AUSTRALIA'S peak dairy organisation is trying to recover $676,670 of farmers' money it poured into troubled investment company Diverseport.
The Australian Dairy Farmers board refused to comment on the issue and rejected The Weekly Times' request for a copy of its annual report.
ADF chief executive Adrian Scott and president Wesley Judd spent three weeks pondering a series of questions on the organisation's finances, before again refusing to comment.
The Weekly Times subsequently obtained a copy of ADF's financial report from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which showed ADF had managed to recover $307,577 of its $984,247 investment in Diverseport as of June 30 last year.
The report stated that Diverseport's receivers, PricewaterhouseCoopers, had advised the board that 20 cents in the dollar may not be recovered.
Diverseport, which held about $112 million in funds, was one of a number of small Queensland investment funds that ran into trouble during the 2008-09 global financial crisis.
By May 4 this year, PWC was able to inform investors it had been able to pay out 55 cents in the dollar (invested), with an estimated 5-10c more due in September.
ADF's 2009 financial report also showed its key management personnel, former ADF president Allan Burgess, chief executive Lisa Wilson and ADHIS general manager Daniel Abernethy, received total compensation of $458,650 in 2009.
The Weekly Times asked: What was each paid? What are the current managers and chairman paid? What does each director receive in terms of sitting fees, travel, accommodation and other remuneration?
But ADF management refused to provide any answers.
According to the report, the consolidated income statement showed employee expenses were $816,058 in 2008-09.
The Weekly Times asked: How many staff were employed in 2008-09?
But again, ADF refused to answer.
The report said ADHIS project expenses topped $1 million in 2008-09.
The Weekly Times asked ADF to provide details on why the cost had risen.
Mr Judd failed to return The Weekly Times calls and Mr Scott only responded after The Weekly Times visited his office and made about eight calls on the issue.
