Federated Farmers: Wool Board Must Come Clean To Levy Payers

Federated Farmers NZ Meat & Fibre Producers' Chairman Chris Lester is demanding that the Wool Board come clean on the extent that the Board is departing from the McKinsey recommendations.

"The Wool Board must come clean with wool levy payers and tell them what they are planning to do," said Mr Lester.

"It is my understanding - and I say that because the Wool Board has failed to communicate with growers about how it is implementing the McKinsey recommendations - that the Wool Board has moved significantly away from the McKinsey recommendations."

"Is it true that the Board is planning to spend $40 - 45 million of reserves on the Strong Wools company?" asked Mr Lester.

"Is it true that growers will have no choice whether or not to invest their reserve entitlement in the commercial venture - Strong Wools?"

"Is it true that the Wool Board does not plan to return any of the reserves to levy payers?"

"Is it true that the Wool Board has signed a heads of agreement giving Wrightson's a shareholding in Strong Wools?"

"Is it true that a chief executive has already been appointed to run Strong Wools?"

"Growers need to know the details of Strong Wools and how a compulsory investment of their money will deliver a commercial return to them."

"If the above is true, what clearer evidence do growers need that the Wool Board Act provides no accountability to levy payers?" concluded Mr Lester

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>