THE council has pushed Goulburn’s credentials as a future wool selling centre to the State Government.
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Mayor Geoff Kettle and general manager Warwick Bennett met with Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair recently in Sydney.
Cr Kettle said he briefed Mr Blair on Goulburn’s interest in hosting wool sales once a lease at the Yennora wool stores ended.
“Niall is talking to people in that sphere all the time and we just asked that when he’s doing so, he let brokers know of Goulburn’s interest,” he said.
“Being a Goulburn boy he thought it (our bid) was a good idea and he was positive about it.”
Regional Development Australia Southern Inland is collaborating with Council on the push. While the Yennora lease can be renewed, Australia’s largest wool selling centre, Melbourne, is already signalling its interest in securing the sales.
But RDASI and Council are completing a feasibility study to bolster Goulburn’s case. Australian Wool Network NSW manager Mark Hedley previously told the Post it was important the proposal firstly stacked up economically.
The meeting with Mr Blair was one of several in Sydney.
Cr Kettle and Mr Bennett also met with NSW Roads, Maritime and Freight Minister Duncan Gay’s representatives about funding for a truck wash in Goulburn.
While one already exists at the saleyard, it is only open intermittently, posing biosecurity challenges for stock carriers.
The Mayor said local members of the Livestock Handlers and Bulk Carriers Association had contacted Council about building a truck wash.
“There is State and Federal Government funding available but it is only available for facilities on council- owned land,” he said.
Cr Kettle told the Post Southern Meats abattoir was “quite comfortable” to have a truck wash on its patch.
He is seeking flexibility in funding, allowing this to happen or to facilitate a land exchange between Southern Meats and Council.