President's Message
2018-19 Year in Review 

Ian Frith, AAA President

The Board have worked tirelessly and cohesively as a team this year to fulfill their roles as Directors of the Company in accordance with the AAA’s Constitution and the Corporations Act 2001. Below is a short summary of what has been achieved in this period of time:

Exports

The AAA has been continuing to develop markets for fibre and animals in Australia and overseas. Strong relationships have been forged with senior personnel at the Department of Agriculture who have worked co-operatively with the Board developing steps towards a potential direct export route from Australia to the EU, with the Dept. of Ag having opened communication channels with their EU counterparts.

A trade route has opened directly from Australia to Canada. A trial to test for Q fever is expected to assist in the re-opening of the export route from Australia to New Zealand. This trial, being conducted by the EMAI and 100% funded by the Dept. of Ag has experienced some delays but is now underway. As soon as results are available these will be circulated to members.

Representatives from the AAA Board, together with our Chinese consultant, made a third trade mission to China in May this year which has resulted in orders for sample orders of both white and coloured huacaya fibre. Chinese representatives visited the National show in August 2018 and through the development of strong ongoing relationships, we expect to see an increasing demand for Australian alpaca fibre for the Chinese market. Strict protocols and procedures have been developed to ensure the fibre consolidated for sale to the Chinese market is of consistently high quality and meets the specifications set by the individual purchasers. 

The Board also endorsed a levy to be imposed on all export fleece and animal sales, with those funds being allocated to further Commercial and Market Development activities.

Training and Education

While most training is run through regions, the AAA ran a very successful business training session in January 2019 which was attended by 40 members of the AAA.

We have re-signed the agreement with AWEX for alpaca classing.  A committee under Trevor Parry is revising and updating the Alpaca Fleece Classing Code of Practice which incorporates the Industry Standards for the Preparation of Australian Alpaca, which hopefully will be available at the AGM. We are also looking at revising and updating training on shearing and fleece presentation.

Office Relocation to Canberra

The relocation of the head office from Melbourne to Canberra has been very successful. We are now situated only minutes from the offices of the Dept. of Ag and Parliament House and located in the same building as Animal Health Australia. This has enabled us to forge increasingly strong relationships with all relevant government departments, government representatives and other livestock peak bodies. The Mitcham property has been retained as a capital asset and has been leased out.

eAlpaca

The AAA’s purpose-built on-line membership, registry and show system, which was installed in November 2017, has continued to be updated and “tweaked” to ensure that it is meeting the needs of members. New features this year include show entries and a link from show results back to pedigree information of winners.

Showing and Judging

The Showing and Judging Committee appointed in January 2018 has been working extremely hard under the Chair originally of Sharon Dawson, and now of Marc Mullette. This included the running of a highly successful Judges’ Clinic in 2018, a review of the Judges’ Code of Conduct, and a display at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show. A new judges intake held last weekend will see a raft of new entrants to the judging world. 

A new judge’s intake held last weekend will see a raft of new entrants to the judging world. Approximately 24 excellent applicants attended, full of enthusiasm, which augurs well for the future of our industry.  

Communication and Consultation with Members

An increased focus and more effective communication with members has been successful this year with a new fortnightly update and increased interaction through new media channels including a members' discussion forum on Facebook. We have consulted on various issues both directly - including the proposed draft Regulations, and also through the member survey. 

A member satisfaction survey was recently completed by over 300 members, which will assist in providing strategic insight into member needs and feed into decisions at both Board and regional level. Results should be received by all members within the next few days. Please take time to read these results as they are your opinions and those of your fellow members. The survey results reflect the desires of our members to look further at commercialisation and to take the industry forward.

The AAA website is currently being refreshed – we hope to have a more user-friendly website ready for launch at the Australian Alpaca Nationals in August.

Australian Alpaca Nationals

Our National Show is quickly approaching at the new venue in Canberra, and promises to be exciting and  a little different. We are expecting more members of the public to come and view and visit our stall holders, which gives our exhibitors the chance to showcase their animals to the general public with the possibility of enticing some new members into the fold and naturally the possibility of stud sales. Remember the best of the best, Australia-wide is on show. Even if you don’t have the chance to exhibit, come and see the animals, and refresh friendships.  

In 2017 and 2018, Victorian Colourbration and the National Show were run at Bendigo as a joint Colour and Age Championship show. This year the two shows are being run separately. The colour show, Victorian Colourbration, ran in June this year and was a great success. Let’s make our National Show, which this year will be an Age Championship show, equally successful. Book your accommodation early, and if you have questions, that are not answered by checking the website www.alpacaevents.com.au, or contact the Convenor, Sharon Dawson, for any clarification.

Repairing a Toxic Culture

Whilst there is a lot of good news for the future of the lpaca Industry, sadly the industry is not immune from the bullying and aggression which occurs in other sections of our community. Some people think it is OK to bully and abuse health workers. Some of our members think is it OK to bully and abuse our AAA staff and fellow members. We have built a new team of staff in Canberra, all three of whom are very professional, hard-working and eager to help members. We have an excellent staff and the whole Board stands united behind our staff, in the way they perform their duties, on behalf of all members. I am sorry to say that all three of them have been subject to unacceptable verbal and written abuse from members. This has occurred so much and so frequently that this week one of our staff tendered her resignation.

This bullying and abuse must stop now. I am calling for suggestions from members and the Board to help turn the culture of the industry around. Most of our members are generous with their time and knowledge and go out of their way to help others.  We need to foster that approach and attitude across the entire industry.

Those who think it is OK to abuse or try to intimidate our staff or fellow members need to be called out. They are comparatively few, after all, but they are damaging the industry for the rest of us. I encourage all members to re-acquaint themselves with the Members Code of Conduct as there are severe consequences  for misconduct, harassment, false statements and aggression towards staff and other members.

Please let us have your thoughts on how we can promote a more positive attitude to our staff and each other. It will help to build our industry and make it a happier, healthier community.

Other projects underway for our members

o     Adopting a new set of Regulations which will incorporate Youth Groups as a recognised arm of the AAA. The draft Regulations have been circulated for comment and the revised draft taking into account the comments received, will be circulated ahead of the AGM and proposed for adoption by ordinary resolution at the AGM.

o     As the development of a commercial herd register will be too costly to be undertaken in the next 12 months, the Board are working on providing Full Members and Associate Members with the ability to record female cria as well as male cria as a step towards a commercial register in due course.

o     A review of the current alpaca biosecurity program (Q-Alpaca) to bring it more in-line with current practice, including the potential implementation of NLIS for alpacas.

o     A focus on getting fleece to the marketplace; more classer training; a more unified shearing system and potential partnerships with designers

Thank you to our volunteers

Thank you to ALL of our volunteers - whether you assist in a committee position, volunteer at a show as a convenor, steward or in another capacity, or volunteer at other events, because of your dedication and hard work, our industry is a great success. Thank you so much for your commitment of time and energy.

With the current strong and focused Board, we expect to continue to make significant progress, for the benefit of all members.   For those not attending the Winter Wonderland in Mudgee, I hope to see you all at the National.

Regards,
Ian Frith