WESTFARM

Tony and Jeannette West	Ph: (02)  
“Bellevue”, Young   2594	Fax: (02  

Facsimile Message

To: Pigmeat Safeguards Inquiry	Date: 22.11.07
From: Westfarm Piggery   Tony West	No. of pages: 3

Message:

The Chairman
Productivity Commission

I make this submission with no confidence what so ever in the Commission after the last enquiry they conducted and the direction we have travelled since then.

Federal Governments in the past have sold the Pig Industry out by signing WTO agreements while the rest of the world has looked on in amazement.

Now we are tied up in a straight jacked that can not be undone.

You talk now about safeguards after the foundations of the industry have collapsed. Long surviving producers who have weathered any crisis in the past are now either closed down or reducing numbers.

The drought is being blamed for the problem but all it did was speed up the process.

Our family operation up until recently have been running a 400 sow operation through to bacon in conjunction with a grain and sheep operation.

Pigs were first introduced onto our property in 1935 and moved into an intensive operation in 1980. We have now reduced to a hand full of sows.

Also our permanent staff have moved on.

In an operation like ours drought hits us a lot harder then an operation that buys feed in. We plant a crop with all the costs involved and then it fails, so we are up for twice the cost by having to still buy grain in.

Safeguards are far to late and what the Federal Government had done since the early 90’s I believe is negligent in the highest order. 

Producers have been sent to the wall because of politicians and bearcats on an ego trip. Since Danish Pigmeat was allowed in it has been all down hill for producers.

I believe this Commission should be looking at financial compensation to all producers who were forced to close or reduce since Danish meat was allowed in.

This I believe should take the form of a $1000 per breeding sow to cover what producers have had taken away from them.

I also believe Chairman Banks, that your Commission has an opportunity to right some of the wrongs that have been forced on our bleeding industry.

Yours sincerely

G West