Membership update

A collective, grassroots voice with a powerful impact

By Matt Kealley, CANEGROWERS Senior Manager - Membership Engagement & Innovation Whenever I travel, I always check in with the local CANEGROWERS office. From Mossman to Rocky Point, there's 13 of them covering every sugarcane region.

A grower once said to me that membership starts at the front door of your local office and when I visit, as well as catching up with the District Manager and staff, I usually bump into a grower or two.

It’s great to have a chat to see what is top of mind, understand what is keeping them busy, what’s working and what’s troubling them. Often they are getting some paperwork sorted or following up on a CANEGROWERS service such as payroll or insurance.

We talk about the mill and how the season is shaping up. When they hear I’m from the Brisbane office, I inevitably get questions on reef regulations, the sugar price or about something they read in Australian Canegrower. I always learn something and often I can point to some information that is useful for their business.

I firmly believe it is the local cane-growing community and the grassroots representation by elected members that drives our organisation. The elected members are all growers, offering their time - they are growers involved at every level of CANEGROWERS policy development and they direct our activities and priorities. Through the support of our members, the 13 districts and Brisbane office bring a collective grower voice to our efforts which are focused on contributing to a future for the whole industry.

A POWERFUL IMPACT

Strong advocacy and representation from strong membership gives members a legitimate voice and negotiating strength on important issues. CANEGROWERS views are heard by the community, government, politicians and industry through our networks and media presence locally and at a state, national and international level.

CANEGROWERS voice, through your grower representatives, was loud and clear at the recent reef regulations Senate Committee inquiry. Eight CANEGROWERS districts were represented by growers and staff - the Cairns Region, Tully, Innisfail, Herbert River, Burdekin, Proserpine, Mackay and Bundaberg. In August, CANEGROWERS called out the Queensland Government on a farm data tender which would have put at risk the privacy of members’ personal information. The tender was withdrawn.

SUPPORTING YOUR BUSINESS

CANEGROWERS has remained focused on ensuring agriculture is treated as an essential service and that the sugar supply chain remains open during the COVID-19 pandemic response. From road access for agricultural machinery to water and electricity pricing, CANEGROWERS has kept pressure on regulators and put the industry perspective and needs forward. CANEGROWERS participates in the Australian sugar industry's trade and market access activities to retain, enhance and build export markets for our raw sugar. And we continue to push the WTO action against India.

MEMBER MEETINGS ARE PLANNED

Over the past six months, CANEGROWERS has held 12 membership engagement meetings via video conference with CANEGROWERS District Boards.

Feedback from the meetings has been positive. The format provides an opportunity for timely engagement and good discussion. We did manage to hold a meeting in Tully prior to COVID-19 restrictions being imposed and faceto-face meetings in other districts are still the preferred approach. Video meetings allowed for agile and timely discussion and will be used more frequently for discussion and feedback. CANEGROWERS is planning face-to-face member meetings in all districts in the lead up to Christmas. The advice around COVID-19 can change quickly, yet I’m looking forward to getting back out and about.

Stay tuned for details and keep an eye out as we may be in your local CANEGROWERS office for a chat soon. 