THE State government continues to come under fire for its vision for the WA saleyard sector, although there is some delight that things are finally moving forward toward a new Boyanup saleyard after years of government inaction.
The Nationals WA spokesperson for agriculture Colin de Grussa MLC said when in government his party committed to funding new saleyards in Boyanup, “and Labor failed to honour this funding commitment in the 2017-18 budget”.
“The Nationals WA fully support the construction of replacement saleyards for Boyanup at a greenfield site away from the town centre and we had put money aside to do so,” Mr de Grussa said.
“There is no guarantee that funds raised from selling the Muchea Livestock Centre (MLC) would even be spent on the Boyanup saleyard,” he said.
Concerns have also been raised by WAFarmers livestock president David Slade, who attended the “constructive” roundtable meeting that Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan had with industry stakeholders and investors two weeks ago in Perth.
Mr Slade said having heard a number of proposals for consideration, WAFarmers continued to be opposed to the sale of the MLC, but remained open to exploring a range of options including leasing the centre and the building of replacement saleyards for Boyanup by a private operator.
“Other options could also include the establishment of a co-operative to build the replacement saleyards for Boyanup,” Mr Slade said.
“Any agreement to allow the involvement of private operators in the building and leasing of any saleyards would need to have iron-clad safeguards in place to ensure saleyard fees are kept to industry standards.
“Mr Slade said industry remained concerned that the commitment to fund the four key saleyards of Muchea, Katanning, Mt Barker and Boyanup from the sale of the Midland saleyards had not been fulfilled by government.
“WAFarmers remains open to considering all available options to ensure that a suitable replacement facility for the Boyanup saleyards is available for industry,” he said.
“While we are concerned that the government is yet to fulfil its funding commitment to the four key saleyards, we applaud Minister MacTiernan on inviting a wide range of industry stakeholders to participate in the constructive and collaborative discussions regarding the sale of Boyanup.
“It is a step in the right direction.”
WA Livestock Salesmen’s Association (WALSA) chairman Leon Giglia said it was in the best interests of cattle producers to build a new state-of-the-art facility in the South West.
“There should be a new set of yards,” Mr Giglia said.
“It is a once-in-a-50 year opportunity for the industry.”
Mr Giglia said WALSA would work with whoever was given the approval to construct the yards to ensure the best outcome for all who used the facility.
“We have no concerns who uses the yards as long as there are long term provisions put in place,” Mr Giglia said.
He said for the stability of the livestock industry it was important to have long-term access to the yards with “commercial rates” being reasonably priced.
Ms MacTiernan concluded the industry “roundtable discussion” two weeks ago with the invitation for private sector investors to come back to her with a plan for the replacement of the Boyanup saleyards.
It is unclear how long it will take for the minister to receive and review these proposals, and commit to a course of action, but she did say that the current saleyards could remain open beyond the 2022 closure date, for the short-term, until the issue was resolved.
Last week Ms MacTiernan said it remained the government’s view that building and operating new saleyards was the role of the private sector.
“It was clear there is interest from private sector investors and operated in building a new South West saleyard facility, if we can get the package right,” Ms MacTiernan said.