Meeting details (Sydney time)
The meeting was conducted by videoconference.
Agenda
- Election of a chair for the meeting
- Confirmation of previous minutes
- Annual General Meeting - 16 November 2022
- Annual financial report
- Report from the Board of Directors
- Election of Directors
- Election of Councillors
- Appointment of an auditor
- Strategic plan
No further items can be considered at the AGM.
Quorum
Of the 29 financial Full Members as at 24/10/2023, 7 were in attendance and so the Secretary declared that a quorum was present.
Minutes
DraftAgenda 1 - Election of a meeting chair
As there was no Member Council constituted (in which case, the President or a councillor would chair the meeting), the Full Members elected Peter Hislop Speers to preside as Chair of the meeting.
The following oath promotes principles on which to focus during our meeting:
- We stand on the land nurtured by indigenous peoples before us for thousands of years. “Our land abounds in natures’ gifts of beauty, rich and rare.”
- We recognise our privilege and respect our obligation to lead, include and share.
- OIA presides over the leading global example of sustainable agriculture and safe food critical for human survival.
- Australia is the dominant holder of certified organic land, and the 3rd largest holder of agricultural land more generally.
- It is incumbent on us as directors of OIA to set a global precedence for transition of agriculture to sustainable, safe, and nature-positive agriculture. Safe for consumption of our product, safe for agricultural workers, safe for the environment, it’s flora and it’s fauna.
That Peter Hislop Speers be appointed to chair the Annual General Meeting.
Motion proposed
Janie McClureMotion carried
Motion seconded
Jacky WilliamsAgenda 2 - Previous minutes
That the meeting accept the minutes for the 2022 Annual General Meeting of 16/11/2022.
Motion proposed
Janie McClureMotion carried
Motion seconded
Jacky WilliamsAgenda 3 - Annual financial report
Membership
| Memberships at 30/6/22 | Memberships at 30/6/23 | Financial | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Ordinary | Total | Large | Medium | Small | Total | ||||
| Full member | 33 | 49 | 82 | 6 | 71 | 4 | 81 | 29 | ||
| Associate | 7 | 27 | 34 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 13 | ||
| Total | 40 | 76 | 116 | 6 | 79 | 29 | 114 | 42 | ||
Overall financial position
We returned a profit last year of $4,525, compared with a profit of $7,839 in the previous year. Cash assets were $20,297 and membership fees receivable were $1,160. In comparison, liabilities were only $211. This leaves net equity of $21,247.
Revenue
Revenue from membership fees increased due to the increase in level of fees implemented for last year, and despite a drop off in memberships.
Revenue included a donation of $3,000 from NASAA to assist with membership promotion.
Expense
Expenses were mostly in line with the previous year, except for an additional cost of $1,345 to convene two certifier forums in Brisbane.
Attachments
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Income statement 2022-23 (29.74 KB) | 29.74 KB |
| Financial position 2022-23 (30.23 KB) | 30.23 KB |
| Cash flow 2022-23 (29.42 KB) | 29.42 KB |
| Financial statements (41.42 KB) | 41.42 KB |
That the meeting accept the financial statements as presented for 2022-23.
Motion proposed
Janie McClureMotion carried
Motion seconded
Jacky WilliamsAgenda 4 - Report from Board of Directors
Peter Hislop Speers, Chair of the Board of Directors, reported to the meeting on the activities of the Board for the year.
Agenda 5 - Election of Directors
During the year, Dalene Wray resigned as a Director and Chair of the Board, and Peter Hislop Speers was appointed Chair.
The terms of the following Directors expired at the AGM, and they were eligible to stand again for election:
- Peter Hislop Speers
- Ian James
There were 4 continuing directors:
- Andrew Cowan
- Jacky Williams
- Janie McClure
- Tim Marshall
The remaining director positions were declared vacant.
Number of director positions
MotionThat there be seven (7) director positions.
Motion proposed
Janie McClureMotion carried
Motion seconded
Jacky WilliamsCandidates for director
Four nominations for director were received by the Company Secretary.
| Nomination | Proposed | Seconded |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony Walsgott | Palotus | Mount Anne |
| Grace Stevens | Palotus | Mount Anne |
| Ian James | Palotus | Mount Anne |
| Peter Hislop Speers | Palotus | Mount Anne |
Grace Stevens withdrew her nomination prior to the AGM.
Anthony Walsgott
Anthony is a Senior Solicitor specialising in the preparation of court/trial briefs, court representation/advocacy, preparing legal opinions, and conducting Alternative Dispute Resolution. Anthony is currently a Senior Solicitor for the law firm Box Forest Consultancy (since July 2022) working on legal cases that defend the legal rights of organic farmers against chemical farmers who are illegally polluting organic crops both directly and through unmitigated chemical spray drift.
Anthony has a long history working in environmental and ecological law, previously working as an in-house solicitor for Walsgott Animal Law Service Inc and Sunshine Coast Environment Council, preparing briefs and legal opinions and running/representing in court trials in the Planning and Environment Court in Maroochydore and Brisbane.
He grew up on a 1000 acre farm near Dooen, Wimmera, Victoria, which was primarily a wheat farm that also had mixed farming, including cows and sheep. His father was convinced by chemical companies to use chemicals on the wheat crops and would later die from exposure to chemicals.
Anthony maintains a strict vegan diet eating raw organic vegan as much as he can (so much fruit, sprouted legumes and salad vegetables and other foods that can be eaten raw), but cooked vegan food is still a significant part of his diet, with foods such as bread, pasta, rice etc.
Since 2020, Anthony has co-owned a property on the Mary River north of Gympie which became the new home sanctuary for The Save A Cow Foundation. He runs this cow sanctuary farm as a vegan organic farm.
Ian James
Ian has been a director of OIA Ltd since 29/11/2021.
Ian grew up in the marginal areas of the central wheatbelt in Western Australia on a large broad acre wheat and sheep property. Educated in Perth, Ian began working on sheep stations in the rangelands further north before returning to the family farm to settle down and raise a family.
Ian has 4 grown children and now lives and works together with his wife Jodi on their organically certified property near Meckering, 2 hours east of Perth. Ian has previously been involved in politics as a candidate for both state and federal parliament in 6 election campaigns for the WA Greens.
Ian has a keen interest in working to secure a strong future for organic operations in Australia.
Peter Hislop Speers
Peter has been a director of OIA Ltd since 29/11/2021 and Chair of the Board of Directors since 18/08/2023.
Peter has been involved in the organic industries since the early 1990s, and was a part of the first organic banana exports from Cairns to Osaka, Japan which at the time was a significant collaboration project between retailers and organic producers.
From early 2000s, Peter established an organic specialist account management firm called Palotus Pty Ltd (www.palotus.com). Within this company, Peter and his team initiated the first direct organic vendor to a major retailer. This became a significant contributor to the retailer brand, and in the years to follow became a leading organic food brand.
In supporting organic producers, Peter has developed knowledge in supply chain products and services that enhance the organic food chain, including paper-based punnets which replaced plastic packaging on supermarket shelves from 2017. In 2020, Peter deployed certified compostable film on a national organic product range—a significant achievement toward removal of single use plastics in food packaging and, perhaps more importantly, a step toward sustainable packaging solutions for organic products.
Peter brings knowledge and experience in organic production, supply chain and retail environments.
As there were three (3) vacant Director positions and three (3) nominations, the Company Secretary declared no election was necessary and that all three nominees were duly appointed.
Agenda 7 - Appointment of auditor
Corporations law defines small companies limited by guarantee (CLBGs) as having less than $250k revenue.
Small CLBGs are not required to prepare financial accounts or appoint an auditor.
As the company is not legally required to appoint an auditor and the company's revenues are not sufficiently large to warrant the expense, no auditor to be appointed for 2023-24.
Motion proposed
Janie McClureMotion carried
Motion seconded
Jacky WilliamsAgenda 8 - Strategic plan
There was a general discussion on strategic planning led by the Chair of the Board, including the following topics:
- New paradigms in regulation
- NFF national campaign
- Domestic regulation
- Certifier forum
- Industry coordination
- Industry contribution
Attachments
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Letter to members from the Chair (158.43 KB) | 158.43 KB |
| The Australian—Farmers lash Labor’s ‘ideological’ reforms (111.75 KB) | 111.75 KB |
Attended - Full members
| Representative | Full Member |
|---|---|
| Peter Hislop Speers | Palotus |
| Anna Appleton | Appleton Cattle Co |
| Jacky Williams | |
| Ian James | Mount Anne |
| Carolyn Suggate | ORICoop |
| Jane McClure | Rural Organics |
| Dalene Wray | Obe Organic |
Attended - Associate members
| Representative | Associate Member |
|---|---|
| Tim Marshall | |
| Greg Paynter | |
| Kari Martin | Organic Food Chain |
Attended - Others
| Representative | Reason for attending |
|---|---|
| Tony Webster | Company Secretary |
| Cameron English | Aspiring Organic Operator |
| Anthony Walsgott | Nominated Director |