The Victorian Supreme Court has delayed the election of the next United Dairyfarmers of Victoria (UDV) president after one of the candidates launched legal action over his expulsion.
Former UDV Corangamite branch secretary and dairy farmer, Ian Morris, had been nominated for the top job but had his membership cancelled by the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) before the election.
Mr Morris has taken both the VFF and its president, Emma Germano, to the Supreme Court seeking an injunction in a bid to stop the election and reverse the expulsion.
Victorian Supreme Court judge Andrew Keogh has ordered the VFF to refrain from taking any further steps to elect the UDV president, or make any announcements about an appointment, before the case is heard again on May 26.
ACM, the publisher of this masthead, has been seeking details of the candidates since nominations closed on March 17.
Current UDV president Paul Mumford has said he would not seek another term, while vice president Mark Billing from Colac has publicly stated he hopes to win the presidency.
Mr Morris's lawyers told the Supreme Court the VFF and Ms Germano's decision to cancel his membership was "tainted by apprehended bias".
According to court documents submitted by his lawyers, they had either not listened to, or excluded, information Mr Morris wanted to bring to the board's attention, denying him procedural fairness.
They argue the board failed to detail the alleged contraventions of the VFF constitution that prompted the expulsion and didn't comply with its own constitution and grievance procedures.
Under the VFF constitution, members can be ousted if they act contrary to, or in disregard of, the constitution, in any manner prejudicial or detrimental to the VFF's interests, if subscriptions are unpaid, or "on grounds prescribed and published from time to time by the board".
It also states the member shall receive at least 30 days' notice of the proposed membership termination and what is alleged. The member should also have the opportunity to appear before the board or send a written explanation.
Both Mr Morris and Ms Germano said they could not comment while the matter was before court.
"Members will be updated with further information at next Friday's VFF UDV Annual Meeting and Conference," Ms Germano said.
The case is listed for a final hearing in the Supreme Court before Justice Keogh on May 26.
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Marian Macdonald
Writing for farmers in the Stock & Land, The Land, Queensland Country Life, Stock Journal and FarmWeekly, farming in Gippsland.
Writing for farmers in the Stock & Land, The Land, Queensland Country Life, Stock Journal and FarmWeekly, farming in Gippsland.
