The Victorian Farmers Federation is formally on notice – it has been served with valid resolutions calling for an extraordinary general meeting of members to vote on sacking both its president and vice president.
The reform group, driven by former grains group presidents Brett Hosking, Ashley Fraser and Andrew Weidemann, gathered 255 signatures from VFF members for the meeting to be held with 60 days.
If successful, it will see president Emma Germano and her vice-president Danyel Cucinotta removed from their positions and as VFF directors.
In July, three other VFF directors – Peter Star, Meg Parkinson and Craig Henderson – resigned from the board citing “a lack of transparency”
The reformers lodged their notice of intention to move resolutions for the removal of both VFF leaders on Monday.
On Tuesday, that was followed by a request for the VFF hold an EGM allowing all members to vote on replacing Ms Germano with former VFF president Paul Weller and Ms Cucinotta with livestock producer Georgina Gubbins.
According to Mr Hosking, the VFF is on the clock and has 21 days – from receipt of the of the paperwork – in which to respond.
“The first time we tried to get the EGM we only told the VFF what we were doing but didn’t realise under the Corporations Act the notice has to be in writing – so now it is,” he told North West Farmer.
“We have provided formal notice, drafted by our solicitor, to VFF the company, and our legal team has also drafted our resolutions.”
“We’re doing this because there’s this disengagement between the VFF leadership and farmer members and where the organisation is heading.”
Mr Weidemann says they were “able to receive signatures to the resolutions from a broad cross-section of members, who’ve taken the time to engage”.
“It’s well and truly over what the constitution requires of 100 signatures,” he added.
The VFF’s constitution requires an EGM to be held within 60 days of the resolutions being lodged, but if the VFF directors refuse, members can organise the meeting themselves.
Ms Germano and the VFF declined to comment on the resolutions.
Dairy farmer Paul Weller was VFF president from 2002 to 2005 and was originally approached to join the board as an independent.
But he says that soon led to an approach to fill in as interim president if the former grains group presidents are successful in their campaign.
“I genuinely think my role in those 18 months would be to restore the processes and structures, to get them right and to regain the confidence of the members out there in the branches across the state,” Mr Weller says.
“A membership which has taken a hit in recent years because the last thing those farmers want to see and hear is public bickering and internal squabbling.”
