Current employment/positions:
Director Baysheil Pty Ltd, Owner “Yerilla”, Ilford, NSW superfine merino grazing. Research and Development Director, “Animal Ethics” pain management R&D.
Lecturer Sydney University Department of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Honorary Associate Sydney University Veterinary School.
Councillor, Hunter’s Hill Council NSW.
Q: What specific skills do you add to the board?
S: I am a paediatrician, research scientist and superfine woolgrower. I have a strong track record in well disciplined, productive R&D. I have an extremely broad knowledge and skill base across all areas of health, welfare and basic sciences, including chemistry, molecular biology and genetics. I am a clear, honest and innovative thinker. I know how to “cut to the chase” and direct research to deliver the outcomes that wool growers need.
Q: Why should growers trust you on your corporate track record?
S: I currently sit on three company boards as director and I am a local government councillor. In my 20 year career as a medical and animal research scientist I have competed for, won and co-managed research funds and grants worth millions of dollars. In the human field I delivered innovative techniques to monitor and save children’s lives during and after heart surgery. In the veterinary field, I developed Tri-Solfen the first spray-on anaesthetic for farmers to use in sheep. I have extensive experience negotiating with funding, R&D and regulatory bodies as well as large multinational commercial companies, and have successfully lobbied to prevent international boycotts of wool.
Q: What is your assessment of AWI and what would you change (if anything)?
S: As a scientist, I feel that AWI is highly dysfunctional at present. Research is poorly directed and there are glaring failures of research governance. The process of selecting and approving research proposals for funding must be vastly improved. There must be independent assessment of merit and greater transparency. Directors should not be undertaking personal research trials. Research must conform to legal requirements at all times. Research results should not be publicized before independent validation. If elected I will ensure strong codes of research governance are put in place to meet Australian Standards and get AWI “shipshape”. I will ensure the integrity of research and the credibility of reporting.
Q: What is your definition of conflict of interest at board level?
S: Conflicts of interest exist when there is conflict between the public duty and private interest of a board member that may affect his or her ability to be objective about an issue. This may be pecuniary (related to potential monetary loss or gain) or non pecuniary (related to other types of loss or gain, such as to professional reputation or to the chances of winning votes at an election). All potential conflicts of interest must be declared and managed according to the corporation’s code of conduct. The code must ensure standards that meet those of the Local Government Act, as a minimum.
Q: What is your stance on mulesing?
S: The 2010 promise was a gamble with the life and health of sheep that has not paid off. Alternatives are not sufficiently advanced to support a complete end to mulesing in 2010. At present, without mulesing the majority of farmers will have to get out of sheep, or go out of business. Farmers and retailers need to be made fully aware of this instead of having the wool pulled over their eyes. We need to work together to establish a new, sustainable way forward that is based on sound economics and responsible welfare science. The “retailers are demanding an end to mulesing in 2010” argument does not stack up. It simply means that the negotiating team is failing us and failing to counter animal rights group propaganda effectively. We need a completely new team with much better skills, to interact with retailers and undo the damage of the past few years.
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