The future of the Warnambool saleyards remains unknown after council meeting

WARRNAMBOOL’s stock agents and south west Victorian livestock producers remain none-the-wiser over the future of the council’s saleyards.

Wangaratta saleyard funds

WARRNAMBOOL’s stock agents and south west Victorian livestock producers remain none-the-wiser over the future of the council’s saleyards.

This follows a rowdy meeting in the city last night.

Hundreds of stock agents, rural service providers and producers converged on a Warrnambool City Council meeting to hear councillors debate the issue.

The Council has previously announced Regional Infrastructure as their preferred operator for the saleyards in a new location.

The general council meeting was moved to the Lighthouse Theatre late this afternoon, rather than the usual adjacent municipal offices, to accommodate the estimated 400 people who swelled the public gallery.

The large crowd’s attendance followed an advertising campaign by the Warrnambool Livestock Agents Association in recent days. The campaign raised WLAA’s fears council would finalise a deal with Regional Infrastructure that would see the saleyards moved up to 40 kilometres from the council’s boundary, to an unidentified site.

But the at-times rowdy meeting, where members of the gallery frequently heckled councillors seen to be in favour of the council exploring the option of selling the saleyards and some councillors attacked the process undertaken by council and fellow councillors, failed to progress the issue.

A motion was carried to have the council executive officer Bruce Aston provide a full economic impact statement back to council, to then be shared with all interested parties, over Regional Infrastructure’s proposed move.

Councillors Peter Hulin, Brian Kelson and Peter Sycopoulis were particularly vocal in their support of retaining the saleyards at their current location and in their current council control.

“We have nothing to loss by hanging onto them,” Cr Sycopoulis said.

Cr Hulin said moving the yards out of Warrnambool city would be detrimental to the businesses of the city. This, and many other comments he made, received loud applause.

He also accused, indirectly, other unnamed fellow councillors of duplicity – saying they said one thing in closed council meetings and changing their tune in front of a packed public gallery.

Cr Hulin then called for online streaming of council meetings, a comment which received raucous applause, cheering and whistling from the gallery.

Mayor Michael Neoh told the gallery “no decision has been made” by council on the future of the saleyards.

He said council was in discussions with Regional Infrastructure over possible terms and conditions of a new livestock exchange but that it was awaiting the results of an economic impact study.

Councillor Rob Askew told the gallery that, despite reports to the contrary he had not made up his mind over whether to support the sale of the yards. However, he said he wanted to see the process continue and “then I’ll make a decision”, he said.

Cr Askew also questioned the motives of the stock agents, and if they were looking out for farmers or Warrnambool’s interests, or their own.

During the meeting, Cr Hulin said the process of investigating the financial impact of moving the yards should be “stopped” and again was backed by strong applause. And Cr Kelson presented a petition to the mayor, supporting the current saleyards, with 1000 signatures.

Other concerns raised during the meeting centred on the drawn out process Ballarat had experienced when trying to find a new site for their yard and the council’s lack of communication and cooperation with the neighbouring Moyne shire over the location on any new yards.

After the meeting local stock agent Jess Kelly told www.weeklytimesnow.com.au that the livestock industry was “none the wiser” about the yards’ future.

“It is ridiculous,” she said.