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Churchill Fellowship recipient to help Australian primary industry and national food traceability

Announcement posted by WMC PR 06 Nov 2019

“Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge.” - Sir Winston Churchill
Peter Carter, Director of Business Development and Innovation at GS1 Australia, has been awarded a highly-esteemed Churchill Fellowship, which will benefit agriculture exports.
Mr Carter will investigate one of the most pressing challenges for Australian primary industry: traceability for the modern supply chain to ensure export market access.

To support ongoing operations and achieve the National Farmers’ Federation goal of $100B worth of primary production in the next 10 years, an increased awareness of methods and techniques for traceability and quality assurance in other parts of the world is necessary. The consequences and costs for Australian industry are likely to be significant if compliance with importing country requirements are not met.


Mr Carter’s farming background and his passion for digital transformation of agricultural supply chains has led to his investigations. He is firmly focused on supporting Australian agriculture with enhanced national traceability through a better understanding of the best practices and capabilities being developed abroad.

In 2020, Mr Carter will travel to Vietnam, China, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, Canada and the United States exploring commodities including eggs, milk, oranges, red meat and wine. Visits with international producers and processors will provide a first-hand understanding of the measures and traceability processes that are in place, how effective they are, how markets are changing and what export market customers are expecting.

“Through the Fellowship, I hope to learn from others and intend to bring back techniques and methods used in other parts of the world to address challenges being faced by Australian industry. For example, a smart way of identifying eggs to enhance traceability and provide customers with confidence,” Mr Carter said.

Mr Carter has already championed CSIRO and industry efforts to improve traceability and regulatory aspects to help make Australian industry more competitive. He has also been actively engaged with Federal Government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, and industry bodies including Food Standards Australia New Zealand, to address national traceability challenges.
“When I return, I am looking forward to taking part in industry discussions and experimentation with new ideas identified through the investigation,” he added.

Mr Carter is one of 115 recipients from across the country who have this year received the prestigious award worth some $3.35 million collectively.

“Being recognised as a Churchill Fellow is a celebration of curiosity. They are ordinary Australians with extraordinary abilities and aspirations,” said Adam Davey, CEO of the Churchill Trust.

To find out more about the Churchill Trust visit www.churchilltrust.com.au.
For more information on GS1 Traceability visit www.gs1au.org/traceability.

ends

About GS1 Australia:
GS1 is a neutral, not-for-profit organisation that develops and maintains the most widely used global standards for efficient business communication. We are best known for the barcode, named by the BBC as one of “the 50 things that made the world economy”. GS1 standards and services improve the efficiency, safety and visibility of supply chains across physical and digital channels in 25 sectors. With local Member Organisations in 114 countries, 1.5 million user companies and 6 billion transactions every day, GS1 standards create a common language that supports systems and processes across the globe. For more information visit the GS1 Australia website or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and our YouTube channel.

History of Churchill Fellowships and The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
Five decades ago, just four weeks after the death of Sir Winston Churchill on 28 February 1965, the “Churchill Memorial Sunday” doorknock appeal was held across Australia.
The doorknock was to raise funds for an unusual type of memorial to Sir Winston - something like Rhodes Scholarships, but more egalitarian, and available to all people and on a much wider basis.
The concept, endorsed by Churchill before he died, was Fellowships, bearing his name, for ordinary people - providing a unique opportunity to travel, learn, and bring knowledge back to their country.
Such was the admiration and respect that Australian fighting men and women of World War II held for Churchill, that this became the greatest one-day doorknock in Australian history.
Funds collected from everyday Australians together with donations from Government and Australian companies totalled the princely sum of 2,206,000 Pounds ($4,412,000).
That laid the foundation for an incredible opportunity – Fellowships offered annually and worth on average $27,000 each, available to Australians who want to make a difference.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established to administer not only the total funds raised by the 1965 Appeal, but also the Churchill Fellowship award scheme.
Since the inception of the Churchill Trust, more than 4,400 Australians have identified projects where overseas research allowed them to bring back vital networks and skills.

Further information:
Tracey Kelly-Jenkins, GS1 Australia 03 8581 5982.
Julia George, Churchill Foundation 02 6247 8333.

Caption 1: Peter Carter receives his Churchill Fellowship certificate from Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC, Governor of New South Wales at Government House.
Caption 2: Peter Carter from GS1 will use his Churchill Fellowship to investigate export market access for food commodities and wine.