By Philippa Stevenson
A major architect of the dairy industry mega co-op has been left off the newly formed board charged with forming the giant entity.
The absence of New Zealand Dairy Group chairman Doug Leeder from the six member "transition board" has worried farmers.
The board's members are Dairy Board chairman John
Storey, Dairy Group deputy chairman Henry van der Heyden and director Graham Calvert, Kiwi Dairies chairman John Young and his deputy Harry Bayliss and Northland chairman Greg Gent. A Waikato farmer concerned at Mr Leeder's omission, said: "He is the face that sold it to us, and now he has been dumped and we are back with Storey."
But Mr Leeder said he had not sought a position on the transition board. "I have not been dumped," he said.
Mr Leeder already had a major job chairing New Zealand's biggest dairy company and said he did not want to compromise his ability to communicate to farmers over the mega co-op issue by being "spread too thin".
Involvement on the transition board would involve substantial time, commitment and "a very high level of independence".
