Barnaby Joyce quiet on AWI focus group row involving Wal Merriman

AGRICULTURE Minister Barnaby Joyce has refused to be drawn into a scandal involving wool industry boss Wal Merriman secretly watching a meeting of a confidential industry focus group through a one-way mirror.

AGRICULTURE Minister Barnaby Joyce has refused to be drawn into a scandal involving wool industry boss Wal Merriman secretly watching a meeting of a confidential industry focus group through a one-way mirror.

It was last week revealed that Mr Merriman (pictured), the chairman of Australian Wool Innovation, viewed the meeting of the focus group — made up of stud breeders using the genetic appraisal MerinoSelect program — in June.

Wal Merriman

Participants in the meeting were assured anonymity and not informed Mr Merriman — a stud breeder who does not use MerinoSelect — would be privy to the conversation.

WoolProducers Australia president Richard Halliday called the incident “unethical”, and said while AWI’s comments that it would never happen again were “a given”, it was “unbelievable that it happened in the first place”.

A spokesman for Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the matter was one for “wool growers and stud breeders to raise with AWI”.

“The Minister understands the AWI chairman has said the man-behind-the-mirror will not happen again,” the spokesman said.

Both AWI and Mr Joyce wouldn’t be drawn on whether there would be any repercussions, or intervention, following Mr Merriman’s behaviour.

AWI said the incident of having a meeting including some people in a room watched by another behind a one-way mirror was “not a normal occurrence” and something “AWI will not be undertaking again”.

Mr Halliday said if wool growers were unhappy with the performance of AWI or its board they had the option to “vote directors off the board or vote zero per cent in WoolPoll”.

“(But) neither of these options can be done in a timely fashion, they are reactive and place growers in the untenable position of having to weigh up the value of investment in industry research and development against the performance of the board,” Mr Halliday said.

He said wool growers deserved a better system, and WoolProducers would continue to call for structural reform and arms-length industry oversight of AWI.