DEPUTY mayor Phil Betts has called for B-triple trucks to be granted access to Tamworth’s meat processing plants to help prepare for a looming livestock shortage.
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The Tamworth councillor claimed jobs could be lost from the city’s abattoirs and processing facilities if the industry wasn’t able to rely on bigger trucks hauling livestock interstate as the drought bites in NSW and Queensland.
Cr Betts asked general manager Paul Bennett to report to council on whether B-Triple access could be facilitated, at the most recent council meeting, to complement the slew of drought relief measures adopted in the region.
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He said the drought was going to continue and had started to bite major businesses.
“It’ll help the abattoirs and processors bring in stock from longer distances,” Cr Betts said.
“It’s uneconomical to bring stock in from longer journeys from South Australia and Victoria where there is feed.”
Cr Betts said the main barrier for access currently was “a couple of spots on the route from the Newell Highway”.
In May, Gunnedah Shire Council secured a short-term access permit for B-Triples delivering fodder to drought-affected communities on the Oxley Highway from Gunnedah to Tamworth for up to six months.
Tamworth Regional Council adopted a range of drought relief measures last month, chiefly installing standpipes throughout the region, giving people free access to water and donating revenue to the R U Aware, We Care campaign.