March 18, 2026
A development application to double the size of an existing piggery at Windera – which Council has been mulling over since 2022 – finally received a green light at Wednesday’s South Burnett Regional Council meeting.
Four years ago, councillors voted to “lay the matter on the table” after being inundated with objections to the proposed expansion.
The Development Application seeks to expand an existing piggery at 536 and 592 Morgans Road from 28,500 SPU to 57,000 SPU, as well as to construct 12 sheds, a workshop, staff amenities, effluent management earthworks and an internal access road.
Council officers compiled a number of conditions for approval, including relevant permits, lighting, wastewater management, bushfire management, sludge collection and odour management.
Cr Heath Sander told Wednesday’s meeting he thought the proposed expansion would be good for the region.
“So long as the conditions are met … people shouldn’t have anything to complain about,” he said.
He said it was situated “in the right area” for such a development, where there was already a piggery operating.
The expanded piggery would be located in a rural zone, surrounded by grazing and cropping land and a feedlot.
Cr Jane Erkens said the developer had met previous conditions which had been placed on the piggery, and Council’s team had drafted all the necessary conditions for this expansion.
She also reminded people that objections to developments had to be based on planning matters.
“Objections coming in from China are not really relevant,” Cr Erkens said.
Cr Danita Potter said councillors had been getting a lot of emails about the expansion “and a lot weren’t even from Australia”.
Mayor Kathy Duff said the local objections which had been received were based mainly on roads and traffic.
The conditions drafted by Council include a specified transport route: Kratzmanns Road from the Murgon-Gayndah Road to Morgans Road as well as limited use of a section of Mcantee Road. No part of the route can be used by B-Doubles unless prior approval is obtained from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
The motion to approve the Development Application was passed unanimously.
The developer now has six years for work to begin on the expansion.
Footnote: Standard Pig Units (SPU) are used to define piggery capacity based on the amount of waste created. One SPU is equivalent to one “grower pig” ie. ranging from 20-30kg to 50-70kg live weight. SPUs do not equate to the actual number of pigs, as a suckling pig, for example, creates much less waste than a sow.
