Murray Goulburn announcement

Today’s announcement by Murray Goulburn is a kick in the guts for Tasmanians.
It follows Murray Goulburn’s devastating decision in April 2016 to cut milk prices paid to farmers.
I have personally spoken to Ari Mervis, Murray Goulburn’s CEO, to express my disappointment at this decision on behalf of the Tasmanians affected, especially their employees in Circular Head.
Murray Goulburn’s local employees and milk suppliers have every right to feel very poorly treated by this company.
The Government is obviously concerned for the employees who will be affected by this decision and our Skills Response Unit will be at Edith Creek this week to work with them.
Tasmania is not alone in suffering from the poor decision making of Murray Goulburn with facilities in other parts of the country also impacted.
Murray Goulburn is the second largest processer taking around 20 per cent of Tasmania’s milk and they will have considerable work to do to regain the respect of Tasmanian dairy farmers and the wider community.
I acknowledge Murray Goulburn’s decision to cease future clawbacks from dairy farmers under their Milk Supply Support Package and the reassurance that the milk supplied to Edith Creek will be processed at the Smithton facility.
Our dairy industry is a true Tasmanian icon and has a bright future.
Dairy is one of Tasmania greatest competitive strength, with the industry valued at approximately $440 million, supporting approximately 1400 jobs and 430 farms.
We will not let this decision stop us from delivering on our plan to grow the value of agriculture tenfold to $10 billion by 2050, which includes a strong and healthy dairy sector.
Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Primary Industries and Water