❓ Dr. Thomas questions the Minister for Regional Development on the Boyanup saleyards replacement timeline, lease negotiations, and funding. The Minister responds, citing local government changes and a commercial proposal from WALSA as reasons for delays and a shift in approach.
AnsweredQoN 265Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
BOYANUP SALEYARDS
265. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to the
expression-of-interest process for the replacement of the Boyanup saleyards
facility and the minister's stated intent to enter into a contract by
October 2019.
(1) What is the current time line
for the replacement of the Boyanup saleyards?
(2) Will the saleyards remain in
operation in Boyanup for the next 10 years?
(3) What is the status of the lease
negotiations with the WA Livestock Salesmen's Association?
(4) Have any third parties expressed interest in
building and/or operating a replacement of the Boyanup saleyards?
(5) What funding
model was proposed for the replacement of the Boyanup saleyards, and will the
minister table that proposed funding model?
265. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to the
expression-of-interest process for the replacement of the Boyanup saleyards
facility and the minister's stated intent to enter into a contract by
October 2019.
(1) What is the current time line
for the replacement of the Boyanup saleyards?
(2) Will the saleyards remain in
operation in Boyanup for the next 10 years?
(3) What is the status of the lease
negotiations with the WA Livestock Salesmen's Association?
(4) Have any third parties expressed interest in
building and/or operating a replacement of the Boyanup saleyards?
(5) What funding
model was proposed for the replacement of the Boyanup saleyards, and will the
minister table that proposed funding model?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the
question. I would like to think that the question was totally genuine.
(1)–(5) As
the member is well aware, local government is subject to changes in its
complexion. Some of these small local authorities have many changes of
administration, so sometimes things perhaps do not progress as quickly as we
would like. I am sure that the member, as a very well informed local member, is
aware that in 2019 the Shire of Capel made a decision, which I supported, to
support the ongoing operations of the Boyanup saleyards where they are. In
light of that, we made the decision not to continue with that
expression-of-interest process. I think it was a very sensible decision because
we know that although many people are
attached to the Boyanup saleyards, we can see the direction in which sales of
livestock are heading and they are
certainly moving away from the saleyard model. The Department of Primary
Industries and Regional Development did the work to quantify what needed
to be done to bring the existing saleyards up to modern animal welfare
standards and what it would cost to do that. We were very clear about what
would be needed to make this acceptable going forward. WA Livestock Salesmen's
Association agreed to invest its own money, because it makes profits out of
saleyards, to do those upgrades and it wanted to enter into a lease. I understand that in January 2021, WALSA accepted
the intention to accept the lease that it
had been sent by the Shire of Capel. There have been some further changes in
the shire. We are optimistic that the shire that deferred the decision
because of a lack of quorum at its last meeting will shortly be in a position
to proceed with the lease with WALSA. I am sure that the member would not want
us to waste taxpayers' money when there is a perfectly good commercial
proposal before us.
The PRESIDENT : Order! I remind
members of standing orders 105 and 106, which relate to brevity of questions
and brevity of answers.
question. I would like to think that the question was totally genuine.
(1)–(5) As
the member is well aware, local government is subject to changes in its
complexion. Some of these small local authorities have many changes of
administration, so sometimes things perhaps do not progress as quickly as we
would like. I am sure that the member, as a very well informed local member, is
aware that in 2019 the Shire of Capel made a decision, which I supported, to
support the ongoing operations of the Boyanup saleyards where they are. In
light of that, we made the decision not to continue with that
expression-of-interest process. I think it was a very sensible decision because
we know that although many people are
attached to the Boyanup saleyards, we can see the direction in which sales of
livestock are heading and they are
certainly moving away from the saleyard model. The Department of Primary
Industries and Regional Development did the work to quantify what needed
to be done to bring the existing saleyards up to modern animal welfare
standards and what it would cost to do that. We were very clear about what
would be needed to make this acceptable going forward. WA Livestock Salesmen's
Association agreed to invest its own money, because it makes profits out of
saleyards, to do those upgrades and it wanted to enter into a lease. I understand that in January 2021, WALSA accepted
the intention to accept the lease that it
had been sent by the Shire of Capel. There have been some further changes in
the shire. We are optimistic that the shire that deferred the decision
because of a lack of quorum at its last meeting will shortly be in a position
to proceed with the lease with WALSA. I am sure that the member would not want
us to waste taxpayers' money when there is a perfectly good commercial
proposal before us.
The PRESIDENT : Order! I remind
members of standing orders 105 and 106, which relate to brevity of questions
and brevity of answers.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.