FRUSTRATED Beef producers badgered the likes of Richard Norton, from the MLA and shadow agriculture minister Joel Fitzgibbon at a heated gathering upstairs in the Casino RSM Club on Monday night.
Only two nights before the Casino Beef Week Queen was crowned in the same room, but on this occasion frivolities were put aside as politics took centre stage.
A panel that also included local Nationals member Kevin Hogan, and his Labor opposition - the former member Janelle Saffin, offered their answers to the assembled throng,which was not a big gathering but a bad accident on the Lismore road may have kept numbers away.
Despite the rhetoric, explanations failed to quell passion and somewhat stoushful debate continued well after the meeting officially closed.
Organised by Tasmanian David Byard of the Australian Beef Association with help from Linda Hewitt, Emerald Queensland, The Casino meeting was intended as a call to arms by long-jaded graziers tired of carrying the whipping boy at market.
Meat and Livestock Association leader Richard Norton came under heavy fire from frustrated producers sick of seeing their levies apparently ‘disappear’ into the mawing jaw of the great R&D organisation.
However, Mr Norton’s ability to return that fire ‘on his feet’ later brought praise from one of the organisation’s enduring critics – Kyogle’s Vince Ptolemy.
Of course that complement was reserved only for Mr Norton’s style, and when Mr Ptolemy passionately spoke of the need to entirely restructure the MLA and start afresh there was plenty of applause from the gallery.
Mr Norton from the MLA vigorously defended his organisation’s need for continued research dollars and told producers that without ear tag contributions the beef industry would be worse off.
Frontmost in the minds of many was the need to adopt the current seven senate recommendations for the beef industry. Just half of one suggestion has been implemented by Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce.
However Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon didn’t commit to signing off on those recommendations either, simply saying he would look into it – within the first 100 days of a new government – provided no other beef sector was unfairly disadvantaged.
Concern at lack of representation for small veal producers on the Northern Rivers was clear and the floor voted unanimously to introduce a single tag payment at the point of slaughter rather than at the point of sale – a move backed by Inverell-based processor John McDonald of Bindaree Beef who attended the meeting.
The move frustrated Mr Norton who told the meeting that MLA’s research had helped stem the decline in consumption grounding out for the first time in 12 years.
“We have stopped the decline,” he said, noting that it came in spite of a 30-40 per cent price rise in beef and in spite of a damning World Health Organisation report on red meat consumption.
“The last two years has changed dramatically,” he said. “The Australian market is the backbone of our industry. Beef production out-rates chicken production two to one for (consumer) safeness. Your investment (in MLA) has delivered dollars back.”
Shadow minister Mr Fitzgibbon, who attended the Casino meeting in support of Page Labor candidate Janelle Saffin, defended the MLA’s work in recent times under Mr Norton’s leadership but observed that a real lack of political lobbying force for the beef industry in Canberra was all too obvious.
“Beef lacks a strong peak body. The quality and power of lobbying agents is important – and that needs to be backed by research,” he said, alluding to the important role of the MLA. “Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater!”