By Jeremy Sollars
Minutes of the Southern Downs Regional Council’s Saleyards Advisory Committee remain under a shroud of secrecy following last week’s council meeting where it was announced expressions of interest would be sought for external management of the Warwick Saleyards.
As previously reported in the Free Times, the Saleyards Advisory Committee first met in December last year, when it discussed the expressions of interest (EOI) option, along with the potential demolition of the Warwick Saleyards and the building of a new $15 million facility nearby.
Since then the committee has only held one ordinary meeting – in March – with a ‘special meeting’ held on Friday 5 May.
But the only minutes which have been publicly released to date are those of the December meeting, and when the Free Times asked the council on Monday 22 May why the March Committee minutes had not yet been made publicly available – and when the next meeting was due – a council spokeswoman did not mention the special meeting on 5 May, and advised the next committee meeting was due “in late June”.
The 5 May special meeting was noted in the last item of the confidential agenda section of the May meeting of the council, held last week in Stanthorpe.
Further inquiries to the council about the confidential minutes resulted in the following response from a council spokeswoman.
“Due to the confidential nature of these minutes, it was identified that these would be presented to council in-camera. The next meeting is still to be held in June. This is the next meeting of the committee.”
Reaction to the announcement that EOIs would be called for outside management of the Warwick Saleyards has been mixed, with many producers left asking why this option would be explored if the Saleyards turn an annual profit.
Many are also concerned that an external private operator could increase selling costs for cattle and sheep, which could drive producers to online livestock sales which are growing in popularity.
The Free Times asked the council for details of the Warwick Saleyards annual profit, and if the idea to call for EOIs originated with the Saleyards Advisory Committee or with the mayor and councillors.
FT did not receive a response by time of printing this week.
The December meeting of the Saleyards Advisory Committee discussed the option of demolishing the existing Warwick Saleyards and building a new facility on land near the Frasers Transport depot, with the committee agreeing the current facility is too small.
The land in question is understood to be the 80-acre former Warwick Enterprise Park on the Old Stanthorpe Road, which Frasers Livestock Transport purchased in early 2016 for an undisclosed sum from BWC Developments.
The December meeting was made up of deputy mayor Jo McNally, Cr Rod Kelly, Les Fraser of Frasers Transport, former Saleyards management committee chair Graham Kirkland, Andrew Williams of Elders and David McIvor of McDougall and Sons.
It is unknown which of these members remain current due to the March and May minutes having been suppressed, but last week’s council meeting minutes note that Blake Doro has been invited to join the Saleyards Advisory Committee, which replaced the former Saleyards management committee.
Council says Warwick Saleyards “not for sale”
Last week’s announcement of the call for EOIs came in a media release issued by the council in which it was stated that external management is only being considered as an option and that the current Saleyards is not for sale.
“This action (calling for EOIs) is consistent with the advice provided by the Saleyards Advisory Committee,” the media release stated.
“This council and the current Saleyards Advisory Committee have supported going through the Expressions of Interest process, just as it was endorsed by the previous council and Saleyards Advisory Committee.
“The Expression of Interest process is not binding, and assists council to ascertain best practice in the industry, as well as ensuring competitive prices for buyers and sellers.
“The council is keen to understand how saleyards services can be delivered effectively while meeting the expectations of buyers and sellers of sheep and cattle.“
As part of the media release councillor Rod Kelly said that “Council will continue to invest in the facility but cautions that the facility is not for sale”.
“An example of council’s investment in the facility is the forthcoming installation of catwalks over the sheepselling yards which will occur over the next few months,” Cr Kelly said.
Cr Kelly added that while the Saleyards deliver a return to council, the return needs to be considered in the “broader context of the need to continually upgrade the infrastructure at the facility”.
Manager of Finance and Information Technology Andrew Page said in the media release that the full Expression of Interest document would be available from council’s website “from early next week” but a search of the website by the Free Times just before going to print this week was unable to locate the document.
