The Tasmanian Greens today called for clarity regarding the timeframe for the development of a cost-benefit study into a co-operative abattoir on King Island.
In Parliament today, the Greens’ Member for Braddon Paul O’Halloran MP asked the Primary Industries Minister Bryan Green to update the House on any progress made on the initiative, given strong community support for it to be seriously examined.
“The Minister recently gave an undertaking to explore the option of a locally-run abattoir co-operative as part of the partnership agreement between the State Government and the King Island Council,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“The next step is to provide a clear timeframe around the development of a cost-benefit study to determine the viability of the proposal.”
“It’s clear that the proposal for a co-op does have some strong support on the island, but ultimately any decisions over putting it into practice need to be in the hands of the community.”
“That’s why it’s incumbent upon the Minister to provide the King Island community with a clear and reliable set of numbers that will allow producers there to make an informed decision about whether a co-op is the best way forward in the short or long term.”
“This is not just about protecting jobs and skills on King Island, but about protecting a premium beef brand that is the envy of producers from all around the country.”
“While we agree with the need to have an integrated approach, we do not buy the argument that a local co-op could somehow threaten other abattoirs’ viability, because if that is the case then the government of the day should not have supported JB Swift’s King Island operation by providing a loan.”
Paul O’Halloran MP Greens Member for Braddon Tuesday, 25 September 2012
