AWI board election: first nominees step up

WA commercial producer Neil Jackson and SA-based Collinsville Stud Merinos principal George Millington have both signalled their plans to throw their hat in the ring for a director role.

Current directors David Webster and James Morgan are both retiring from the board, but an AWI spokesman said he had no information on which directors would seek re-election, with the board to finalise that by the end of August

"Potential candidates have until the 18th of September to attain more than 99 verified signatures to then appear on the ballot," he said

"The Board Nomination Committee has engaged recruitment firm Heinrich and Struggles.

"The processes of assessing potential candidates through the BNC process will begin in late June."

Mr Millington and wife Sophie bought Collinsville Stud Merinos in 2014, and followed up with buying a second iconic Merino stud in 2020, East Bungaree Stud.

Their operation runs across three properties in SA.

Prior to owning Collinsville and East Bungaree, Mr Millington worked in the finance industry and then was involved in the coffee industry, building and expanding a wholesale coffee importation and roasting business.

After selling Monjava Coffee to San Remo Pasta, he bought logistics company APD Parcel Delivery, and is still involved in its management today.

Mr Millington said the challenges of running and growing businesses for the last 20 years has given him experience across multiple industries, including importation, production and marketing.

"I have built a successful track record growing, running and leading businesses in a variety of industries, sustainably and profitably," he said.

"Over the last 11 years in the wool industry, I've spoken to countless woolgrowers around the country and heard the shared challenges we all face within the industry."

"I am nominating to join the Australian Wool Innovation Board of Directors to positively influence the future of the wool industry, to lift the price of wool and to ensure we have a sustainable industry for the next generation."

"Australian Wool Innovation has demonstrated the power and impact that a successful marketing campaign can have across the world with the recent 'wear wool, not fossil fuel' campaign and I believe there is further opportunity to establish wool as a modern fibre and continue to lift the value of the natural fibre that woolgrowers know and love."

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Mr Jackson is a past president of Merino WA with broad committee experience and said he's been asked to run in the past but had been busy focusing on his own mixed farming operation at Kojunup.

His commercial Merino operation can see them shear up to 25,000 to 27,000 sheep, with a very minor stud business component.

It produces up to 600 bales of wool a year at an averrage 18.5 microns.

Now however the time is right for him to follow his passion to advocate for the wool industry.

Mr Jackson said the Merino industry in WA is currently at a crossroads due to the issues surrounding the phase out of the live sheep export industry and the ongoing wool harvesting labour shortage.

"Those are just a few of the things that I would be looking to address," he said.

"We rely on our export markets hugely... normally there's 800,000 to a million sheep go out a year but it's been sneaking down because of government intervention.

"We don't have a big packaged meat domestic market so there will be a lot of sheep seeking markets in the eastern states I think, which doesn't augur well for the eastern markets.

"Between that and shearing there's just a lot of people talking about getting out of sheep or looking at shedding breeds... it's all a bit scary at the moment.

"There's third and fourth generation wool growers that between shearing and the live export are saying, 'this is all just a bit too hard'."

Mr Jackson said he felt it was important to represent WA wool growers on the AWI board.

"There's a level of disconnect in Western Australia from the wool industry and that's been seen through the Wool Poll and director elections... the level of WA participation has never been great and I'd like to give a bit more presence," he said.

"I personally think AWI is vital, what they do in the R & D space is very important and what they do in the marketing space with various partnerships is vital so it would be a shame to see that diminished [for WA growers]."

The AWI board ballot will be mailed and emailed to shareholders in mid-October.

AWI's annual meeting will be held on November 17.