NSW Farmers endorses good practice to actively manage and mitigate risks for livestock transport. Safety is front of mind for all farmers given their daily management of human and livestock interaction.
We are concerned therefore that moves to increase compliance for livestock transport load management at saleyards, when the significant majority are compliant over RMS weighbridges, will impose additional time and cost pressures for farmers which will result in marginal if any improvement in safety and not automatically improve safety.
Nationally, the number of accidents caused by agricultural transports is negligible. What is the evidence that these weighbridges are critical additions?
The fitting of on-board scales will not only help those that have trouble loading correctly out of saleyards, but also in loading when no weighbridges are available. These on-board scales will also eliminate significant animal welfare issues created by having weighbridges in place at saleyards.
The NSW Government is actively championing on-vehicle technology as an essential tool to achieve the ‘toward zero’ road safety target. Yet it appears to be ignoring new technology by requiring a livestock transporter to be fully loaded before the total weight is assessed.
Surely the Government is better placed to support the fitting of individual over axle scales on vehicles. This would provide a clearer indication of weight distribution as livestock loads, rather than imposing additional time, expense, and compliance administration.
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NSW Farmers’ strongly urges the NSW Government to work with farmers and livestock transporters to improve safety outcomes by supporting improved risk management across the sector, not by additional and costly compliance.
Any requirement to mandate weighbridges at saleyards is akin to using a sledge hammer to crush an ant.
- NSW Farmers’ business, economics and trade committee chair Peter Wilson.
