Hon Bruce Donaldson raises concerns about the safety of the Midland Livestock Saleyards, prompting a response from Hon Kim Chance outlining actions taken by the Western Australian Meat Industry Authority (WAMIA) to address the issues.

AnsweredQoN 826Legislative Council
Asked
26 September 2006
Portfolio
Agriculture and Food

QuestionView source ↗

MIDLAND LIVESTOCK SALEYARDS - OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Given the dangerous state of the stock pens and the auctioneers’ rails at the Midland livestock sale complex and the continual delay of their replacement at Muchea - (1) Will the minister take immediate action to ensure that the necessary maintenance or replacement that is urgently required takes place to meet occupational health and safety requirements? (2) If not, why not? Hon KIM CHANCE

AnswerView source ↗

(1)-(2) The Western Australian Meat Industry Authority has taken immediate action to correct this situation. I think I answered a question a week or two ago that indicated that $100 000 had been set aside for such maintenance. The WA Meat Industry Authority’s response to the question of safety has been to assess a WorkSafe report. After recently being on-site, WorkSafe officers have made some recommendations. I am not precisely aware of those recommendations. I recently saw some media cover about the issue, which included photographs of the rails. The rails concerned are the same rails that have been operating at Midland for decades. I am not too sure what about the rails has changed. Perhaps WorkSafe’s standards have lifted. At any rate, I have often wondered how the auctioneers have managed to not fall off. Until the new yards are erected, it is up to WAMIA to ensure that the rails and stock pens meet the current standards.
(1) Will the minister take immediate action to ensure that the necessary maintenance or replacement that is urgently required takes place to meet occupational health and safety requirements? (2) If not, why not? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: (1)-(2) The Western Australian Meat Industry Authority has taken immediate action to correct this situation. I think I answered a question a week or two ago that indicated that $100 000 had been set aside for such maintenance. The WA Meat Industry Authority’s response to the question of safety has been to assess a WorkSafe report. After recently being on-site, WorkSafe officers have made some recommendations. I am not precisely aware of those recommendations. I recently saw some media cover about the issue, which included photographs of the rails. The rails concerned are the same rails that have been operating at Midland for decades. I am not too sure what about the rails has changed. Perhaps WorkSafe’s standards have lifted. At any rate, I have often wondered how the auctioneers have managed to not fall off. Until the new yards are erected, it is up to WAMIA to ensure that the rails and stock pens meet the current standards.
(2) If not, why not? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: (1)-(2) The Western Australian Meat Industry Authority has taken immediate action to correct this situation. I think I answered a question a week or two ago that indicated that $100 000 had been set aside for such maintenance. The WA Meat Industry Authority’s response to the question of safety has been to assess a WorkSafe report. After recently being on-site, WorkSafe officers have made some recommendations. I am not precisely aware of those recommendations. I recently saw some media cover about the issue, which included photographs of the rails. The rails concerned are the same rails that have been operating at Midland for decades. I am not too sure what about the rails has changed. Perhaps WorkSafe’s standards have lifted. At any rate, I have often wondered how the auctioneers have managed to not fall off. Until the new yards are erected, it is up to WAMIA to ensure that the rails and stock pens meet the current standards.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied: (1)-(2) The Western Australian Meat Industry Authority has taken immediate action to correct this situation. I think I answered a question a week or two ago that indicated that $100 000 had been set aside for such maintenance. The WA Meat Industry Authority’s response to the question of safety has been to assess a WorkSafe report. After recently being on-site, WorkSafe officers have made some recommendations. I am not precisely aware of those recommendations. I recently saw some media cover about the issue, which included photographs of the rails. The rails concerned are the same rails that have been operating at Midland for decades. I am not too sure what about the rails has changed. Perhaps WorkSafe’s standards have lifted. At any rate, I have often wondered how the auctioneers have managed to not fall off. Until the new yards are erected, it is up to WAMIA to ensure that the rails and stock pens meet the current standards.
(1)-(2) The Western Australian Meat Industry Authority has taken immediate action to correct this situation. I think I answered a question a week or two ago that indicated that $100 000 had been set aside for such maintenance. The WA Meat Industry Authority’s response to the question of safety has been to assess a WorkSafe report. After recently being on-site, WorkSafe officers have made some recommendations. I am not precisely aware of those recommendations. I recently saw some media cover about the issue, which included photographs of the rails. The rails concerned are the same rails that have been operating at Midland for decades. I am not too sure what about the rails has changed. Perhaps WorkSafe’s standards have lifted. At any rate, I have often wondered how the auctioneers have managed to not fall off. Until the new yards are erected, it is up to WAMIA to ensure that the rails and stock pens meet the current standards.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more