The Mount Gambier and District Saleyards will receive a massive funding boost with the State Government committing a further $1.85m to its significant transformation project to help grow the local economy and jobs.
The saleyards, wholly owned and managed by the Grant District Council, is the largest cattle livestock exchange facility in the Limestone Coast region, having facilitated more than $593m worth of livestock transactions over the past five years.
During a visit to the saleyards this week, Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development David Basham said the facility was a critical economic driver in the region.
“The Marshall Government is pleased to significantly increase its funding commitment for a comprehensive upgrade and expansion of the saleyards under the Local Government Infrastructure Partnership Program (LGIPP) from $850,000 to $2.7m,” Minister Basham said.
“This will be matched by the local council ($3m), with council now applying to the Commonwealth Government for $5.3m under its Building Better Regions Fund.
“We recognise the significant positive contribution the saleyards make to the local economy and jobs on the Limestone Coast, and we are delighted to be able to further boost our funding to ensure the saleyards attract more of the region’s livestock into the future.”
Minister Basham said the funding would help ensure the provision of modern, industry standard infrastructure, such as soft flooring for animal welfare and roofing to be installed to improve worker comfort and safety.
“We are pleased to be able to work in partnership with the Grant District Council to deliver an economic boost to the South East and support local jobs,” he said.
“The former Labor Government ignored our regions for 16 years failing to upgrade basic regional infrastructure such as country roads and mobile phone black spots.
“The Marshall Liberal Government has worked hard to fix this by delivering record investment to improve country health, education, roads and infrastructure and back our primary industries and regional businesses to continue to grow, supporting thousands of jobs.”
Liberal candidate for Mount Gambier Ben Hood, who has been strongly advocating for the increased funding, welcomed the announcement.
The news came only a week after Mr Hood led a delegation of Grant District Council elected members and staff, along with stakeholders, to meet with State Treasurer Rob Lucas.
“This commitment from the Marshall Liberal Government of an additional $1.85m is a continued show of faith in our livestock industry,” he said.
“It will help ensure the provision of world class infrastructure at our saleyards and to grow the local economy and jobs.”
The council applied to the State Government for the funding under the Local Government Infrastructure Partnership Program, which was established to help councils accelerate spending on community infrastructure projects that contribute to the future economic growth of the region, or support the government’s Growth State agenda.
The total cost of the revised saleyards project has risen from $5m to $11m, taking into account a more complex and detailed project scope, which will not only enhance worker safety and animal wellbeing, but also cater for increased material costs, including roofing steel.
There will be construction of a roof over the cattle yards (an area of approximately 13,600 square metres) to cover cattle selling pens and enclose areas to the west and east of the existing weighbridge and construction of a new roof over the existing calf shed.
