16 new nominees after Cattle Council board, CEO decide to leave

The nominees to represent grass-fed cattle producers have been announced – and none of the incumbents are standing.

Voting for the new board of Cattle Australia opened today with none of the grass-fed cattle industry’s former leadership team standing.

Yesterday, The Weekly Times revealed a mass exodus of the current board of the Cattle Council of Australia, the former organisation charged with lobbying on behalf of grass-fed cattle producers.

None of the directors of CCA have chosen to stand for the replacement organisation Cattle Australia, which differs from its predecessor in that it allows direct election of directors rather than appointment through state farming organisations.

The 16 candidates for the seven new board members for Cattle Australia include a former journalist, a meat industry specialist, consultants and several producers.

The nominations include 13 men and three women who want be part of the first directly elected board for the grass-fed gain industry.

Victorian nominees include former The Weekly Times livestock editor Fiona Conroy, agribusiness consultant and meat industry specialist Allister Watson and consultant and farmer John McArthur.

To vote, producers need to be a member of Cattle Australia, and membership for the first year is free.

Those who join CA now will still be eligible to vote for the inaugural board which will be announced in December.

MASS EXODUS FOR CCA

The entire board of the nation’s grass-fed cattle industry lobby group has effectively resigned this week.

The current board of Cattle Council of Australia has collectively chosen not stand for re-election in a move it says is designed to give the new body, Cattle Australia, the best chance of success.

Its chief executive, John McGoverne, will also stand down.

Olivia Lawson is one of the board members stepping down. Picture: Zoe Phillips

It is understood that criticism that the new Cattle Australia would merely be a rebadged CCA with no real change hit home, and the directors decided the only way forward was to leave.

Board nominations for Cattle Australia closed last Friday and 16 producers applied for the seven board positions including Victorians Fiona Conroy and

The current board directors will however remain in their roles until December 12.

The decision follows a legal stoush last week over the establishment of Cattle Australia, which will not stop the election of directors but could derail the process.

Cattle Producers Australia, which The Weekly Times understands has fewer than 400 members, continues to try to upset the process of establishing Cattle Australia.

CCA president Lloyd Hick said the court orders “impose no restraint on CCA, now known as ‘Cattle Australia’ continuing to implement the reform process – including the current election process”.

Lloyd Hick said CCA “protects and values its stakeholder interests, as will Cattle Australia”.