the minister over farm operations, the eastAUSmilk bent the Mr Furner's ear about a wide range of topics, among which Joe was able to talk about his experience with Queensland government dairy industry programs, particularly taking up smart collars for monitoring individual and herd well-being.
Discussion ranged over tick virus vaccine supplies (the minister told us his department promises they will be available from next week), farmgate pricing concerns, industry resilience and drought/disaster preparation, improvements to various government programs, and Coles' proposed purchase of Saputo processing plants.
During discussions the minister mentioned his grandfather was a dairy farmer, and he had spent time on the property back in hand-milking days.
