Proponents of the Abattoir Supply Chain Proposal today meet with McKinlay Shire Councillors and a small number of local producers to start the process of feedback for the project. McKinlay Shir
Proponents of the Abattoir Supply Chain Proposal today meet with McKinlay Shire Councillors and a small number of local producers to start the process of feedback for the project.
McKinlay Shire Council announced yesterday that they had been in discussions with the proponents on the Julia Creek location for around 10 months. Mayor Belinda Murphy commented “ Council has been interested in a viable and sustainable development for some time and produced a document over two years ago covering the essentials to have “in the top draw” for investors that came looking …which is what has happened”
Council along with the Proponents have worked behind the scenes for some time. Belinda Murphy said “The main reason is it's hard to announce nothing, until we felt this was at a point that it was far enough along that it may come to realisation raising hopes of producers and community was not the right thing to do. Discussions from other sites was creating enough awareness and identifying that a development of this sort inland was needed and viable”.
There is still a long way to go but with the Proponents already discussing the project with potential investors and further meetings to occur, confidence in a positive outcome is high. The meeting today was just to gauge initial response and some feedback in relation to supply and pricing model.
“It was a small group of producers at short notice and inevitably people are missed but it really was just a snap shot of different operations across the shire. If the development moves to the next level of investor commitment then that’s when all the hard work and significant consultation will start with producers, business and community”
The main objective is a better farm gate deal for producers in the North West through a development that is smaller scale, sustainable and viable stretching across an entire supply chain. McKinlay Shire Council has always said the development comes down to where an investor wants to put their money and what is the best fit for them.
“At the end of the day Council is not building a meat works…. a commercial entity is and as long as producers in the North West get a better deal it is about where the investor wants to invest”
McKinlay Shire sees the significant potential for the community and the region benefiting from the Julia Creek location. “We are centred in the one of the largest catchments for Northern Australia and already have significant number traversing the yards and the Julia Creek Rail facility which is the largest cattle loading facility by numbers. Mayor Murphy said “If the supply is in the Northern area then the cattle side, by location, is really is a no brainer….. it is the will and capacity to grow and the impact a development like this will have on sustaining a community into the future that sets us apart.
With a substantial push by the State Government for jobs coinciding with announcements by the Federal Government to grow Northern Australia and an area reeling from drought wanting a better way forward and higher farm gate returns in years to come now is the time for development to start taking shape. If the meeting in Julia Creek today was an indication it certainly is positive.