Dairy Connect calls for collective bargaining group recognition and binding arbitration under an enhanced Dairy Code to help resolve disputes simply and affordably. This is part of its submission to the federal government for consideration in the code.
The code provides the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission with regulatory oversight of milk supply agreements, negotiated in good faith between dairy farmers and processors.
Dairy Connect Farmer Group chairman and Gloucester dairy producer Graham Forbes said the initiative was a positive step and should be applauded.
“Although the code was not intended as a panacea for the systemic challenges that the Australian dairy industry continues to face, its main purpose was to restore ‘trust, openness and transparency’ among producers. dairy products and their processors, ”said Forbes.
“As we state in our comments on the review, the Dairy Code illustrates the positive relationship between dairy farmers and their processors.”
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Dairy Connect chief executive Shaughn Morgan said there were a number of issues that had not been included in the current code.
“These included extending the protection of the Dairy Code to collective bargaining groups of dairy farmers; integrating the provision of mediation and binding arbitration through a body of independent experts; publication of minimum prices and milk supply agreements in a central location via, for example, a website; and extending the dairy code to include supermarkets in the dairy value chain (not just with dairy farmers with whom retailers contract directly), ”Morgan said.
“Many of the dairy code improvements suggested by Dairy Connect are currently available through other industry codes and should therefore be implemented by the federal government to provide the same protections to dairy producers.
“One example is improving the dispute resolution process to include binding arbitration, which reduces the need for costly legal action and makes parties more responsive to a ‘win / win’ solution.
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