The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) is pleased to announce the members of the Meat Industry Reference Committee (IRC) following the review of the structure and membership. The AISC thanks all those who provided feedback on the structure and nominated for a position on this IRC. The AISC welcomed the extent of interest in the Meat IRC and acknowledged the very strong field of nominations from across the sector. Further information on the IRC review process can be found on the IRC Review page.
The meat processing industry sector can be described as having five sectors: meat processing (abattoirs), poultry processing, small-goods manufacturing, wild game harvesting and wholesaling and retailing of the above.
The industry includes 1,215 processing businesses and about 6,000 wholesalers and retailers. The sector employs approximately 350,000 people who are involved either directly or indirectly in the supply chain.
The Meat IRC will have responsibility for national training package qualifications relevant to the AMP Australian Meat Industry Training Package.
The membership provides strong industry coverage and expertise to support training package development for the meat processing industry. The members have extensive experience in, and knowledge of, their industry sector with the capacity to proactively apply these attributes to the work of the IRC.
While it was not possible to include every person that nominated on the IRC, there are still opportunities to be involved and to have your views considered in any future reviews of the AMP Australian Meat Industry Training Package. The IRC will consult widely during any future training package development process and your input into that process would be welcome. Technical Advisory Committees may also be established to inform future work, and these will include a broad range of stakeholders with technical and specific industry knowledge.
The AISC has approved the following members for the Meat IRC:
- Chair - Mr Cameron Dart – QLD – Managing Director, Meat Inspectors Pty Ltd
- Deputy Chair - Mr Glen Meers – QLD – Performance and Development Manager, Kilcoy Pastoral Company Ltd
- Mr Grant Courtney – NSW – Secretary, Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union
- Mr John Hughes – QLD – General Manager Operational Improvements, Australian Meat Industry Council
- Mr Graham Smith – SA – Federal Secretary, Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union
- Mr Geoff Yarham – QLD – Senior HR Projects Manager, Australian Country Choice Ltd
- Mr Laurie Tobin – NSW – Manager Quality Assurance, Rivalea Australia Pty Ltd
- Mr Kevin Cottrill – NSW – Chief Executive Officer, Australian Meat Industry Council
- Mr Matthew Journeaux – QLD – Queensland Branch Secretary, Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union
- Mr Scott Robinson – VIC – Director-Project Manager, Response Learning Meat Processing
- Mr Michael Bayer – SA – Quality Systems Manager, Big River Pork Pty Ltd
The Meat IRC is supported by the Skills Service Organisation (SSO), Skills Impact.
Further information about the role of IRCs and how they operate can be found in the IRC Operating Framework.