4 February 2025. John Baker, AgForce Central Queensland Regional Director and Regional President.
I've seen issues come and go in my decades advocating for producers.
Some we resolve and we have been able to celebrate, others have been quiet achievements that no one hears about, while some issues continue to be a thorn in our side.
There are the ongoing issues of land access and competition from the Resource sector and biosecurity that have been around for many years, and evolving issues such as renewable energy expansion.
One of the ongoing issues is road train access to the Rockhampton abattoirs. Access has been under a permit system for seven years in Rockhampton - which was incredibly inconvenient because that meant we had to re-apply every year for a renewal of the permit, simple enough if you only have one truck with no changes to the configuration, but an ordeal for the larger operators with many trucks and trailers.
During this time there were no incidents and AgForce along with the Livestock and Rural Transporters Association Queensland have been lobbying that this should be gazetted as an ongoing road train route. .
In November 2024 the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator gazetted this as a road train route, but with the same conditions as previous permits.
One of the conditions of the permit - and now the route - is that it's restricted to overnight use between 7pm to 7am. This is incredibly impractical. We have been asking for some time to extend hours to some daylight hours - whilst recognising there are some busy times (e.g. school start and finish) that we need to work around.
Extended hours are critical for issues like animal welfare - to ensure the animals are not standing in the truck for longer periods than necessary.
Overlaying these are EU accreditation requirements that animals need to arrive during the daytime. Presently cattle that are being transported by Road Train and have to be delivered during the day require the Road Train to be broken down at the Gracemere Saleyards while the cattle on the front trailer are delivered, then the cattle from the back trailer are cross loaded to the front trailer and the trip repeated. This adds considerable time to the drivers and the livestock's trip as well as adding to the number of truck movements through town.
There are also safety issues from cross loading to consider, one of the main reasons we were asking for Road Train access in the first place.
So, while AgForce and the industry appreciate the regulator listening to our concerns, and putting in place the gazetted route, we now seek access during daylight. There are other truck and trailer combinations not that different to a Livestock Road Train that have access during daylight hours, so it is bewildering why we are restricted to 7pm till 7am.
When you consider that more than 40 per cent of the cost of food that makes it to your table is caused by supply chain inefficiencies - you can see why this is an issue that I don't want to let go.
There's no better time than the beginning of a new year to remind ourselves of the value of long form work, of the importance of constantly fighting for important reforms no matter the barriers put in front of us.
John Baker, AgForce Central Queensland Regional Director and Regional President.
