Oura landholder Tom Kelsall (right) with John Blackwell and Deb Blackwell are opposed to the location of the abattoir development. Photo: Chris Roe.
Community concerns about air quality and land impacts have halted the approval of a development application (DA) to build a new abattoir on the outskirts of Wagga Wagga.
More than 90 public submissions were sent to council on the planned $11.5 million Oura Road abattoir, all opposing the development.
Despite these objections, Wagga Council staff recommended that councillors approve the DA.
At its ordinary monthly meeting on Monday (10 March), Wagga’s councillors listened to more than an hour of a public forum debate on the issue, before ultimately opting to postpone its decision on the matter until a report could be delivered by council staff outlining the site’s environmental impacts.
The DA for a livestock processing facility (abattoir) intends for the slaughter of more than 750 tonnes of livestock (for cattle, sheep and pigs) per year, with the proposed processing capacity of 1903 tonnes of live weight per year.
Beef producer Deb Blackwell spoke against the approval of the facility stating that she would live with remorse if she did not speak out against the proposal.
“Council papers tell you that the due diligence (for the site) was robust; workshops, site inspections, correspondence with us (the public) but these measures were only happening because we fought for them,” she said.
“We were robust, not (council).
“Where is the biosecurity risk assessment from WWCC [Wagga Wagga City Council]? Did you know that the applicant stated the planned site is 2.5 kms away from the river? In actual fact it’s only 1.5 km. I thought that would be fairly obvious.
“The applicant has failed to have its plans independently assessed and verified as to their environmental veracity.”
Applicant of the DA, representing Eringoarrah Pty Ltd, Adam Brayshaw spoke against claims it hadn’t reported properly, stating that if the DA was approved it had the chance to revolutionise meat production across the world.
“This development will further endorse the Riverina as an industrial leader in agriculture and Australia’s food bowl,” Mr Brayshaw said.
“Family farms are the breadbasket of food production in the Wagga area and we are losing them to the financial seduction of subdivisions and hobby farms.
“We are looking to sustain the health and productivity of our land but also grow employment opportunities in agriculture.
“The main objectors to this development either live on hobby blocks or have undertaken subdivisions to create them, therefore undermining the ability for the Wagga area to continue to grow its own food into the future.”
The DA for the site was originally submitted in December 2023 and is yet to receive clarity if and when it may be approved.
Due to the nature of the development, the application was required to be subject to public exhibition. The first exhibition period was held between 30 January and 27 February 2024 and received 72 public submissions, all opposing the development.
The DA was again put on submission in August 2024 and received an additional 22 submissions all opposing it. The key issues as stated by the WWCC business papers include:
- The site’s wastewater treatment
- The surface and groundwater impacts
- Air quality (odour and dust)
- Visual impact on the locality.
Despite more than 90 submissions all opposing the application, council’s recommendation to its councillors was to approve the abattoir’s application.
“Recommendation – That Council approve DA23/0598 for a Livestock Processing Facility (Abattoir) at 2056 Oura Road, subject to;
a) the conditions contained within the attached s4.15 Assessment Report; and
b) the General Terms of Approval, including the livestock processing limit condition,” the business papers read.
Region asked WWCC General Manager Peter Thompson, why it chose to recommend the approval of the DA despite the unusually high number of public submissions against the application.
“In this particular instance as general manager, I am 100 per cent confident with the report that has gone to council,” he said.
“It recommends approval, and in my view, there’s been a very, very thorough assessment of this particular development and the recommendation for approval of the development. In my view as general manager, approving this DA is clearly the right decision.”
According to Mr Thompson, the only reason council voted in favour of deferring the result was due to last-minute legal issues that presented themselves following the business papers being published.
“We got a letter late Friday afternoon (7 March), which was from lawyers that are assisting the objectors to that particular development,” he said.
“He’d identified a number of procedural issues that they were concerned about, such as the notice of the application. Whilst it identified where the facility is, it didn’t use the legal title of where a water bore is located,” he said.
“That is a procedural issue, and so rather than determine the application last night, we’re using those submissions to ensure that, to make sure all the procedural items have been closed out, and no-one’s under any misapprehension or concern that there’s an issue with the process that’s been presented.
“I’m 100 per cent positive, when it goes back to council, whenever that may be, it will be set for approval. The issues raised in the letter we received late Friday were exclusively procedural in nature.
“We can correct those issues and then put it back to council without a question mark or without anyone feeling that there’s been a procedural error.”
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