The sheep yard loading ramps and holding pens at the Millicent Saleyards were closed and locked last week as Wattle Range Council took immediate action to eliminate a number of significant safety risks.
Although there have been no sheep sales at the council-owned facility for almost 15 years, the sheep yards have remained in place and chiefly used for stock in transit.
The closure took effect on Tuesday and has been explained by council chief executive Ben Gower.
“One of the SafeWork SA notices that we received on July 23 in relation to the Millicent Saleyards was the requirement for Wattle Range Council to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of the entire site with key stakeholders to identify any other potential safety risks,” Mr Gower said.
“Risk assessments were recently conducted on site with stakeholders and staff on three separate occasions.”
Mr Gower said the information obtained during those site visits was collated and assessed in accordance with council’s formal risk management framework which was reviewed by the council’s executive leadership team on November 1.
“As a result of this process, two extreme risks were identified with the sheep yards infrastructure,” he said.
“The risks identified include ramp and yard infrastructure that does not meet current safety standards, posing an extreme fall from height risk to site users and significant compliance issues with the wastewater that runs off the sheep yard, posing an extreme stormwater contamination risk.
“This risk assessment identified an extreme risk to public safety and a serious breach of our EPA licence requirements that were both associated with the storage and handling of sheep on the site.
“The sale of sheep ceased cease several years ago, but farmers have been continuing to use the site as an ad hoc transfer station since its closure.
“Council has not received any fee for this activity for some time.
“Given the risk profile that was identified as a result of the SafeWork notice, I had no
choice as council’s chief executive than to close this (sheep) section of the saleyards completely and immediately.”
Built in the 1970s at a cost of more than $7m, Mr Gower said many elements of the ageing infrastructure at the Millicent Saleyards were now at end of life and needed to be replaced or upgraded to accommodate modern safety standards.
“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,” Mr Gower said.
Stakeholders approached by The SE Voice have expressed their disappointment at the situation.
Media reports estimate up to 30 graziers use the sheep yards for stock-in-transit purposes.
