{"id":265068,"date":"2020-07-16T20:33:21","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T10:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=265068"},"modified":"2020-10-09T00:17:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T14:17:20","slug":"saleyards-put-out-to-tender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/07\/16\/saleyards-put-out-to-tender\/","title":{"rendered":"Saleyards Put Out To Tender"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Aussie Land & Livestock team at a recent sale at Coolabunia’s saleyards … the facility is important for local cattle producers and is one of only two saleyards in the region<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 15, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett Regional Council is calling for tenders for a new operator to take over ownership of the Coolabunia Saleyards.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Council released a tender document for the sale of the saleyards land.<\/p>\n

The property consists of two adjoining blocks located on the D’Aguilar Highway at Coolabunia.<\/p>\n

One block contains the saleyards and its associated facilities, while the other is undeveloped but could be used for future expansion.<\/p>\n

An industry source said\u00a0he feared a new owner of the land could simply demolish the saleyards and turn the property to other uses.<\/p>\n

However, southburnett.com.au<\/strong> understands that Council hopes the tender will\u00a0attract a local operator keen to upgrade the facility as well as handle its day-to-day running.<\/p>\n

If a suitable operator cannot be found, the Council will continue running the facility as usual.<\/p>\n

The saleyards were built by the former Kingaroy Shire Council in 1982.<\/p>\n

They offer regular cattle sales, act as a clearing dip and have penning facilities for stock in transit.<\/p>\n

In January 2018, Council announced the AAM Investment Group had successfully tendered to take over the operation of the saleyards after winning a similar, earlier tender for the Murgon saleyards.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Mayor Keith Campbell said at the time the Council took the view that operating the saleyards was no longer a core responsibility, since the main beneficiaries were people involved in the cattle trade.<\/p>\n

He said leasing the saleyards to AAM was expected to save the Council about $100,000 per year in administration and maintenance costs.<\/p>\n

Later that month AAM Investment Group CEO Garry Edwards said the company wanted to secure a 15 to 30-year contract to operate the facility.<\/p>\n

However, negotiations between Council and AAM subsequently lapsed.<\/p>\n

The decision to put the saleyards land out to tender was decided by the former Council prior to the March election.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tender closes on September 10.<\/p>\n