Why is Cattle Sale Industry denied any return on $1m per year Government fees?

	Extract from Hansard Legislative Council 5 July 2000

Ian Gilfillan Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council		Parliament Index 2000 Autumn Sitting Index Browse by Subject Search all Democrats material About the SA Parliament Hansard on line

The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Attorney-General, representing the Minister for Primary Industries and Resources, a question regarding the Gepps Cross cattle yards.

The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: Cattle saleyards at Gepps Cross have existed for 87 years. They were publicly owned until the present government sold SAMCOR and its assets on 24 January 1997 to AGPRO Australia Pty Ltd for $4.8 million. The yards are now leased by Livestock Marketers Limited, but the lease expires on 31 January 2001. The yards are in a dilapidated condition and the livestock industry is unanimous in wanting new cattle yards constructed at Dublin, where pigs, sheep and lambs are currently traded. The issue is who will pay for the new yards. The government has offered a $1 million loan, but only if the industry contributes a similar amount.

Six weeks ago I asked in this place why the government was so stingy towards the cattle sale industry when it is contributing more than $300 million to other capital works projects in the metropolitan area. To this date no answer has been given to that question. The cattle sale industry has paid the government millions of dollars over the years. For decades every animal sold at the Gepps Cross yards generated a yard fee to the government-owned SAMCOR. In 1994 the fee was 40¢ per sheep, $3.45 per head of cattle, $1.70 per calf and $1.40 per pig. In 1995 these fees generated $1 052 000 in revenue for SAMCOR. That money was a de facto tax on the industry. The fee was not charged for services rendered because each agent had to pay an additional $200 per week (a total of an additional $40 000 per year) to SAMCOR to provide yard services such as branding and checking for sale.

Based on the 1994 fee levels and the throughput of stock in previous years, stock agents have estimated, on my approach in asking for the details, that SAMCOR received $900 000 in 1990, $1 million in 1985 and $1.6 million in 1980. In other words, about $1 million a year in today's terms was skimmed off the industry, and has been for decades. In return the cattle sale industry received only minor maintenance services in the yard. No major works on the saleyards have been carried out for many years. Most of the money received by SAMCOR was put into the abattoir side of the business, which was run at a loss.

I therefore ask the minister: given that the government received $4.8 million in 1997 from the sale of the Gepps Cross real estate, and given that it received about $1 million a year in yard fees for decades, why is it now refusing to return any of that money to the industry to build new cattle yards at Dublin?