j.. i AI.-.
0O * 1% WEDJNESDAY1 14 OULY -82
Std~ OPENING OP TiHE 1ST WrORLsD MOI3NO M rER: N~ LO~~
' I ot1 d*-I C! to congratulatO the Australian: Association of
-qani~ vin the first evr Worl. d
'. onrnc n o lon on Ihehalf of thie Australian
GC6vsrurnernt and paopl-all the o~ vers; eas vjisitor attending this
Pnirec~ 1.~ ldalso like to take fthis opportwity to
apaud_'. eT. 3no breaders for thleir slkill alld parserverance ill
~ p~ o~ ngtrieI~ eii b-reed, ana in adaptingk im 3i to M. eet
thie* 1halen 5. e s faced by the wool induetry over the years.
-CrS -J
Thri 1t'l~ doabt that tile ne-rin~ o is theip inost succassf-u.
-,-her-t-M--ucoes tit s has not com~ e about by chance.
Xit nas b 1 very larcrely ahievt throughI the effort. s of-.-he
breders, tb: hIough a thorough . dr1tandinacndj luvowlerfte of
thr-ough obssayvation and patient seD. 6-ction, helpead
-11-t Ore3 ~ e u t Yasby 6emlopnmtD in o!) ective methods of
mar aqaant and e: xperirnntation.
M~~ irlo3, utfr ao heaviel-f leczces than in earlier yas h
AV~ r~~ 4oolproduction for shecp bas Taore than doubled, to
merillos were f irst brought to
Ai tralia. A nu~ mber of growers are-nc-I wavoracjing 6 or 7 hilos,
-n'~ tsh plernentary feekiinc, some sheep are producing tan
Th woliiiiistry. has haclto face a numbier of challenger> over
t y~ ra. In ths 195 s, tile inidustry as; a wbole suffered zfrom
a 1~ 0ñ confidenlce in~ the face of som,, very real threats a!" I
diffticulties*. + one of the major chiallenges came fromr Bynthatics,
h-ere--n-w -anc glamorou5. All. the doubts alt-outw4th.-.
r wo -j-1: would zurvive, all the old arguments about bled. n
ok'--ears-to overcorie. But the wool industry has, coma-through
stongy, ~ Q! just because notliing can match woo)., b'ut also
pae n' he industry since the 1.950s. The ability to blend
001OXVith t-1tics hav obviously boeen of enormoisly vall. le
~'-a33istanda to the wqool rTvar) 1et, and technical advancaE; such as
Swhich would have seenw ed n thiiikable 30 years ago,
avmofrIorp-p~ u1la r. Lch
t~ hteto the Intcr-nationa). Wool Secretariat and clbser
o h~, ths. Atr q) a Wool Corporation, that the maxl;,' ting of
p~ iiticcated and succe-ssful business.
I
b. _ T2 _ 11-7
Ih f1sta1! r -priernceris, andt i VS14tf preeth wooldp roic~ on for
r ny y-eas anW e rrt r e : i~ O1m1Yoki~ prkam~
wbn--~ yp~-e -ar--f-l-injit ii; good thst e have
Tie a', ble to adopt a ; rall inarease: in the floor price orthc
l9~ 2/ 3. seas-on.
~-~ K~ oor zie~ Schem~ e,__ finan6e( by the gjrowers themmselves,
h~ h~ ta . abillse retu.-ns an'd azlttic same, tiT~ e proved filnaIcially
ucc sul.. As a result of this suiccess, growers have already
r~ eved -sorne refunds on their Xevy paymients. $ 42 million
.1paid bac% to growers last year, anid a furtber payment-of
f contiing sucss of wool ienains very iMportaiit to
at _ ralia, -17o-1980/ 81, for example, -Uhe ex: port value of Merinio
Iloi ve ahned . m-eat is esti:! citeda at over $ 1.5 billion
~ bo.~ t S~ of ths totnl value of our exports The wo uuty~
~ X~ C~ itY. to inodernise and3 ada pt to chanuce, combine' with its
heriation to mnaintain and inrv tandards of production
_? VI'de -groiinds for very real co.-nfi cence in the industry s
-fu tdra*. The fitutrt~-l--1-t clibt-4rirmg ne w challenges to
r'r~ o reders anid grxowers, with dae oixi-ents in proiduction,
badi3-n Mar} ketincj, rind changas in consumer demands.
Conhferenccs s~ ich a s thisr can pliay an : itprtant role in
S helpina-. the industry as a whole, and also irm. ividual sheep man,
to,-grasp riew-i6SUep. and cliallengea as they arise. I ami s ure
~ vt ptf4~ teat this Conference will be able to gain from
the ntechatge of irnfoz-mation wihwill take place, ancl fromt
rigaott a ,-tvs-1dmhodsr sv-. of imerino
In other couintrios.
end, thq continued success of. merinios and the wool industry
1 oekac' 2Lbe'aId ( oht~ h~ len greatest challenge of
thftUre will be the b~ reedinij of new andI even more
an 0m:-erxino.-This will particularly so in Autralia
w1 ars it1-ree. t arters of our 136D million sheep are Merinos,
dfld~ aoutlO of the iworla's sheep are Avstralian rrexinos.
-kP -Iiois nartio' 11arly fitting' that ti Conference is
t~ k. Pp-aek arou-nd the time of the one-hundredth Melbourne
~ 2> 7Sh~ pShowi I am sure it w'ill be a fsucce. ss-ful. conference, the
fjst-of inany. in. the _ veara2 lnLae great pleasure
in eclainig the. Conference opan.