15 June 2016

Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Primary Industries and Water

New appointments for Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture advisory board

Agricultural research, development and extension is a vital part of the Hodgman Liberal Government’s AgriVision Plan to grow the value of agriculture tenfold by 2050.

We are proud of the world-class research being undertaken by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) which was recently ranked as the number one agricultural research institute in Australia

Today I am pleased to announce the appointment of four new industry representatives to the TIA advisory board.

As a joint venture between the Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania, TIA employs 130 scientists, educators and technical experts to deliver impact focused research, development and extension to benefit the Tasmanian agriculture industry.

The TIA is guided in its activities by a nine-member board comprised of representatives from Government, university and industry stakeholders and the new appointees bring with them broad industry experience and strategic vision.

In the recent State Budget, TIA received $5 million in 2016/17 and in addition to Tasmanian Government support, TIA attracts substantial external funding from nationally competitive funds, with a research portfolio now valued in excess of $72 million.

With the economy growing and the Budget back on track, the Hodgman Liberal Government is supporting growing industries.

A great example of this is the new $570,000 collaborative project between Wine Tasmania and TIA that I announced last week to improve grape quality and productivity in vineyards.

Wine Tasmania’s strategic vision is to treble wine production from the existing 500,000 cases a year to 1.5 million cases by 2020 and reducing yield variability between years in wine grapes is critical to achieving growth in our high-value wine sector.

The new TIA board members are:

• Dr Hazel MacTavish-West, who has diverse experience in the development and marketing of quality food, beverage and personal care products.
• Dr Davina Gregory-Dunsmuir, who has been involved in the phyto-pharmaceutical industry for over a decade.
• Ms Mel Rae, Senior Consultant at Macquarie Franklin with a wide range of water resource, agricultural production and natural resource management experience.
• Mr Marcus Griffin, a North East primary producer with many years of experience in the agricultural production, processing and marketing sectors in both Australia and New Zealand.

I look forward to the contribution of the new Board members as research and Development is vital for fostering innovation, improving farm productivity, capturing new opportunities and responding to the farming challenges of today and tomorrow.

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