$15m Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange has been vacant since early July when relations between the landlord council and local agents soured

 

Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange, Casino
IMAGE: queenslandcountrylife.com.au, 7 March 2023

The majority of cattle/store sheep saleyards in Australia are owned by local government councils.

The Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange, better known as the Casino saleyards, is owned by Richmond Valley Council and has been in business since 1916.

As the Northern River regional facility it had the third-largest cattle throughput in NSW in 2020-21 with 103,700 cattle.

In mid-2023 Richmond Valley Council implemented a new business plan which included the addition of two new agents, as well as significant changes to sale day and delivery operations. While vendor fees remain fixed for another three years, the business usage fee rose from $1 a head to 0.2 per cent of gross revenue and local graziers baulked.  

This is not the first time in its history that a fee dispute has closed the Casino saleyards, but it appears to be shaping up as the one which may see these saleyards gone for good given that the threat of widespread, possibly prolonged, drought appears to be growing which will affect the NSW cattle industry with north-east of the state likely to feel the full impact soonest.

Queensland Country Life, 28 September 2023:

The Casino saleyards in NSW will be offered to the private sector for long-term lease following an unresolved stand-off between the council and local livestock agents.

A unanimous vote from Richmond Valley councillors signalled a resolve to months of bickering between the council as landlord of the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange and five livestock agencies that used the facility.

There have been no cattle sales at NRLX since the start of the financial year, after local agents refused to sign-up to new conditions regarding increased costs and handling of livestock after the fall of the hammer.

Earlier this month a public meeting brought more than 700 people together in support of their selling agents, with few seeing things the council's way.

"Following the public meeting, a further attempt was made to reach consensus with the agents and re-open sales at the NRLX," council's general manager Vaughan Macdonald said in a written report to councillors.

"This meeting was unsuccessful, marking the seventh failed attempt at seeking details to achieve a resolution. In these circumstances, it would appear that the likelihood of reaching a consensus is minimal and further attempts at resolution will only prolong the impacts on cattle producers who use the NRLX. Council now finds itself at the point where a long-term solution is required, to ensure that cattle sales can resume as soon as possible, and the NRLX continues to play a pivotal role in the regional economy."

Mr Macdonald told councillors that the facility, with a $28.5m replacement cost, would be offered to the private sector with a lease arrangement drawn up within three months for a term from five to 30 years.

At the core of the motion was the concern that Richmond Valley ratepayers were currently footing $60 a year for every rateable property to prop-up a deficit of $647,303.

In the interim, the council will continue to explore avenues to reestablish sales at the facility, provided agents accept its current demands.