New chapter for wool

As Winston Churchill once said: “If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.”

And it is the future 35 wool sector leaders focused on, when they agreed to adopt the recommendations of the Wool Taskforce report Restoring Profitability to the Strong Wool Sector.

It is an encouraging step forward for the New Zealand wool industry and I’m hopeful it marks the beginning of a new chapter.

There has been robust discussion about the report, but everyone agrees that forming a ‘single voice’ to act on behalf of the industry is a vital first step in ensuring the sector’s future.

The answer doesn’t lie with any of the existing organisations, but rather with a clean slate approach.

I am now seeking an independent expert to work on forming a single body for the New Zealand wool industry. This convenor will begin the task of unifying an industry that has been fragmented for far too long.