On the 23rd of July 2021 Wattle Range Council was issued with five SafeWork Notices for the aging Millicent Saleyards site. Built in the 1970s at a cost of more than seven million dollars many elements of the aging infrastructure are now at end of life and need to be replaced or upgraded to accommodate modern safety standards.
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 risks identified include:
- Ramp and yard infrastructure that does not meet current safety standards, posing an extreme fall from height risk to site users.
- Significant compliance issues with the wastewater that runs off the sheep yard, posing an extreme stormwater contamination risk.
Despite sheep sales ceasing at the Millicent Saleyards in 2007, Council understands that a small number of farmers still utilise the sheep yards for consolidating smaller quantities of stock from various farms into larger loads for transport. This is often done without Council’s knowledge or oversight and without any fee for service being collected over the last 12 months.
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.
All enquiries should be made to Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben Gower on 08 8733 0900 or email council@wattlerange.sa.gov.au
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For further information please contact:
Ben Gower, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (08) 8733 0900
Email: council@wattlerange.sa.gov.au