Farmers must have a say on Dairy Board's Australian initiative

"New Zealand dairy farmers must be consulted on the Dairy Board's proposed partial merger with Australian dairy company Bonlac, " said Alliance agriculture spokesperson John Wright MP today.

While Bonlac's Australian dairy farmer shareholders will have a direct voice in giving approval to the plans, their New Zealand counterparts will have to rely on a decision of the Dairy Board's small board of directors, dominated by representatives of the large Kiwi and Dairy Group co-operatives.

"Kiwi and Dairy Group are the two companies that have been unable to successfully conclude the mega-merger proposal. Farmers have a healthy scepticism over the companies' ability to put the interests of the industry ahead of inter-company politics

"New Zealand has over recent years seen many hard working people burnt by new business directions that failed.

"While the proposed move appears to be in line with the future directions signalled by the mega-merger proposal, industry leaders should be now be aware of the need to take the farmers who are the real owners of the industry with them," said John Wright MP.

ENDS

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