Wool grower representatives have slammed the redundancy figure paid to Stuart McCullough

As many wool growers struggle with low income, the peak grower lobby group has lashed out at AWI’s spending. Read the details.

The peak lobby group for wool growers has lashed out at the “extraordinarily high” pay out made to former Australian Wool Innovation employee Stuart McCullough.

The payout figure, $479,531 was revealed today in the AWI annual report.

WoolProducers chief executive Jo Hall said the $479,531 termination pay out to the former chief marketing and innovation officer position was “extraordinarily high, and it is unclear from the annual report if that figure included the salary for Mr McCulloch during his six months’ notice period or if that is on top of his salary for that period of time”.

AWI announced in April this year that former head of the organisation, Mr McCullough, was to leave the levy funded group after 23 years.

Ms Hall said today that the role Mr McCullough held had “always lacked transparency and rigour”.

She said it was “noted by the Australian National Audit Office who examined the AWI board meeting papers during the second half of 2021 when the role was created and found that the AWI board’s discussions and decisions regarding the establishment of Mr McCullough as CMIO were never documented”.

The pay out comes at a time when wool growers were doing it exceptionally tough with low prices and increased costs and in many regions and poor seasons.

“This figure seems hard to justify,” Ms Hall said.

The AWI 2023-24 Annual Report also shows an increase in the total remuneration figure of the AWI board which increased by $22,271 to a total of $754,791.

This was also slammed by Wool Producers.

“While this might not seem a lot over the seven directors and could be attributed to an inflationary increase, unfortunately wool growers aren’t afforded the same luxury when it comes to their wool prices that have been received over the past 12 months,” she said.

“This is also on top of the fact that the AWI Board are paid comparatively higher than other RDC directors,” she said.

Levy payers are currently able to vote in Wool Poll to decide the levy rate paid to AWI for its research, development and marketing activities.

At the moment, growers pay 1.5 per cent of their gross greasy wool sales to AWI.

The current WoolPoll ballot asks levy payers to vote for the rate they think growers should pay, with AWI itself recommending a 2 per cent levy rate.

WoolPoll is a voluntary vote of wool levy payers who have paid at least $100 in wool levies during the past three years and voting closes on November 1.

A spokesman for AWI said Mr McCullough was “paid his legal entitlements”.

“It is worth noting he was CEO for 11 years and with the company for nearly 23,” the spokesman said. “With his departure substantial savings will be made.”