Senate Supermarket Inquiry: Graham Forbes calls for dairy processor input

Farmer leaders are questioning why dairy processors did not show up to the senate inquiry into supermarkets. Here’s why.

Dairy farmers are calling out Australia’s milk processors for not participating in the Senate inquiry into supermarket.

More than 110 submissions were registered with the Senate committee examining the market power of Coles and Woolworths — but not one processor publicly submitted material to the probe.

The parliamentary committee held hearings in regional NSW and Melbourne last week. NSW dairy farmer Graham Forbes was among those presenting at the hearings, and highlighted the fact no processor was participating.

“Where are the processors?” the former president of the Dairy Connect group said.

“Why aren’t they here? And why aren’t they speaking up?

“They’ve got the fear of God into them and that’s why they’re not showing up to this committee.”

Mr Forbes noted the number of NSW dairy farms had been slashed in half with more than 1000 pre-deregulation to fewer than 500 farms in recent years.

“We had been price takers for a long time,” he said.

“Unfortunately, supply has contracted significantly in the past decade.

“Certainly the big hits have been in northern NSW and southern Queensland, the fresh milk regions, since the dollar a litre milk model. The horse has bolted. Half of those farmers in Queensland have gone.

Former Dairy Connect president Graham Forbes.

A spokeswoman for the Australian Dairy Products Federation said the organisation was open to participating in the Senate inquiry. “We have expressed our interest to be involved in the hearings and are waiting to hear,” the spokeswoman said. “We also understand there may be more hearings scheduled.”

Australian Dairy Products Federation executive director Janine Waller added to that on Monday, saying the organisation participated in a Senate Select Committee “processor roundtable” discussion with Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt and independent supermarket reviewer Craig Emerson last month.

“This was followed with a submission, provided in confidence, which included our first request to participate in the public hearings,” Ms Waller said.

“We have followed this request up numerous times, and we will continue to request our participation through future public hearings and meetings in Canberra.

“We cannot say strongly enough, we are committed to working for the future of the Australian dairy industry.”

Australian Dairy Farmers president Ben Bennett said it was disappointing but hardly surprising that processors hadn’t taken part in the Senate probe as they were beholden to the supermarkets.

“The processors are now proxies for the supermarkets. I’m not saying they are willing proxies but they are proxies nonetheless,” Mr Bennett said.

“Just look at the Coles deal to buy out what was the Murray Goulburn plants in Melbourne and Sydney. In that respect, the processor is the supermarket.

“They’ve (supermarkets) played a long game and they are winning.”

Meanwhile, horticulture was the main focus of last week’s senate hearings with NSW fruit growers and Victorian vegetable farmers both delivering damning assessments of retailer conduct.

Orange-based cherry and apple farmer Guy Gaeta gave an impassioned plea for senators to address the supplier-retailer imbalance.

“They reject fruit for no reason at all,” Mr Gaeta said.

“People don’t understand how ruthless the supermarkets are. Just to sell a zucchini it has to be perfectly straight – pretty soon they will expect bananas to be straight, believe me.”

Further hearings are yet to be announced.

The Senate committee is to present a final report by May 7.