Wool's troubles were not caused by any problem with wool the product. Nor were they caused by adverse changes in the market. Wool's troubles were caused by terrible errors in the management of the marketing by Australian politicians and their appointees. For wool to recover from the terrible position it is in today everybody must recognise that trading in wool must be a team effort. Traders have always known that if the price is too low they cannot have security of supply. Without security of supply they cannot plan with confidence. But when there is an acute scarcity of product such as was imposed on the trade by the Howard government's reckless price cutting and again by ABARE's outrageous 2006 price forecast every trader knows that the moment anybody attempts to raise the price, the price will rise out of control to extreme levels, immediately determining which of them are bankrupted. AWI can well use the expertise of Laurence Modiano on its board. He is a real, hands on expert. Furthermore, not being a member of the Australian Big Business club he is not from the team that brought wool down.

While ever farmers treat the supply chain as the enemy they will go nowhere but broke. In other agricultural industries those who work with the supply chain for mutual benefit do well. There would be similar examples in the wool industry I am sure. It is time to move beyond the us and them mentality.

Before the AWGA lickspittles become too gushy and fawning about their candidate, please just check a few details. The Modiano company has become rich by buying Australian wool cheaply. They buy wool from other countries as well and blend this rubbish wool with good Australian wool - which downgrades our name internationally. If Modiano truly wanted to support Australian wool growers in the past, they could have set up direct supply chains and paid a guaranteed price. But they haven't. They are a huge buyer at auction, always trying to buy Australian wool as cheaply as possible. Wool growers - look past the pretty speeches and AWGA spin. Check the facts.

Laurence Modiano is one of Australia's biggest & best wool customers. You risk hurting woolgrowers incomes & future by denigrating him. He is a champion for wool & the main reason for him standing for the AWI Board is concern about sharp reductions in supply of quality Australian wool over the last 6 years. He is also on record as understanding the critical importance of increasing wool prices for woolgrowers to achieve adequate supply.

2 percent of a growers income goes into this alleged innovative company. Why not kill it off and put that money in your pockets, they aren't doing anything for you. While you're at it, tell the brokers to stop stealing $50/bale from you and $25 from the exporter through BSE. That all comes out of the amount growers are paid. Simple, that puts more money back into your pockets. Maybe we need to look at the selling mechanism first, it seems growers are getting a raw deal. Ted, stop bringing up ABARE's forecast from 2006, it does not have any baring on today's market whatsoever, let it go mate.

Hidely Ho Neighbourinos: Based on zero tangable results for the sub-diddeley-stantial investment of producers' funds, AWI have left the wool producers no choice but to vote 0 for funding the next time they get the chance. That will go along way in achieving a 40c reduction in production costs.

Daytona is so right. Apart from the selling charges, how about getting rid of the auction centres and selling online 24/7. We would get rid of show floors, buyers typing wool, buyers racing up the freeway to Newcastle to have a couple of good nights on the grog and result in savings to the grower. yes charges ar too high, but brokers just add a bit more each year irrespective of the physical market. Growers should look closely at their account sales and compare charges with other brokers, AWTA, AWEX and so on. The current lot in AWI have done nothing for wool.

I love good merino wool, but hate the system that growers seem to be tied to, compulsory giving of hard earned growers money to AWI, AWEX, brokers and all the middle businesses all feeding off the wool grower, while the grower is struggling to stay in the business. The money wastage and excesses by AWI is terrible, ie 160 or so people employed, a large Board that seems more interested in keeping or getting control than increasing viability of its levy payers. Their whole focus should be on a real increase use of Aust. merino wool in the world and increase viability for wool producers. Maybe a zero or .5% levy would at least remove all the parasites living off the woolgrower without giving back a real return to the grower. I thought the idea was for AWI to develop wool uses ie treatment of wool for easy care etc and sell these patents so the AWI could live off its developments not off the farmer. Or have a voluntary levy that can be directed to what area that grower wants it used in ie certain areas of marketing/promotion or R & D, and then there would have to be real results for growers to want to put money into it. There is no accountability on results, a lot of it is feel good stuff for those employed, or working with the AWI. Projects with 10 to so years work and costs for a maybe result is a waste of money and time now, we need to be viable and to know there is a future that is profitable in the next few years or there will be very few people left growing merino wool. Wastage accountability ie shearing express truck wastage, it was only as good as the slowest operator, growers tried to tell AWI it was not effective, how much money was spent? How much money was spent on planting trees etc in that Water, Wool etc projects when there is already Landcare, Greening Australia working in that area. Genomics, breeding the perfect sheep, when there are so many differences in Australian climate, soil, landscape, pasture, growers needs and manufacturers end products, so a perfect sheep for who and where, we need a diversity of sheep genetics and ideas, not narrowing. We know less about animal genomics than people and we still do not understand people. How much money is being spent on this, when we need to promote the use of wool and to develop a profitable and sustainable wool market so to keep and attract wool growers now and in the near future, or we will keep losing wool growers to other activities ie sheep meat, cattle or grain etc, but supposedly we will have a so called perfect sheep, within 10 to 20 years but no use for it!!