THE days of agri-politics at Australian Wool Innovation should now be over after a funding agreement between the organisation and the Federal Government was signed off this week.
The agreement spells out strict new guidelines for how the research and development company has to run its ship, calling for skills-based appointments to all future boards and an end to the agri-political activities which have dogged AWI for the past decade.
However wool lobby group, WoolProducers, does not believe the funding agreement will necessarily bring about an end to the politicking, arguing only a change to the AWI constitution and company structure will stop the infighting, annual election battles and outspoken advocacy on issues like mulesing.
Whilst welcoming the funding agreement as a step in the right direction for AWI, WoolProducers executive director Greg Weller says he hopes a Productivity Commission review into the rural research and development organisations will recommend further reforms to the management and governance of the company.
"Skills-based board" as defined by the agreement means a board which can demonstrate collective expertise against each of the following: corporate governance; wool growing; wool processing; product promotion and retail marketing; domestic and international market development and international trade; research and development, technology transfer and commercialisation and adoption of research and innovation; conservation and management of natural resources; administration of research and development; and finance and business management.
The agreement says it is expected that the skills required to effectively manage AWI would be reviewed by a nomination committee before each selection process.
Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke, told ABC radio this week he's been concerned about the way AWI "has always gravitated towards agricultural politics, whereas it's meant to be gravitating towards agricultural research and marketing".
"I don't blame the people involved. I think the structure has always pushed them that way," Mr Burke said.
He said now the funding agreement's been reached, he wants specific detail and "milestones" as to how AWI will move to skills-based board appointments ending the agri-politics, acknowledging the fact the company's constitution can't be changed without support from levy payers.
Mr Burke said he's not prescriptive on how AWI moves to a skills-based board but said a 12-month performance review later this year will look for progress and transition towards these changes.
"If I don't see progress then I'd have trouble reconciling that with the agreement that they've signed," Mr Burke said bluntly.
AWI chairman, Wal Merriman, said he's requested a meeting with Mr Burke to talk about the definition of "skills-based" and discuss other details about how these new guidelines in the funding agreement will be reached.
"I think the skills held by members on this board would be hard to replicate in any other business…I'm proud of the skills we have on the board," Mr Merriman said.
But he said any push to try and change the constitution at AWI would not be easy and it would be staying in tact.
"The constitution is sacra cant," Mr Merriman said.
"I think levy payers are happy with the constitution and the way they elect their representatives."
But Greg Weller believes the politicking won't go away until the constitution changes.
"This agreement can't overrule corporation's law or the AWI constitution," Mr Weller said.
"We believe the constitution at AWI has to change because many of its issues are structural."
Mr Weller said the Government can't stop politics erupting around a board election, because despite any new board nomination process put in place the constitution still allows for any person with the backing of 99 woolgrowers to put themselves forward for election.
He said the campaigning and claims to representation of growers on issues like mulesing had to stop because the body was purely funded to focus on science, research and marketing.
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