I’m feeling somewhat bemused today. I sit on the Commerce Select Committee. I have to be very careful what I say, because under standing orders I’m not allowed to discuss what happened while the committee was “in committee”.
It’s a matter of public record that the committee met yesterday to discuss the terms of reference which will determine the scope of the inquiry.
But when this media release popped into my inbox this morning from the chair, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Lianne
DALZIEL
Commerce Spokesperson11 August 2011 MEDIA STATEMENT
Commerce Committee milk pricing inquiryLabour’s Commerce Spokesperson and Commerce Committee chair, Lianne Dalziel, says she understands people will be disappointed that the Committee has not issued a statement about progress on discussions on the terms of reference for the proposed milk pricing inquiry.
“I know there is a high level of public interest around this. However Standing Orders prevent the chair of the Select Committee issuing a statement on behalf of the committee unless that statement is fully authorised by the committee.
“I regret I can say no more than that at this stage,” Lianne Dalziel said.
Contact: Lianne Dalziel 0275 480 644.
Paid for by Vote Parliamentary Service and Authorised by Lianne Dalziel, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Immediately after the committee finished sitting yesterday, a group of journalists headed towards myself and Lianne Dalziel who remained in the committee room. They asked whether the terms of reference for the inquiry had been determined and what the outcome was.
Lianne replied, in front of other witnesses, including some National Party MPs, that she could not say until an agreed statement was released, which was expected to happen later that day. Surely this meant it would.
But it didn’t. Instead we get this release above. I wonder what happened in the interim? I’d like to say but my lips are sealed.
However, I just read this story on the Stuff website. Intriguing.
GW , doesnt match up with the Herald story and even your claim that its X +10c where X is some price that Fonterra decides.
I understand Fonterra will be telling all abouts its ‘formula’ that it uses to decide X very soon.
The competitors are cafing at the bit to hear how Fonterra does it since they dont know what price they pay till the end of the season- after the have mostly sold their product.
Ghost –
To go back to my earlier comment
“In September 2009 the Minister announced that the mechanism for pricing regulated milk for the 2010/11 season was to be the Fonterra farm gate price plus a margin of 10 cents.”
That was lifted from a NZIER report as at 25 July 2010 (sorry I didn’t cite it), so it’s not really my claim.
So either;
1) The Minister did make this happen and the Herald have it wrong
2) The Minister didn’t make this happen and the Herald have it right
I certainly don’t credit Granny Herald with reporting facts sans spin, I’m afraid.
Pricing to go on website
15 August 2011
Shareholders, critics and the milk drinking public will get to examine the entrails of Fonterra’s pricing manual in late September, along with the co-operatives best-ever financial result.
NZ Farmers Weekly, By Hugh Stringleman
Shareholders, critics and the milk drinking public will get to examine the entrails of Fonterra’s pricing manual in late September, along with the co-operatives best-ever financial result.
Fonterra will stick to its timetable for disclosing the costs which go into domestic milk pricing, and the payouts to farmers, as part of the Trading Among Farmers (TAF) design and implementation.
It will release the annual result of a record trading year on September 22, along with the milk pricing details to shareholders at regional meetings and on its website.
The New Zealand Stock Exchange blackout disclosure rules now prevent any earlier announcements, said Fonterra’s general manager, group strategy and corporate finance, Alex Duncan.
So in the meantime tile cooperative will have to wear the public odium of consumer advocate Sue Chetwin talking about Fonterra’s secret formula for fixing the price of milk.
Those in the know in Wellington, like the Commerce Commission and MAF. have been privy to the contents of the pricing manual for some time.
Interestingly the inquiry is back on.
“Parliament’s commerce committee has decided to re-adopt an inquiry into the price of milk that will stretch from the farm gate to the retailer.
Last year the committee, then chaired by Lianne Dalziel, launched a broad-based inquiry with an overarching question of whether people were paying too much for milk and whether the market was operating effectively at all levels.
According to Statistics New Zealand, the average price of a standard two litres of milk in December was $3.67 – up 1.7 per cent on December the previous year but 15.4 per cent higher than in the same month in 2009.
The committee is now chaired by National Party MP Todd McClay”