CBH Group District 2 Member Director Elections approach final hours as ‘well-mannered’ contest heats up

The tit-for-tat director dramas that plagued Australia’s biggest co-operative for years appear to be a thing of the past, with a well-mannered contest for a spot on the CBH board now approaching its final hours. The two-man race between incumbent John O’Neil and newcomer Mick Caughey is likely to be the only director contest this year, after existing directors Ken Seymour and Royce Taylor retained their seats unopposed at the close of the nominations in January. The position up for grabs is for District 2 — one of CBH’s five member director districts — with this area stretching from Marvel Loch in the east to Regans Ford in the west, north to Ballidu and south to Cunderdin. Mr O’Neil has held the District 2 director position since February 2020, and serves on the co-operative’s audit and risk management committee and its health, safety and sustainability committee. Mr Caughey, a Merredin farmer, would be a newcomer to the board but is no stranger to the CBH business after spending several years on the co-operative’s grower advisory council. He is one of three District 2 representatives on the grower advisory council, a 16-person group which aims to improve communication between growers, the board, and management. Both Mr O’Neil and Mr Caughey agreed it had been a peaceful election this year, with both campaigning during the Christmas period. It has been a relatively quiet two years for the CBH board, with no major dramas made public after years of unrest that came to a head with former board chair Wally Newman’s resignation in April 2020. One week later, CBH members found themselves in the middle of a messy dispute between the then-board suggested members vote for a resolution proposing long-standing director Trevor Badger be stood down after 14 years. Mr Badger almost pulled off an unlikely upset when the motion was put to a vote but was ousted 772-739 after Mr Stead used proxy votes allocated to him to support the motion. Later that year, CBH introduced sweeping changes to how the board election process was run, in a bid to improve its corporate governance. The changes included the introduction of the candidate assessment panel, which all of this year’s candidates took part in. The CAP process is mandatory for sitting directors and voluntary for new candidates to determine if they have the “desired skills and attributes” for the board. The panel comprises CBH chair Simon Stead and high-profile Perth corporate leaders Terry Agnew and Suzanne Ardagh. Although the panel does not provide a recommendation to growers on who to vote for, it gives candidates a confidential “rating” on how the panel believes they would fit into a directors’ role. CBH also in 2021 implemented a strict electioneering code of conduct to highlight “minimum standards” for candidates’ behaviour — allowing them to present their skills, attributes and experience while ensuring their conduct was carried out in an “honest and fair way”, protecting the “commercial interests of CBH” and the “standing and reputation of CBH’s officers, employees and members”. Late last year, Mr Stead said feedback from the inaugural CAP process was positive and provided confidence to member voters. “The CAP process has been designed to encourage a high calibre of candidates to stand for election and promote merit-based voting,” he said. “It provides members with factual information about the candidates for their consideration when deciding which candidate to vote for.” Ballot packs were mailed to members in District 2 on Monday, January 9. CBH grower members must have their votes before 10am that day. The successful candidate will be announced later that day. THE CBH BOARD Member Directors Simon Stead, Cascade (District 5) Elected February 2015, appointed deputy chair April 2019, appointed chair April 2020 Natalie Browning, Kondinin (District 3) Elected February 2018, appointed deputy chair in April 2020 Jeff Seaby, Mukinbudin (District 2) Elected February 2019 Barry West, Kulin (District 3) Elected February 2022 John O’Neil, Mukinbudin (District 2) Elected February 2020 (Up for re-election against Merredin’s Mick Caughey) Ken Seymour, Moora (District 1) Elected February 2020 Gareth Rowe, Walkaway (District 1) Elected June 2021 Helen Woodhams, Kojonup (District 4) Elected August 2020 Royce Taylor, Lake Grace (District 4) Elected June 2021 Independent Directors Alan Mulgrew Appointed February 2015 David Lock Appointed February 2019 Paul Sadleir Appointed February 2021