Mataura Valley Milk challenged over leaked message
Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell has ramped up the pressure on Mataura Valley Milk for taking the Covid-19 wage subsidy.
Several dairy companies, including Mataura Valley, have been criticised by the industry for taking the subsidy while still operating during the lockdown.
Mataura Valley is backed by Chinese state-owned enterprise China Animal Husbandry Group, New Zealand company Bodco and local and farmer shareholders. It officially opened its $226 million factory in November 2018.
Hurrell’s comment was specifically levelled at the company’s decision to stop processing Fonterra milk, which came to light on Tuesday after a leaked internal message from Mataura Valley was shared widely on Twitter.
The leaked message outlined that Mataura Valley’s decision was down to Fonterra’s claimed lower safety controls.
The lower standard was then used to justify taking the wage subsidy because not processing the milk had come at a financial cost, according to the message.
The message was tweeted by The Muster Show, a rural radio programme that covers Otago and Southland.
Hurrell hit back on Twitter, saying he was proud of his staff and the company’s controls.
‘‘Not sure a subsidy is justified if they chose not to process all milk available,’’ he said.
In an email to Stuff, Mataura Valley Milk chief executive Bernard May denied the leaked message originated from the company.
‘‘Any comments on social media are not from Mataura Valley
Milk . . . Both companies have done an exceptional job managing through a global pandemic.’’
The Muster Show said it had verified that the note came from Mataura Valley Milk.
The message said: ‘‘You may be aware that we were paid $614,755 for our 88 staff. The key driver for this was stopping the processing of Dira milk from Fonterra.’’
Fonterra staff entering Mataura Valley’s site would pose an unacceptable risk, the message said.
‘‘Given Fonterra has had Covid19 onsite and we haven’t, I think it’s a testament to these standards.
‘‘Asking staff to process milk that is not from our farmers for low-margin returns was not right.’’
The message said Mataura Valley’s decision not to process Fonterra milk was justified due to its ‘‘far higher’’ hygiene level.
In an email to Stuff Hurrell said Mataura Valley Milk was one of a number of dairy companies that received milk from Fonterra under the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (Dira).
‘‘In a note to farmers shared on Twitter, we saw [Mataura Valley] making reference to Fonterra’s Covid-19 controls being one of the reasons for not taking their Dira milk and subsequently claiming the wage subsidy. It’s disappointing to see this,’’ he said.
The company stood by its safety procedures, he said.