On February 12, shareholders will vote on proposed changes to the AWB constitution, which if passed, will remove the power of wheat growers to elect seven of the 11 non-executive directors to the board.

In the aftermath of the oil-for-food scandal that saw AWB stripped of its monopoly on wheat exports and gave the power of veto to the federal government, the current board is seeking to reinvent the company and make it less reliant on wheat exports.

Rankins Springs wheat farmer Jock Munro opposes the constitutional amendments, describing the February 12 meeting as the most important in the history of wheat marketing.

Mr Munro, who is standing for the board at next month’s annual general meeting, said it was vital for the wheat industry’s future that AWB remained in growers’ hands.

“We have to keep grower ownership and control because if not, as far as I’m concerned, there’s no guarantee AWB will even stay in grain marketing,” Mr Munro said.

“And even if they did, they would only be there to maximise the returns to their corporate shareholders, not to maximise grower returns.”

The debate turned bitter recently when AWB chairman Brendan Stewart described the growers opposing the changes as “cold war warriors”, and said AWB had to adapt to survive in a system where it no longer held the monopoly over wheat exports.

“The fundamental single desk principle of only one national wheat exporter ended when the previous coalition government issued bulk export permits and deregulated exports of wheat in bags and containers,” Mr Stewart said.

“The proposed AWB constitutional reform is a pro-active and positive step that positions the company to compete against other wheat exporters in a more competitive market for the benefit of both wheat growers and shareholders.”

However, Mr Munro said if the constitution is changed growers would lose many of the protections currently guaranteed by AWB.

“If these changes go ahead, AWB will have no obligations to wheat growers, its only obligation will be to satisfy its corporate shareholders,” he said.

“With the wheat industry facing uncertain times, AWB has got the knowledge, intellectual property and capital to operate in the best interests of growers and the industry as a whole. Why would growers want to give that away?”