Every day is environment day for Australia's livestock producers
29/05/2009
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) will next week launch its biggest communications campaign yet as part of its efforts to promote the environmental credentials of the livestock industry.
Tactically coinciding with World Environment Day on 5 June, MLA will undertake a nation-wide communications campaign that includes newspaper and online advertising.
Using the tagline "Where we live, every day is environment day", the newspaper advertisements will run in major daily metropolitan newspapers in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, SA and WA.
Running in tandem with the newspaper advertising will be advertisements on the popular news websites www.smh.com.au and www.theage.com.au.
At a time when community focus on the red meat industry's perceived impact on the environment is high, MLA Chairman Don Heatley said the latest advertising campaign was designed to promote the significant environmental achievements of livestock producers to those living in metropolitan areas.
"We kicked off our environmental communications campaign in March with newspaper advertising that coincided with the Earth Hour event, so this is our second initiative which is much more extensive in terms of reach and duration," Mr Heatley said.
"This campaign is purposely tied to World Environment Day because we think it is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the industry's commitment to the environment."
Mr Heatley said the aim of the campaign is provide real examples of the environmentally-focused work undertaken every day by Australia's livestock producers such as tree-planting, protection of riparian zones and the preserving of areas of important biodiversity such as native wildlife habitat.
"This campaign is about grass roots livestock producers and their unwavering commitment to the land they manage to provide food for consumers and to protect it for future generations," Mr Heatley said.
In NSW and Victoria the quarter page advertisements will run for several days in the lead up to, and including, 5 June. In Queensland and WA the advertisements will run on 5 June, while the advertisement will appear on 4 June in SA.
Gippsland, Victoria, cattle and sheep producer, Bill Bray is the face of the World Environment Day communications campaign, for everywhere but Queensland and WA.
Bill and his wife Deb run sheep and cattle on 600ha of land they own and lease at Walkerville.
Over the past 20 years, the Bray family have planted more than 30,000 native trees, fenced off 10 percent of their property to protect remnant vegetation and begun fencing off water courses to establish wetlands with native species.
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Released by: Nigel Gosse, Media Affairs Manager, ph. 02 9463 9360.