Australian Wool Innovation chairman Jock Laurie has reiterated the organisation's push woolgrowers to vote for a 2pc levy when voting opens next Monday for WoolPoll 2021.
"There is so much work to do on behalf of growers and It is absolutely crucial that we make sure that wool is front of mind of consumers when they return to buying clothes," he said.
"Lower levy, lower volume and lower prices for wool has meant AWI has undergone fundamental change including a reduction in staff of 35pc.
"A lot has changed over the last three years since the levy was lowered from 2pc to 1.5pc including the latest Review of Performance which found "notable improvement" in AWI's operations.
"Another three years of a wool levy below 2pc will be a hand brake on AWI's capacity to work for growers."
AWI has said that a 2pc levy is important to help the body stand up for wool as an environmentally friendly option, conduct on farm research focusing on combating flystrike, train more shearers and improve workforce skills, increase people's awareness of wool's eco-credentials and run smart marketing campaigns that deliver extra sales and create demand.
The renewed push for growers to back a 2pc levy comes after WoolProducers Australia backed the return of a 1.5pc levy.
Following the release of the Voter Information Memorandum, WoolProducers said it believed the 1.5pc was sufficient for AWI to carry out its activities.
Voting for WoolPoll is open from September 13 until November 5.
Growers will be presented with five different levy options- 0pc, 1pc, 1.5pc, 2pc and 2.5pc.
Voting can be done online, by mail, email or via fax.
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