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<pre>Dear All,

While I readily acknowledge that this newsgroup in international, I think it
is fair to say that a significant proportion of the posts come from
Australia, and this is a very valid forum to discuss such matters.

Nick has highlighted a number of points (below), but I have a real fear that
we are going to get seriously bogged down in the detail of haggling over
minor issues (such as *Who will collect and enforce a compulsory and
voluntary levy on fruit delivered to processors? Who decides where said
money will be spent and on what parameters are such decisions based ?)
which while vitally important, tend to pale into insignificance when weighed
against the Big Question :

The AOA in its Review of Draft Strategy Plan 2003-08 has set up a 5 year
plan for the industry. Is this what we, the small scale growers, want? If
so, fine. If not, how are we going to be able to change it? Do we as growers
have any way of actually influencing the AOA?

I don't have an answer: but I do have a lot of questions, and I don't know
who to ask.

Mike Wilson
Hunter Valley.


> Lambros makes a lot of VERY salient points here, and I think warning
> bells should be ringing through every Australian olive grower at the
> information contained in the AOA draft.
>
> For me, there are several questions that this document raises,
> including but not limited to:
>
> *Who will collect and enforce a compulsory and voluntary levy on
> fruit delivered to processors? Who decides where said money will be
> spent and on what parameters are such decisions based ?
>
> *Where are the R&D targets? Who will decides what aspects of our
> industry receive R&D funding and what aspects don't?
>
> *In the absence of any mention of industry data analysis, how can we
> make plans for an industry when even such basic data as tree numbers
> seem to be unquantified?
>
> *What are the "import replacement" strategies?
>
> *Why do we need new membership classes?
>
> *Precisely what is happening with the QA program?
>
> And on a more general level........
>
> *What is happening with the recent negotiations for selling off The
> Olive Press to commercial interests?
>
> *Why are the minutes of our elected board representative's meetings
> being withheld from members? (N.B. full minutes have not been posted
> for over a year, and in fact the redactions of the board minutes have
> recently been further and purposefully abbreviated).
>
> *What has happened to the AUD$350,000 the "large growers group" has
> pledged to the AOA at last year's conference in Adelaide?
>
> Lots of questions, but really, if we don't ask these sorts of
> questions and discuss these sorts of issues, we only have ourselves
> to blame for the consequences. I thank and applaud Lambros, Roger &
> Sil for raising some crucial points for our consideration.
>
> Postively yours,
> Sodium!
>
>
> p.s. To those who constantly demonstrate their willingness to
> criticise and stifle a frank and honest debate on this subject, may I
> offer a small suggestion? If you don't like the topic, do us all a
> favour and don't respond. If you do feel the need to respond, please
> do us the courtesy of addressing the issues raised rather than making
> more of the usual personal attacks on the persons who post the
> questions.
>
>
>
>
>
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</pre>
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