Back to future for NRLX – Meeting demands scrapping of new deal

By Tim Howard

The lockdown at the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange, entering its third month, is crippling Casino businesses and the community turned out in force to tell the authorities to make it stop.

A crowd of about 700 people packed the auditorium at the Casino RSM Club last Monday and sent a strong message to NRLX owners Richmond Valley Council, to get cattle moving through the centre again.

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The NRLX shut down on July 1 when Casino livestock agents refused meet a June 30 deadline to sign a new agreement with the council, licensing them to sell cattle at the centre.

The new agreement, which included changes to yard fees and cattle handling practices angered the auctioneers, who listed 65 clauses in the agreement which they could not meet.

Since then Casino auctioneers have continued to sell local cattle at the Lismore saleyards.

While the agents and RVC have aired their differences, it was meeting convener Allan Berry who spoke for the Casino community.

“What is this saleyard?” he said to the meeting.

“It’s more than just a place where you send your cattle to be sold.

“It’s a place where farmers get together, ex-farmers get together, people that think though farmers get together and they lean over the rail and I talk about how dry it is and how bad the prices are and things that could be made better.

“I even know some people that go there just to have one. So it’s a mental health day for those people.”

Mr Berry said Wednesdays cattle sale days were vital for the local economy.

“I’ve been asking around since I decided to convene this meeting to see what effect this has had on the businesses,” he said.

“Even up till today one of the produce places have told me that Wednesday has gone from the busiest day of the week until to the quietest day of the week.

“A lot of these people that live out of town on properties only come to town once a week.

“And while they’re there they do their selling of their cattle, the buying of their groceries the buying of stuff for their farm and then they go home again.”

This ended with the NRLX lockdown and cattle sales moving to Lismore.

“They don’t make a couple of stops. So every time the cattle trucks roll to Lismore hundreds of my potential customers roll with them,” he said.

“And I don’t believe that’s a fair crack for businesses in Casino.”

He said resolving this issue quickly was vital for everyone.

“The difference between staying open for some businesses and employing more staff or getting rid of staff could hinge on whether or not the NRLX is open on Wednesdays,” he said.

“I don’t think that people have the right to make that judgment. I think that we need to get this sorted so that people can get back to sell there and that the businesses can flourish because of that.”

Meeting chairman, former MP for Lismore Thomas George, set the tone for the meeting in his opening address.

“I’m astounded that there are no sales in Casino,” he said.

“I’m concerned the publicity that this dispute is receiving, the accusations of malpractice, animal welfare et cetera, what flow on effect this negative publicity will have on the industry here in the Northern Rivers?

“I was shocked to learn that an application by one of the agents was totally rejected. And no opportunity to appeal.

“Tonight, as I said. is about getting the beef back into the capital, back into the NRLX in Casino.”

Speakers from all sides agreed the dispute must end soon, but little to no ground has been given.

Richmond Valley mayor Robert Mustow spoke first and defended council’s position.

“Council has acted in good faith to provide a fair, reasonable and competitive license agreement that reflects modern standards in the saleyards industry,” he told the meeting.

Cr Mustow said there was a need for cultural changes at the saleyards, which were reflected in the new agreement.

“This license agreement was drawn out to address animal welfare concerns, serious workplace behaviour and improved financial outcomes of the complex to limit the cost every Richmond Valley Council rate payer which is currently occurring,” he said.

“Our aim is to get the facility to a break even position.”

He said the “procurement process” to attract agents to the NRLX reflected “modern standards in the saleyards industry.”

“We have been through a six month procurement process for the NRLX agency license, which is a standard approach to procurement across all three levels of government and private enterprise,” he said.

He said the council had conducted extensive consultation with the industry and the community during the expression of interest process.

“Council placed the 2023-2024 draft NRLX revenue policy on exhibition for 62 days, with submissions closing on February 28,” he said.

“Advertising, including coverage on council’s website and Facebook page, and detailed updates for the 2000 people who received the NRLX newsletter coverage in the print and online media and radio interviews.

“Given this you extensive advertisement, I was amazed to hear recent claims that there was no consultation on these fees.

Cr Mustow said there had been some serious animal handling incidents at the NRLX, which influenced sections of the new agreement.

“There have been serious incidents occurring, some requiring police or RSPCA involvement and all in breach of a range of NSW legislation, animal welfare standards and requirements for the operation of a saleyards,” he said.

“None of these serious incidents involve council employees and all of these have been documented and some have been recorded on CCTV.”

Cr Mustow said the new agreement was needed to bring the NRLX into line with other saleyards around Australia.

“Council acknowledge that all stakeholders need to lift the standard across the board,” he said.

“And we accept that there are areas where you also need to improve, which includes the appointment of an animal welfare officer in line with the National Saleyards quality assurance program.”

He said failure to act could expose the council to serious legal penalties;

“As a business owner, the risk is borne by council. And up to now council has limited control over managing that risk.” He said.

“Hence the proposed adjustment to post sale movements. Council has a duty to ensure the health and safety of workers and other people in the workplace.

“And our priority is to eliminate this risk as far as reasonably possible.”

But Casino Auctioneers Association Inc. spokesperson Darren Winkler questioned the mayor’s claims.

He said there were serious flaws with the EOI process, particularly the council’s refusal to negotiate with the CAAI as a representative of the five Casino agents, George & Fuhrman, Ramsey & Bulmer, T & W McCormack, Ray White Livestock. and Ian Weir & Son.

Instead the council insisted it would negotiate only with individual agents, which resulted in a timeline of rushed negotiations, culminating with an 11th hour failure to reach an outcome on June 30.

“Okay June 30. On the last day their combined store sale. The boys were notified in the morning, we’ll have a meeting in the afternoon,” Mr Winkler said.

“So it’s just not good enough they say they give us opportunity. But on June 30 they were given about three hours notice and we’re allowed one representative.

“So from there to July 4, a letter was sent to the general manager, outlining all our concerns. So for the mayor to say that they didn’t receive anything, they did.”

Mr Winkler was also critical of the method of comparing the performance of the NRLX with five other saleyards in NSW and one in Queensland.

“All we ask is the NRLX should stay competitive locally, not just nationally,” he said.

“And we all know the NRLX is a unique saleyard. You’ve got to consider all the factors, not the factors that favour what they want to introduce.”

Mr Winkler dismissed the mayor’s claims fees were not changing.

“The association charges about $4.80 per head,” he said.

“That’s absorbed by the agents and they will guarantee the welfare delivery.

“Council. They want to bring in a charge of $8.80, with no guarantee.

He said there was no guarantees in the council proposal, with a clause saying “uncontrolled events” would be the responsibility of the agents.

He dismissed the council’s claims it could take safely take on cattle handling with new staff.

“We all know have dangerous cattle can be,” he said. “These guys have decades of experience. Why take them off? Why take that role off these guys?”

Mr Winkler said there was a quick solution the council could adopt.

“The first thing is we want to negotiate, the auctioneers want to go back there,” he said.

“That’s the bottom line. And this is what we’d like to do.

“We need use the old agreement until we get the new agreement done.

“Pretty simple process. Postpone it. Just postpone it until we can get a new agreement sorted because this agreement is not suitable to other outside agencies.”

The meeting of the future of the NRLX at the Casino RSM Club

Local producer Roger Bailey said he was speaking for most local producers when he said they were in lock step with the auctioneers.

He said he agreed with the aims the council had for the NRLX, but said the council’s process to get there would not work.

“It’s clear the proponents haven’t got the vision to achieve these goals without attacking the business model of their main stakeholders,” he said

“This is a radical departure of established cattle marketing in this region under the guise of compliance efficiency and financial responsibility.”

He said the the NRLX was a service council provided to the local industry.

“Council is a service provider, not a revenue generator as a councillor previously stated,” he said.

“If you add value, we are enthusiastic patrons. I believe council has been led out on a limb through bad advice.”

When the meeting was open to the floor there was a flurry of comment critical of the council’s processes, including a questioner asking if council would accept a mediation process to work come an agreement with the agents.

It prompted general manager Vaughan Macdonald to offer explanation.

“We are a governmental authority and there are processes that we are required to go through which we have,” he said.

“And as part of that, there’s a range of confidentiality things that we need to keep in mind.”

Mr Macdonald said he was limited in what he said about the council could do, because he could only act in accordance with the wishes of the councillors.

“Seven councillors pass resolutions, and I have to  implement those,” he said.

“So to answer your question about mediation, and yes it  is certainly something that has been suggested to us, and my answer will be that obviously tonight, councillors are here.

“We’re listening. This is a very big audience. We know that this is something that really matters, too. So we will listen. And we will then have a conversation as a council.”

There was little sympathy of from the meeting for council’s predicament.

The consensus was the agreement had failed and needed to scrapped and the old regime implemented while the agents and council negotiated a satisfactory agreement.

Reinstating the previous agreement would also allow Ian Weirs & Sons to resume selling at the centre, an outcome that had distressed a number of speakers, including chair, Thomas George.

There were six motions from the meeting, with Tatham grazier Chris Magner leading off.

“It is most disappointing that we are in a position that we all had to come here tonight and discuss this issue,” he said.

“I’m dreadfully disappointed with where we’re actually at.

Mr Magner’s motion was in three parts:

The people attending this meeting request at the Richmond Valley Council:

1. Dispense with the failed proposed license agreement which they presented to the individual auctioneers businesses for use of the Northern Rivers law Stock Exchange.
2. Temporarily allow auctions to recommence using the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange under the terms of which were in place before June 30, 2023.
3. Appoint recognise the Casino Auctioneers Association Incorporated as an organisation and commence negotiations for drawing up an agreement with the Auctioneers Association for the auctioneers to manage the operation of the NRLX into the future.

The motion was seconded by Allen Berry and passed unanimously.

Other motions supported included for council to sell its cattle interests and to form an NRLX advisory committee.

The meeting also carried a motion that council call an urgent special meeting to resolve the issue as soon as possible and that within 14 days of the meeting, council and agents meet and negotiate in good faith to try and resolve the dispute.

A final motion that was carried but not unanimously was that council cancel the contracts and employment of NRLX management staff.

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