SHEEP yard loading ramps and holding pens at the Millicent Saleyards were closed and locked last week when Wattle Range Council staff took action to eliminate significant safety risks.
While sheep sales have not been held at the yards since 2007, some farmers were still using the yards to consolidate smaller quantities of stock from various farms into a larger load for transport.
According to council, this has often been done without council’s knowledge or oversight and without any fee for service being collected over the last 12 months.
At the council’s monthly meeting this week, several councillors asked why the action had been taken.
Chief Executive Officer, Ben Gower told the meeting that he had been at the yards last week inspecting the saleyards in general after council was issued with five SafeWork notices in July on a range of safety issues which required work to be undertaken on the facility by December this year.
“While I was there I actually witnessed a truck loading up through the one and only sheep ramp there and he had it extended to its extreme and there was a real fall risk as the railing is below waist height,” Mr Gower said.
“It is an extreme risk so we had no choice but to cease using the ramp straight away.”
In a statement issued last week, the council said the yards were closed down and locked on Tuesday, November 2.
“Built in the 1970s at a cost of more than $7million, many elements of the ageing infrastructure are now at end of life and need to be replaced or upgraded to accommodate modern safety standards,” the statement read.
“Council has acted without delay to address these notices, which has included a comprehensive risk assessment of the site to identify all potential safety hazards.
“Site users and stakeholders were invited to inspect the saleyards site and contribute to the hazard identification process.
“As a result of this process, two extreme risks were identified with the sheep yards infrastructure and Council has acted immediately to eliminate these risks by closing and locking out the sheep yards and loading ramp.”
The statement said the ramp and yard infrastructure does not meet current safety standards, posing an extreme fall from height risk to site users.
It also said there were significant compliance issues with wastewater that runs off the sheep yard, posing an extreme stormwater contamination risk.
“Council is investigating all future options for the site, including if it’s possible to provide this transit service for sheep into the future. However, in the short term, due to the risks, current site users will need to make alternative arrangements,” the statement said.
