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FLETCHER MUST LEAD AUSTRALIAN WOOL INNOVATION
8 September 2008
The Australian Wool Growers Association (AWGA) is calling for popular
Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) Director Roger Fletcher to lead the AWI
Board as Chairman.
Fletcher was elected to the AWI Board in November 2007 with overwhelming
national woolgrower support.
AWGA Chairman Martin Oppenheimer says that demand for Australian wool & the confidence of Australian woolgrowers is at turning point. AWI has recently announced that it will spend $120 million of woolgrower levies on a 3 year marketing campaign.
“We need a united effort & a united AWI Board to build demand & confidence for wool. Roger Fletcher is the person who can do that. The decline in Australian wool production must stop.”
“Australian woolgrowers have had a gutful of AWI’s silver bullets, spin doctors & continuing poor leadership. Now it appears that we have a small board within the AWI board keeping secrets.”
The current AWI Chairman Brian van Rooyan, last week shocked woolgrowers by implying that he did not trust at least four AWI Board Directors. He stated to media that the AWI Board had conflicts of interest, breaches of board confidence, & unauthorised and inappropriate contact with animal rights movements overseas. These unsubstantiated allegations followed the admission that the current Chairman of AWI deliberately withheld information from at least four AWI Directors.
“Brian Van Rooyan has been an AWI Director since 2002 & vice chairman until recently. In that time we have lost at least 35 million sheep from the national wool growing flock. Woolgrowers need new & positive leadership now, & put wool’s decline of the last 6 years behind them.”
“The immediate solution is for Roger Fletcher to lead AWI. He is part of the future, as one of Australia’s largest woolgrowers, wool processors & sheep meat processors. He will give great confidence to woolgrowers, with his proven track record & no nonsense approach to business.”
“Roger Fletcher will not waste the opportunities created by the new marketing campaign & $120 million of woolgrowers investment.”
Martin Oppenheimer
Chairman AWGA 02 6777 2124 0413 580 040
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