Gunnedah Shire Council has increased its budget for additional closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras at the Gunnedah saleyards to improve safety and security.
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The decision to increase the budget from $16,000 to $23,000 was passed at the last council meeting on October 18.
Gunnedah Shire Council chief finanical officer Damien Connor said the budget increase was due to infrastructure costs.
“The $7000 increase was due to advice council had received regarding infrastructure,” Mr Connor said.
“We had been advised that as well as camera lenses we would also need cabling and poll upgrades as well.”
Mr Connor said the new cameras would serve many purposes and maintain safety and security standards.
“The initial impotence to install extra cameras was safety and security,” he said.
“Given the facility is used out of hours, it is important to ensure our high standard of safety and security is met.
“The Gunnedah saleyards are one of the most used in the state and it is important for us to monitor what goes on and hold people accountable at the facility.”
Mr Connor said that while additional cameras were a step towards greater safety and security, there is more that can be done to improve safety and security.
“Safety and security are always a priority for us and we are always happy to communicate with the stakeholders who use the yards to ensure everyone meet’s safety and security requirements,” he said.
Barry Sutcliffe, of Sutcliffe Transport, said the cameras would improve safety for livestock carriers, but more safety measures needed to be implemented.
“Everything comes down to safety,” Mr Sutcliffe said.
“In my opinion they could do a lot more to improve safety as so often the most dangerous part of being a transporter is unloading the cattle at the yards.
“I think there are better safety measures that the resources could be used for and hopefully we can make some of those happen.”
Gunnedah Stock Agents Association President Nik Hannaford said any safety improvements at the saleyards were welcome.
“Extra safety cameras can only be a good thing,” Mr Hannaford said.
“Safety is obviously a constant concern and adding extra cameras should help make things safer.”
Boggabri Stock Agent Guy Gallen from Jacob and Anderson agencies said adding more cameras would be helpful to everyone.
“These cameras will be quite helpful in case of an accident,” Mr Gallen said.
“The yards are already quite secure but in terms of making sure everyone is doing things safely more cameras will be helpful.”
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
