Committee position gives voice to levy payers

Committee position gives voice to levy payers

Horticulture levy payers are encouraged to apply for a new position on Hort Innovation’s Director Nomination Committee (the committee).

Member-based organisation Voice of Horticulture (VoH) has been contracted to seek and receive expressions of interest from eligible levy payers. VoH Chair, Tania Chapman, said that having a levy payer on the committee would provide growers with more certainty that the right people are making decisions on their behalf.

“Levy payers should have a say on who is running the company,” Tania said.

“The research and development spending by Hort Innovation can determine how the industry is moving forward. In the citrus industry, for example, shifting the investment focus from on-farm to market development saw a record 72,000t of produce head into China last season.”

“It’s important for levy payers to have faith in the process and having a stronger voice is a good thing.”

Growers applying for the committee position do not need to have Director experience, but Tania said it is imperative that they understand good governance principles.

“The committee is made up of four people and they need to have an appropriate skill set and a basic understanding of R&D processes,” Tania said.

“They may have done an AICD (Australian Institute of Company Directors) course, but that’s not a pre-requisite. Being involved in the decision-making process of their own companies is a good indication of their skills.”

Tania urged growers to take the opportunity seriously.

“Now is the time for levy payers to stand up and say let’s make sure we have the right people making the decisions.”

Citrus Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Nathan Hancock, is encouraging citrus growers to apply.

“I think it is important for citrus grower members of Hort Innovation to be involved in the selection of directors,” said Nathan.

“We’ve seen first-hand what the benefits of effective Hort Innovation spending can be. Having levy payers involved with deciding who is at the helm moving forward will be fantastic.”

Those interested in applying should send an email addressing the criteria to admin@voiceofhorticulture.org.au by 5pm AEST on 18 May 2018.