{"id":231271,"date":"2019-03-20T15:36:59","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T05:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=231271"},"modified":"2020-09-21T12:59:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T02:59:04","slug":"1-milk-dead-and-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/03\/20\/1-milk-dead-and-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"$1 Milk ‘Dead And Gone’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Brian<\/a>
QDO president Brian Tessmann<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 20, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The decision by Coles and Aldi to kill off $1 per litre milk has been welcomed by Queensland dairy farmers and MPs from both sides of politics.<\/p>\n

“While we celebrated when Woolworths first announced the removal of $1 milk from its shelves, the dairy industry could not claim success until Coles, Australia\u2019s second largest supermarket in terms of market share, also agreed,” Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation president Brian Tessmann said.<\/p>\n

“That Aldi followed closely behind is no surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted by Coles\u2019 announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have recognised that a fixed base price for milk was unsustainable and it is great that Coles appears keen to play a key role in helping move the Australian dairy industry forward.<\/p>\n

\u201c$1 milk is dead and gone and it\u2019s time to move on.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re looking forward to working closely with all retailers, processors and government to address the larger systemic issues within the dairy industry.<\/p>\n

“Finding and implementing long-term, sustainable structural reforms is our next goal. Getting there will need to be a concerted effort by all parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving key political leaders including Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, Llew O\u2019Brien and Matt Canavan keep the pressure on supermarkets throughout our campaign has been instrumental.<\/p>\n

“Their continued support and the support of all politicians will be imperative to move the dairy industry forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Federal Agriculture Minister and Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said it had been a “key commitment” by him to break the $1 \/ litre model.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I said I\u2019d never apologise to supermarkets over $1 milk and I never did,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Both Coles and Aldi have held discussions with me and I welcome this important first step.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s time farmers received fair reward for their effort. These people produce our food.<\/p>\n

“Last week I announced a Dairy Code of Conduct which will outlaw exclusive contracts, retrospective price cuts and deduction of loyalty payments so farmers can shift to another processor more easily, creating more competition for their milk.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m pleased with (the) announcement, but won\u2019t stop fighting for a fairer price for farmers\u2019 right across the dairy range.”<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner also supported the news of fairer milk pricing from the supermarkets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome the news of Aldi and Coles to offer a fairer price for their fresh milk, following the lead of Woolworths last month,\u201d Mr Furner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery Queenslander knows the impact drought and lower prices have had on dairy farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully this will lead directly to more money in the pockets of farmers who are doing it tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Furner said there had never been a more important time to support Queensland farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI continue to urge shoppers to support Queensland\u2019s dairy farmers, and to support Queensland\u2019s primary producers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat why we have just launched our #eatqld campaign to encourage Queenslanders to share when they have a great bit of Queensland produce, by using social media to snap it, share it and use the hashtag #eatqld.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsumers have the power to force change, and I encourage consumers to choose fairly priced Queensland produce from supermarkets that support Queensland farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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