Co-operatives National Law Progress

Last Updated on Monday, 23 April 2012 03:06 Written by David Griffiths Monday, 23 April 2012 03:02

The Co-operatives (Adoption of National Law) Bill 2012 was introduced into the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on 4 April 2012 by the Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts.  NSW is the lead jurisdiction. Once the Law is passed by the NSW Parliament, other States and Territotries will apply the same laws, or alternative, consistent laws, in their own jurisdiction.  Debate on the Bill has been deferred until the next sittings of Parliament. Click here for the text of the bill, the explanatory notes and the Minister's speech on the Bill.

Co-operatives National Law Update

Last Updated on Friday, 11 May 2012 01:59 Written by David Griffiths Wednesday, 21 March 2012 03:51

The Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs (formerly the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs) has agreed to adopt the Co-operatives National Law (CNL).

Read more: Co-operatives National Law Update

Coop Educator Mervyn Wilson at the SEHC

Written by David Griffiths Sunday, 04 March 2012 04:58

Co-op educator Mervyn Wilson, Chief Executive and Principal of the UK Co-operative College, addressed a general meeting of 40 members of the SouthEast Housing Co-operative Ltd, on the 27 February 2012 in Dandenong..

Mervyn's address was preceded by the premiere of the SEHC documentary The Other Way Home and the advertorial Co-operation Works.

In addressing the meeting, Mervyn Wilson said that the statistics for the scale and scope of the global co-operative movement were staggering:

Over 900 million members.
Over 100 million jobs
Financial co-operatives  servicing 857 million people -13% of the world population.
The turnover of the top 300 co-operatives exceeded US$1.6 trillion.
Europe had 160,000 co-operatives with 123 million members, 5.4 million jobs and an annual turnover of 300 billion Euro.

Mervyn praised the premiere of the  SEHC documentary The Other Way Home and the advertorial for conveying key aspects of co-operation and co-operatives - a sense of community, a sense of pride in people's homes and a mutually supportive community.

He said that he hoped SEHC would allow him to use the films in his work with the Co-operative College.

He concluded by saying that the meeting attendance and films were examples of "what can be achieved by co-operation."

Top Co-op Educator in Australia

Last Updated on Sunday, 04 March 2012 05:04 Written by David Griffiths Sunday, 12 February 2012 00:16

The Chief Executive  and Principal of the UK Co-operative College, Mervyn Wilson, will be visiting Australia between 26 February - 10 March 2012.

Mervyn Wilson has worked in the co-operative sector for over thirty years, primarily in the field of member education, co-operative identity and governance. He has worked with co-operatives throughout the world and led the development of co-operative trust schools and their national network.  His work to secure the co-operative movement's heritage and use it as a learning resource included the development of the National Co-operative Archive and the establishment of the Co-operative Heritage Trust. Mervyn is a co-chair of the global Human Resources Committee of the International Co-operative Alliance, a Trustee of the Co-operative Heritage Trust and the Reddish Vale Trust and a Fellow of the RSA.

Read more: Top Co-op Educator in Australia

Murray Goulburn and IYC 2012

Last Updated on Sunday, 22 January 2012 08:27 Written by David Griffiths Sunday, 22 January 2012 01:44

The importance of the Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co Ltd to the International Year of Co-operatives is demonstrated in a recent report by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation - Foreign Investment and Australian Agriculture (November 2011)

The report notes that more than half the milk produced in Australia is now processed by foreign owned firms

Lion/ National Foods/Kirin (Japan) 25%
Fonterra (New Zealand) 21%
Parmalat (France) 7%

The Australian-owned co-operative Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co Ltd is the largest dairy processor - processing about 35% of milk produced. Fonterra is a co-operative in New Zealand but in Australia's its suppliers are not members of the co-operative.

The report notes: "Foreign ownership of milk processing capacity appears to have been beneficial for the industry. The three major foreign investors, Fonterra, Kirin and Parmalat, have, in common with others such as Murray Goulburn, injected funds to improve efficiency and maintain their profitability while at the same time engaging in some winding down of existing, out-of-date capacity." The Australian suppliers of these foreign owned companies do not, however, own and control the companies.

IYC 2012 and Australia Post

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 February 2012 01:37 Written by David Griffiths Friday, 20 January 2012 22:52

On the 15 February 2012 there will be a launch of the Australia Post 2012 commemorative products - a stamp sheet which features co-operatives, a pre-paid envelope and the IYC 2012 coin mailer. The President of the International Co-operative Alliance, Dame Pauline Green, is flying to Australia for the launch.  

The launch will be between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Yarra Room, Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne Central Business District. RSVP was required  before 9 February 2012 and it is expected that about 80 co-operators will be in attendance at the launch.

Three Victorian co-operatives are featured on the stamp sheet - Common Equity Housing Ltd , Fitzroy and Carlton Community Credit Co-op and Hepburn Wind.

The postal items can be ordered now using the attached order form. They will be available from 14 February 2012 via Australia Post e-shop and they will be on sale in some larger Australia Post outlets.

The UK's Second Largest Co-operative

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 February 2012 02:01 Written by David Griffiths Saturday, 24 December 2011 00:31

The John Lewis Partnership and Waitrose is the 2nd largest co-operative in the UK with an annual turnover of A$13 billion and over 75,000 employees. Peter Cox is visiting Australia in 2012 and he has written a book about the John Lewis Partnership and Waitrose - Spedan's Partnership: The Story of John Lewis and Waitrose (2010).  Peter joined John Lewis in 1968 and retired from Waitrose in 2003 as its IT director.

Read more: The UK's Second Largest Co-operative

Victoria's Top Co-operatives

Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 December 2011 10:12 Written by David Griffiths Wednesday, 21 December 2011 09:59

Looking forward to the International Year of Co-operatives 2012, Co-operatives Victoria has released a list of Victoria's Top Co-operatives, Credit Unions and Mutual. Victoria's top co-operative is the Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co limited with a turnover of $2.24 million. Murray Goulburn also has 2200 employees - the highest number of emplloyees for any co-operative, credit union and mutual throughout Australia. The Victorian list is extracted from Co-operatives Australia's Top 100 Co-operatives, Credit Unions and Mutuals. Download Victoria's Top 100 Co-operatives, Credit Unions and Mutuals.