Thursday, 5 November, 2020
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Remembrance Day 2020 is next Wednesday 11 November - and young people, including our Cadets, will be at the forefront of commemorations this year. Details of local services in Warwick and Stanthorpe inside - page 2.
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The future of the Warwick Saleyards continues to be a hot topic of local debate - with the latest development being a resolution by the Southern Downs Regional Council’s Saleyards Advisory Committee to build a brand new facility on an as-yet unidentified ‘greenfield’ site. The Saleyards Advisory Committee - which as its name suggests is not a statutory body and is made up of councillors and rural industry representatives - last met on Thursday 15 October at the Warwick council chambers. The committee heard a presentation from council officers about issues at the current Saleyards on the corner of Bracker Road and McEvoy Streets, and from Tom Newsome of Outcross Agri-Business, a company which provides livestock sales and traceability software to saleyards across Australia. The committee then voted in favour of recommending to the council that its preferred future option is for a new saleyards facility to be built in the Warwick area at another location, but the minutes of the meeting do not specify options. The committee’s resolution comes as the Southern Downs Regional Council keeps a significant portion of a Master Plan for the Warwick Saleyards under wraps, citing ‘commercial in confidence’ reasons. The Master Plan was developed by consultants Wiley & Co in 2019 and partially released by the council back in July of this year under new Mayor Vic Pennisi, but the section which is understood to outline costings of future saleyards options remains out of public scrutiny. Other options are understood to be ‘do nothing’ or upgrade the existing saleyards. The Free Times has been seeking since October 2019 to obtain the full Master Plan through Right To Information (RTI) but Cr Pennisi has said to release the remainder of the document could jeopardise potential future commercial negotiations between the council and businesses who may submit expressions of interest in a future saleyards project. For its part the council as a whole is yet to define its stance on the future of the Saleyards but the matter is due to be on the table for further discussion in the form of a ‘business case’ during its December round of meetings. The Saleyards Advisory Committee itself is next due to meet on Thursday 12 November. At its October meeting Jim Wedge was appointed
as Chair on the nomination of Ross Fraser and seconded by Matthew Grayson. The issue of the Saleyards’ future was a major topic in the lead-up to and during the 2020 council election, with the consensus of those in the local livestock industry being the facility should remain owned and operated by the council after the previous administration under Tracy Dobie floated the option of leasing out management of the saleyards to a private operator. Community survey ... Ahead of the December council meetings the council is calling for the community to complete a survey on the Saleyards between now and Wednesday 18 November. In a statement released to the media this week a council spokeswoman said “community consultation will play a significant role when Southern Downs Regional Council considers the options for the future of the iconic Warwick Saleyards”. In 2019, Council commissioned the Warwick Saleyards Master Plan which addressed the sustainability of the current facility and made recommendations on future business operations,” the spokeswoman said. In the statement Mayor Vic Pennisi said “Council is considerably invested in the Warwick Saleyards Master Plan and would be guided by recommendations from this report, the Saleyards Business Case and the Saleyards Advisory Committee, as well as community and industry consultation”. “Council is committed to the region’s livestock industry and maintaining a sustainable and competitive market position for our saleyards,” Cr Pennisi said. “The current saleyards are reaching the end of their operational life without a significant investment. “Our operations are not as efficient as other facilities in the broader region and we don’t make use of the modern practices and technology that is available to drive greater efficiency and benefits for the region. “Council has had various reports presented to them over time to reinforce this situation and to advise Council on the future direction they should take. “The Master Plan and Business Case are several platforms to base our decision making on and they highlight crucial issues which we have no choice but to address. Continued page 3
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