What’s going on at WAMIA? Organisation on the hunt for its seventh chief executive in a decade

WA’s biggest livestock saleyard is on the hunt for its seventh leader in a decade, with a former Wheatbelt Development Commission boss keeping the seat warm until the middle of the year. Former Wheatbelt Development Commission regional development director I-Lyn Loo secured a six-month contract as acting chief executive in January, and will hold the role while the board continues its hunt for a new leader. Ms Loo fills the top spot left empty by former CEO Steve Wainewright, who resigned late last year after 12 months in the role — about half of which was in an acting capacity before he signed on in May. Mr Wainewright was seconded from his role as the farm manager at Muresk Institute, where he had been employed by the Department of Training and Workforce Development to run the Spencer’s Brook property since 2017 He replaced prior chief executive Tim Collins, who resigned in November 2021 after just seven months in the role. Ms Loo said she had been appointed to the role on a six-month contract, adding that because WAMIA was State Government-run the search for a new leader would take time because it had be ticked off by State Cabinet. “It can be a slow process,” Ms Loo said. It is the seventh leadership shake-up for WAMIA in the past 10 years, with varying term lengths, and also comes at a time when the WAMIA board is on the hunt for a chair after Irwin farmer Sally O’Brien stepped down in January. Chief executives during that time include Renata Paliskis (2013-2015), Andrew Williams (2015-2019), Greg Lott (2019-2021), Mr Collins (2022-22), and Mr Wainewright, who has now taken a regional manager’s position at ZQ Australia, an arm of the New Zealand Merino Company. Despite the CEO changes, WAMIA kept some stability through chair David Lock, who held that position from 2012 until 2019 when well-known Irwin farmer Sally O’Brien took over. Ms O’Brien had been on the board since 2011 before becoming acting chair and then chair and retired early this year, about 16 months before her tenure was due to expire in June 2024. She was replaced in the interim by acting chair Joana Williams — who has been on the board since September 2020. Ms O’Brien said she had been delaying her resignation due to the turnover of staff at WAMIA but couldn’t wait any longer to step down, attributing her decision to personal and family business reasons. “I saw other people leaving for their own reasons and finally got to the point where I couldn’t stay any longer,” Ms O’Brien said. She said her family had recently purchased the neighbouring farm at Irwin and “significantly expanded operations”, which meant she needed to dedicate more time to the business. While Ms O’Brien was sad to go, she said WAMIA was “in good hands” with Ms Loo and she was “fully confident in her abilities” to do the job required. Ms Loo said she didn’t know much about the issues of past leadership changes at WAMIA and took up the role because it was “a good opportunity” to experience a leadership position within the agriculture industry. Her appointment come after she completed a four-month stint as acting CEO of the Commission, a role now being filled by former Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development investment manager Susan Hall. Ms Loo has had in interesting career, taking opportunities as they arose and making the most of them. Originally from Malaysia, Ms Loo arrived in Perth to finish her Year 12 studies in 1995 before studying Environmental Engineering and Physics at The University of WA. She then headed to NZ where she trained as a meteorologist and later worked in Singapore. In 2006, she arrived back in Perth where she worked at the then-Department of Environment. In 2013, she found her way into the agriculture industry at the Department of Agriculture and Food’s invasive species area as a policy officer. She was involved in the background work of WA’s Wild Dog Action Plan as a former policy advisor to the previous WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan, and also worked as DPIRD’s primary industries and trade manager. In other news, Ms Loo said WAMIA was “working through the procurement process” to ensure it was ready for the mandatory electronic ID ear tags for sheep and goats legislation to come into effect January 2025. Once all the equipment arrives on site, the Muchea Livestock Centre management team will have to ensure that everything is structured for an easy flow of arrivals into the yards, which may require some upgrades to existing structures and procedures. Ms Loo said because they have had some experience with cattle ID tags, it shouldn’t be too difficult to adjust to sheep and goats. WAMIA will make the upgrades at both the Muchea and Katanning sale yards in line with the January 2025 deadline. The State Government has announced a 75c discount per eID ear tag for the 2023 lamb and kid drop, as part of its pilot program to prepare for the adoption of the mandatory system. It has allocated $3.4 million for the Tag Incentive Payment commitment to improve the National Livestock Identification System traceability system.