Chair's Report

It was a busy time for the Sheep Sustainability Framework in 2022, and I thank and congratulate all involved, especially MLA’s Sheep Sustainability Manager, Sarah Hyland.

There is plenty more planned for 2023.

On 9 March, we will hold our first Industry Forum in Sydney. The forum will be a significant opportunity for industry stakeholders, such as the state farming organisations, to learn more about the Framework and to guide its future development.

Already, we are starting to consider the revision of the ‘materiality matrix’ - a critical piece of work that identifies the most important sustainability issues to the industry and our stakeholders. Attendees at the Industry Forum will start the process of considering what has changed since we developed the first version of the matrix in 2018/19.

In May, we will launch the second annual report of the Framework. As each report is issued, our data set offers more context and opportunities for learning, and by May we will have three time-series data points for some of our metrics.

Elsewhere in this newsletter you will read about some changes in personnel in the SSF Steering Group and also to the board that oversees the Framework. Steve Harrison, as the new President of WoolProducers Australia, has replaced Ed Storey on the board. Ed was a tireless advocate for the SSF and made an enormous contribution to its development.

I’m looking forward to working with Steve and with our new Steering Group members, Jane Kellock and Julian Collins. Both Jane and Julian have already proven to be valuable contributors. I was sorry to have to farewell Michael Field, Deanna Lush, and Ian McColl, and thank them for their hard work and insights during their time on the Steering Group.

This week I was fortunate enough to attend a function at Parliament House hosted by the Parliamentary Friends of Red Meat Group. What struck me (apart from the quality of the food, although that was no surprise) was the emphasis on the industry’s sustainability by all the speakers. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Sheep and Beef Sustainability Frameworks will play critical roles in the future of Australian red meat.