Nicky, your few taxes would do little but pay a tiny bit towards your own
salary. Last time I looked, the amount spent on education is huge, around
16 billion or whatever, I would have to check. So Govt money is virtually
being thrown at you, that includes my taxes.

Given that economics is clearly your weakness, I’ll explain some basics to
you. Mining is actually not a large % of GDP, but it is vital, as it generates
export $. The same applies to farming. Not only do we feed you lot, but
export 70% of what we produce, which helps to stop you living in a banana
republic. You rode the sheeps back for most of your life, as did most Australians.

Now if suburban Australia could actually generate reasonable export $, compared
to what they spend shopping etc, then farming would matter less. But that is
not the case. You can’t.

So we have had 2 economies for a long time in Australia, one competing on global
markets, one competing on the protected local market. We still pay tariffs on many
of our inputs, less then before, but they should have been removed long ago. Yet
we have to compete globally.

If we benchmark Australian farm commodities internationally, what we have is
extremely cheap products at the farm gate, but city Australians seem unable to
take those products and value add them efficiently. So we have to find the
shortest possible route to our end customers, because of your poor performance.

Given your poor performance in suburbia, given your tendency to screw farmers
for every cent that you can for your own benefit, the more that we avoid your
inefficient ways, it seems the better we do.

Farming is a business, people have bills to pay to survive. If you can’t pay us
a reasonable price, as in paid in say NZ, or the US, or the EU, or anywhere else
for that matter, the best thing we can do is put our produce on a boat and
avoid you as much as possible.

PID=N10450&RURL=/postings/15403/news/10450.html&WAID=&WRID=1540

Australian Beef Association News
Request More Information Email this to a Friend Print version
ABA Releases Its Questions for the MLA AGM
Published: 30 Oct 2007

News ID: 10450
ABA Chairman, Brad Bellinger today released questions that ABA/MLA members will attempt to ask at the MLA AGM at Rockhampton on 22nd.November.

He said, At previous MLA AGMs often there is limited time to ask our questions, so he thought it would be a good opportunity to make them public now before the AGM, which is being held in Rockhampton on Thursday 22ns November 2007.

ABA would like to ask questions to all of the MLA Board and will include the following:

How much has been spent on MSA since its inception and why is it not displayed in more retail outlets?

MLA has refused to do a cost benefit analysis of NLS. The UK has done one on RFID NLIS for sheep and found that its costs would render their industry uncompetitive in Europe. As the NLIS implementation costs mount here in Australia and our international competitiveness falls, will MLA do a cost benefit analysis to show how its levy payers are being hurt?

How many people are employed in the NLIS section of MLA?

What is the total cost to MLA of running the NLIS?

We read in the MLA Annual Report that $81,779 was paid to Ernst Young for their NLIS forensic investigation into the FarmOnline Rort. At the time we were told that we could see this Ernst Young report into the matter. When can we see it?

We understand that the two NLIS employees who rorted the NLIS FarmOnline poll have not been dismissed. Was this because they were operating under orders from higher up the management ladder?

Your staff claimed that Japan required NLIS for its imported beef. Can you explain why USA, with BSE and no NLIS is taking back our market share in Japan?
To Be Contiuned

contiuned
Your predecessors last Chairman's Report claimed that a USFTA would help Australian beef producers and that MLA was helping the Government in negotiations. It has done the reverse through its 'Side Letter', which helped USA get back into Japan. Can you explain your support for the signing?

Can you guarantee that no MLA money will go to NFF under any pretext such as the City/Farm $1 million project?

How much money has MLA spent in propping up the Cattle Futures market and how much longer will it continue to do so?

You had a Committee push for a $1.50 increase in the transaction levy because your Officers claimed that the herd would rise to 31 million by 2009. How do you explain the falling herd and the falling prices when the US producers are getting almost twice what our producers are getting and only have a $1 levy?

Your organisation claims success due to a claimed additional $418 million spent by domestic consumers on red meat purchases. How do you arrive at the expenditure figure?

As supermarkets are taking a much larger share of the consumer dollar and the increased expenditure is not passed back to producers whose levies pay for the advertising. Why isn't your performance measured on what produces are paid rather than what supermarkets receive?

Mr Bellinger said, 'He will be attending the MLA AGM and would be happy to use any proxy votes directed to him'
The End

Hello all


The Answer girls is within the industry- give the farmers an equal price to sell here and they will take it.
Nothing else is going to make a tad of difference. Its not driven by Australia but huge international demand.

Times a waisting.

Things are happening.

Give us a hand to open plants or watch them go on boats forever.

Nicky, you made a broad statement that most farmers are getting the dole and therefore "parasites", a completely wrong and ignorant statement. It is evidently not farmers who need to get over themselves in this case.

As you so kindly pointed out most farmers are doing well, having those 4x4's those city folk regard as status symbols, though just a necessity for many in rural areas. And according to abare, farmers have built substantial equity in their holdings. Some more than others http://business.smh.com.au/the-100-million-question/20080413-25vy.html?skin=text-only
There will always be some intent on tearing farmers down, downplaying their importance to the nation. I can only surmise it is to make themselves feel important, that their vocation is somehow more noble and essential than feeding the masses.

While you may well scoff at the farmers few percentage points of GDP, our value in trade with other countries doesn't have a lot to do with hairdressers and waitresses here. If you think of Australia as a business then all that internal spending is simply shifting money from dept to dept, real revenue is from exports. The rest of GDP is simply turnover.
Agriculture still makes up some 30% of our export dollars. If we think we can continue to import goods based on internal turnover we have problems. We already do with our imports outweighing our exports widening the trade deficit. Without an ag industry it would be wider still.

When you stop and have a good look at things what is more important than food?(other than water, which farmers own rights to a lot of too). In a food crisis, who would be more important to Australias future than a farmer. Take farmers for granted if you wish, just remember that agriculture has enabled humans to free themselves from a hunter/gatherer existence, and to do many other things in life, including biting the hand that feeds them.

Holy cow – can anyone interpret the Mouth's hysterics for me?

In reality, when you read a recent drought policy by expert Dr Linda Bottril, farming families are now receiving welfare support at 12 times the rate of other welfare recipients in the community.

As an Australian National University researcher, she says she is mystified by the rationale for the latest government drought welfare assistance which allows a doubling of the allowable off-farm income to $20,000 before the welfare payment is decreased.

How much are taxpayers paying to support farmers? It's rising rapidly. When this phase of drought support began in the intense dry of 2002-03, $141 million was handed out, most of it to pay farmers unemployment benefits if their farm was no longer producing enough to earn them a living.

Then $220 million in 2004-05 and almost doubling to $386 million in 2005-06, and swelling again to $660 million in 2006-07.

You can bet it will be at least $1 billion this year.

And the MLA's annual "promotional expenditure" was $88 million!

I don't believe my tax should be given to Australians that are more affluent than I am particularly since livestock and the crops which feed the livestock occupy some 60% of Australia’s arid and desecrated land mass.

What’s left over is for grain growers and fresh produce farmers who remain under the impression they can grow stuff in a bloody desert.

Some time ago, ecologist Peter Cullen argued that farming had spread into outback areas unsuitable for it, and after years of little or no rain.

Regardless, this fragile land is sacrificed for the cruel and unethical live export of cattle, goats, sheep, deer, camels and anything else this greedy consortium can get their mits on and expanding, reducing our GDP, trashing our eco systems; polluting our ports and oceans; exacerbating drought conditions and significantly increasing GHGs.

All for the selfishness and blind greed of a cabal who knows but one objective: Maximum profits and bugger the consequences.

And yet the Mouth keeps sookin' and sucks his thumb.......!

Rojo
I agree with what you are saying about farmers basically) about this country and its background =I cant help but wonder why you are taking the Mickey out of Nicky.

All she is really saying is for God Sake have some common deceny and at least slaughter Animals in their place of origen.

Now that is RSPCA official stand on the subject along with all other Animal Welfare organisations and vets if you exclude the ones paid by the Government.

Its also what most real farmers have to say. You may not hear from these chaps every single day. The truth is they shake their heads and simply walk away.

They want nothing to do with the low lifes that only care about picking up on the trade dollar.
The live agents themselves have openinly its not about the product its about the trade dollars.

It could have been car tyers. However the world food demands put Australia in the top demand for meat products.

You will note I said meat products because telling people it must be live for whatever crap livecourpe the Government and MLA FF is simply just a lie.

I think best for people trying to attention to cruelty not rubbish farmers ( which we simple must have)

If we are to change it we must work together. We have to go to ME and Asia and the others. We have to personally invite buyers into Australian markets to form an alience at grass roots with our farmers.
We have to do this now before its too late.

Its been left far too long and big plans are underway which will stop us from turning back.

MLA and Austrade are just a government front and Government are in bed for donations from the live animal shipping scum bags that take the jobs from your grandkids.

And BTW farming is the root of any country- So lets not toss it away.

Yabby if you cant see those animals blined and their teeth bareing in pain - Your certainly no farmer btw interesting comment about pink eye.