Russell Borchard, president of the Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Victoria (LRTAV), is passionate about his job and the industry he represents.
The past three years under his tenure has seen the LRTAV make some serious headway in improving the lot of industry members but, as Borchard said, “We’ve jumped through some hoops and over hurdles and made headway in some areas, but in others we’re still butting our heads against brick walls.”
In particular, said Borchard, is the closure of saleyards and the consequent dearth of bio-security truck-wash bays as a result.
The problem has become so serious that the LRTAV has called for government intervention as a matter of urgency. The problem is adding yet another layer of pressure on livestock transporters when managing effluent.
The closure of saleyards around the state was a hot topic of conversation at the LRTAV conference in Shepparton. Image: Graham Harsant“We have saleyards closing down around the state and it’s going to be an ongoing thing,” said Borchard at the recent LRTAV conference in Shepparton.
“The saleyards say that everyone’s costs are rising and if they’re not getting enough numbers through, the sale yards aren’t sustainable.”
Borchard said part of this issue is attributable to the internet which has allowed sales to go on-line, putting pressure on the smaller outfits and paving the way for bigger, more centralised ones in a commercial environment.
“That’s as well and maybe, but attached to all these saleyards are bio-security truck-wash bays for us to be able to wash our stock crates out and dump our effluent tanks,” he said.
“When the councils are close these saleyards they are also closing the wash-down facilities that work for bio-security.
“Bio-security is a big thing, whether it is in the state of Victoria or across Australia. One big problem we have is that the government wants these facilities but they are doing nothing about it; they are not working with us to build these facilities.
“Governments of all persuasions want it to be a user-pays scheme, set up by private enterprise. That’s just buck-passing to us.”
LRTAV president Russell Borchard. Image: Graham HarsantBorchard believes the issue is a shared responsibility across all levels of government; federal, state and local.
“They all say that it is someone else’s problem. We don’t want to keep putting effluent on the road for normal road users. We need to be able to wash out. It is animal welfare and driver safety as well. These drivers need to be able to clean their vehicles and work in a clean vehicle. So it’s bio-security for everybody.”
“We have to get the government to look at this. We should have effluent dumps on the edge of every city going into Melbourne and on the edge of every town whether the saleyards are there or not. We need one in every shire in the state. It is something that is urgently needed.”
Borchard says the situation is now so bad some trucks are having to drive up to 300km empty to find a truck wash.
“The more they shut down, the worse it will get.”
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