Self-employed Grazier, President Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders, Member of Wild Dog Advisory Group, SWQld Leading Sheep Committee

Q: What specific skills do you add to the board?

R: A guarantee to protect wool grower’s rights

Sensible sheep industry leadership skills

Q: Why should growers trust you on your corporate track record?

R: I haven’t given them any reason not to. At all times I have tried to do my job with honesty and integrity and with the best interests of my members in mind.

Q: What is your assessment of AWI and what would you change if anything?

R: The current board is running AWI as a high cost Australia focused operation with an unsustainable level of overheads. It is using a lot of levy funds in selling messages within Australia to growers at a time when the focus needs to be on existing and new customers. The changes needed are more effort in demand creation, open and cohesive board and an organization with low operating costs which like all businesses earns the right to grow staff and expenses as sales increase.

Q: What is your definition of conflict of interest at board level?

R: It is where you stand to gain financially from a decision at board level that you should have abstained from being involved in.

Q: What is your stance on mulesing?

R: Mulesing with pain relief provides us with an animal welfare outcome that is of the highest standards currently available to us. We have seen already from woolgrowers in NZ, and in Australia this year, that to not mules, with pain relief, provides us with a detrimental animal welfare outcome. It is essential that this practice is left in place until we find that elusive viable alternative.