Interesting guest at grocery enquiry

It appears some people will travel a long way to have their say.

This was certainly the case when representatives from the Canberra-based Horticulture Australia Council (HAC) travelled to Cairns so as to appear before one the ACCC's Grocery Price Inquiry Hearings.

Of further interest was that one of the people appearing alongside HAC CEO, Kris Newton, was none other than ex-Growcom Chairman, Paul Ziebarth.

With Growcom being a member of HAC and with Growcom's members having dumped Mr Ziebarth as Chairman late last year, one can only speculate the basis on which he was appearing with HAC. Given that Growcom's members voted for change and supported the election of three candidates who had run on a platform of the organisation improving the relationships it has with other industry sectors, the concern is that HAC is out of step with both its members and growers.

The growing sector of the horticulture industry remains very divided regarding numerous aspects of the Code.

The ongoing push by HAC to maintain its hardline support for the Code appears to suggest that there is little good in the domestic industry in terms of the commercial relationships which exist beyond the farm gate.

This position is not only very negative, which in itself creates a range of other issues for the industry, but it fails to acknowledge and take account of the many good relationships which do exist – and the need to give growers, wholesalers and retailers the ability to retain the core elements of these many successful commercial relationships in doing business.