Annual Report 2016/17

Transcription

1 Annual Report 2016/17 ABN ACN President s Report Treasurer s Report Financial Statements

2 Contents SECTION A EXECUTIVE REPORTS 3 President s Report Treasurer s Report SECTION B FINANCIAL REPORT 8 Directors Report Auditors Independence Report Financial Statements Directors Declaration Audit Report Additional Financial Data Front Cover Photo: Photo Caption: Tony Cannon and Neil Halpin compare notes in a stand of shining gum in a thinning and fertilizing trial at the Tilsey property at Blackwood Creek, Tasmania on Tuesday s Tour 3 at the AFG Conference Photo credit: Dr Kevin Harding

3 President s Report was a year of consolidation after a lot of changes were implemented to achieve cost reductions, operational efficiencies and modernisation of AFG. It was also highlighted by another excellent AFG Conference in Launceston organised by the Tasmanian Branch. You will note the healthy surplus in the annual accounts, which is a great credit to the diligent budgeting of Treasurer, Tim Gillespie-Jones and expenditure control by Executive Officer Sarah Paradice. It also reflects the terrific delivery of the Launceston conference with special thanks to Convenor Arthur Lyons, Organising Committee Chair, Tony Cannon, Sponsorship manager, Robin Dickson and Program manager Greg Unwin who were ably supported by a very active and engaged organising committee. Many thanks to all for this very welcome result and another wonderful Tasmanian conference. Our office sharing arrangements with the Institute of Foresters of Australia at Bruce in Canberra and sharing of resources have bedded in and are working well. We combined the AFG News Bulletin with the IFA s quarterly Forester news bulletin and now have 5 of these being produced annually approximately every two months. The combined news bulletin provides a broader coverage of professional, private and farm Forestry issues that better inform both IFA and AFG members. The Annual edition of the Grower magazine has continued the high-quality production of AFG s flagship magazine, the 2nd under the editorship of Brad Wykes and the editorial committee chaired by Kaara Shaw. The magazine is far from a break-even budget item and the Board continues to consider options to make it cost neutral while maintaining its very high standard. The overhaul and modernisation of the AFG web-site has been a large undertaking and has had mixed success on what the Board envisaged. We modelled the new web-site on the functionality of the very successful New Zealand Farm Forestry Association site and hoped that it would be the first point of call for members for information, event bookings and membership renewals. It has become this for many members but it also proved a bridge too far for some members resulting in a lot of extra work for Executive Officer Sarah Paradice in the national office. The positive spin on this is that many of you had direct contact with Sarah and no doubt this is beneficial to both members and for Sarah s knowledge of members and their issues. We also learnt that traditional mailed invoices for membership subscriptions are a necessary back-up to the web-site facility as membership renewals lagged expectations until paper invoices were mailed out to those members who had not renewed. The web-site will continue to be a priority for both the Board and Executive Officer to make it relevant and easy to navigate as a prime resource for all members. AFG continues to have a voice on the national stage by active participation in the quarterly Australian Forest Products Association meetings due to a generous associate membership provided to AFG by AFPA. The AFPA Board and CEO, Ross Hampton, have been very welcoming and provide a very effective lobbying voice in Canberra for small scale, farm and private forestry. Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources with responsibility for Forestry - the Honourable Senator Anne Ruston, Shadow Minister the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon, the Forest Industries Advisory Committee chaired by Mr Rob de Fegely and the Parliamentary Friends of Forestry - co-convened by the Member for Barker, Mr Tony Pasin (SA) and the Member for Hunter and Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Joel Fitzgibbon (NSW) have all shown a keen interest in private and farm forestry and we are well placed to raise policy issues and the profile of AFG in the corridors of power in Canberra. Additionally, Forest and Wood Product Australia (FWPA) continues to support and engage with AFG and this is greatly appreciated. Finally, AFG is a voluntary Board and organisation and as our Treasurer notes in his report to this AGM there are worrying signs for the future of AFG that our members are running out of steam or that AFG has slipped

4 in priorities in all our time-poor lives. The Board and national office needs your support and active engagement in the organisation. There are some excellent and active AFG branches that are very viable but others that now largely exist in name only. At the 2016 AGM I started a discussion with members about the need to think about merger options to ensure the long-term survival of AFG both financially and as an effective representative body. Members of the board have regularly donated their travel expenses as well as their time to AFG over the last 6-7 years (and no doubt during earlier times when budgets were very tight) but this is not a sustainable position going forward and is not and cannot be expected of Board members. The need to merge is not imminent and may not be necessary if we can grow and re-invigorate our membership. However, the latter needs the ideas and active participation of most members please be sure to communicate your ideas to your Branch executives and to the national Board so that we can deliver the relevant programs and resources that you expect for your membership. Thanks again to Executive Officer, Sarah Paradice, all AFG members for your support and to all members of your Board of Directors who continue to make the commitment to maintain Australian Forest Growers as an important voice for private forest owners and growers across the country. Kevin Harding President Photo Caption: Conference tour group 3 participants listen intently to the discussion at 'Formosa' near Cressy, Tasmania considering a PFT and CSIRO agroforestry project to quantify the impacts of shelterbelt planting on pasture growth. Photo Credit: Dr Kevin Harding

5 Treasurer s Report I am pleased to present the audited financial statements for financial year 2016/17 to members as prepared by AFG s auditors MCS Audit Pty Ltd. FY2017 Financial Results I am pleased to report AFG has generated a surplus for the financial year of $82K. This was principally created by the hard work of the Launceston Conference Committee whom did a terrific job putting together such a wonderful week culminating in a $70K surplus. Other than this terrific and noteworthy inclusion to AFG s income, there were few other notable items with most of the chart of accounts remaining in line with budget. Business Plan and FY2018 Budget The current business plan and 2017/18 budget continues in the same fiscally prudent manner to maintain AFG s solvency and continue with the delivery of net operating surpluses. For the FY2018 budget, operating costs have been constrained to FY2016 levels, however, our revenue has dropped by $20K leaving a very modest budget surplus of $2K for FY2018. The drop in revenue has resulted from further reductions in insurance endorsements, however, the AFG Board continues to maintain open dialogue with our Insurance partners JLT and Coverforce regarding new initiatives. As Treasurer, I m confident all operating costs have been constrained as far as practicable. Our work now revolves around generating more income. With all board members being voluntary and living busy lives as you all do, the task of canvasing corporate partnerships has been more difficult than envisaged. Producing a prospectus to take to the market has been an 18 month long journey and the board feels that this might be a pivotal project determining AFG s future direction. If successful, we can normalise non-conference year revenue, re-invest in the organisation and step up policy advocacy, for which AFG has be renowned. Conversely, if it is unsuccessful, the board may start a conversation with members regarding the future of the organisation. AFG will contact our prospective partners in the coming months to assess interest in longer term affiliations. Is Financial Stability Enough?

6 When I joined the board in 2014, I indicated to members I saw AFG enjoying a very bright future, however, AFG needs more than financial stability. It needs member engagement and involvement. If the current board cannot canvas branch interest to hold its biennial conference, then we must ask ourselves why are we all involved? If we have minimal members looking to get involved in branch events or join the National board to raise new ideas, then the future is not as bright as I first thought. I m the first to acknowledge life gets busy - with two kids under 3, running the family farm here in Bombala NSW plus holding down a fulltime professional position with the Forestry Corporation of NSW, my AFG involvement sometimes does get to me and it would be very convenient for me to drop it. But to do so, would be hugely disappointing to my predecessors who have invested so much. So, here s a challenge to all members. If you have not stood as an office bearer of your local Branch or the National Board, then perhaps it s time to do so (even with all of life s craziness). AFG relies so much on member involvement. It ensures the workloads of running AFG, be it either Branch or National, is shared and minimal on any one member. In lieu of the above, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Board in particular National President and Chair of the Board Kevin Harding and Executive Officer Sarah Paradice to return the operational surplus reported for the 2016/17 financial year. Tim Gillespie-Jones Treasurer Australian Forest Growers Photo Caption: Nigel Gibson (L) Jeremy Collyns (C) and Tim Gillespie-Jones in the shining gum thinning trial at the Tilsey property at Blackwood Creek, Tasmania on Tuesday s Tour 3 at the AFG Conference Photo Credit: Dr Kevin Harding

7 Financial Statements AUSTRALIAN FOREST GROWERS ABN FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2017 CONTENTS Directors Report Auditors Independence Report Financial Statements Directors Declaration Audit Report Additional Financial Data

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32 Photo caption: A PFT and CSIRO agroforestry project to quantify the impacts of shelterbelt planting on pasture growth during conference tour 3 On-farm Multipurpose Plantations Photo credit: Dr Kevin Harding Australian Forest Growers ABN: ACN PO Box 351 Macquarie ACT 2614 Unit 10, Building C, Trevor Pearcey House, Thynne Crt, Bruce ACT 2617