Melina Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM), Media Release, 6 September 2024
“Another sad day for dairy processing in Australia. Every time we lose food and beverage processing infrastructure in Australia, we move closer to being net importers of manufactured products even in staples like dairy.
Our hope – like the hopes expressed by the dairy farmers and Saputo workers on King Island – is that another owner can be found. Whatever the fate of the cheese factory, it’s timely to think about whether it’s in the long-term interests of Australian farmers and farm communities to have so much processing ownership held offshore.
When it’s a co-op like Norco or Mountain Milk, the business decisions are made close to home and made in the interests of the farmers who own the value-adding supply chain.”
The BCCM is the peak national body for Australia’s $43 billion co-operatives and mutuals sector. Co-operatives and mutuals provide essential services and affordable pricing to their members across the economy from banking, insurance and superannuation to retail, agriculture, health, social care and housing. Co-operatives and mutuals are member owned and operated and include some of Australia’s biggest household names including HCF, NRMA, Norco and Australian Unity.
