Blayney Abattoir

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Dear Sir/Madam

RE: PROPOSED BLAYNEY ABATTOIR - SSD 6594

The Department of Planning and Environment wants the community to have a say on the Metziya Pty Limited's plans to build the small stock goat abattoir within the Blayney SeaLink Cold Store Complex at 137 Newbridge Road, Blayney.

We jointly make this submission opposing the establishment of a feral goat abattoir within the Blayney CBD in the strongest possible manner.

The EIS, commissioned by the applicant/developer clearly states that "residents closest to the abattoir as well as those in town, especially those on the transport route, will be exposed to pollution from odour and noise and there will be serious exposure to airborne diseases such as Q fever." If this EIS is to be believed, and there is no reason why it should not be, the exposure of non abattoir staff, town's people, school children and tourists, to the likelihood of contracting Q fever should be sufficient for the Department to reject this application without further delay.

Q fever is such a serious infective disease it is mandatory in Australia to report all cases to the health authorities. Q fever registers are maintained in each state and infected persons are monitored for their ongoing immunisation from a reoccurrence.

Signs and symptoms of Q fever are fever, chills, headaches, sweating, muscle aches, general fatigue and body weakness. If untreated it can lead to pneumonia, hepatitis and endocarditis all of which can be life threatening. (Dept. of Health WA).

"Q fever is a worldwide disease with acute and chronic stages caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii. Cattle, sheep and goats are the primary reservoirs although a variety of species may be infected. Organisms are excreted in milk, urine and faeces of infected animals. During birthing the organisms are shed in high numbers within the amniotic fluids and the placenta. The organism is extremely hardy and resistant to heat, drying and many common disinfectants which enable the bacteria to survive for long periods in the environment. Infection in humans usually occurs by inhalation of these organisms from air that contains airborne barnyard dust contaminated by dried placental material, birth fluids and excreta of infected animals.... Humans are often very susceptible to the disease and very few organisms may be required to cause infection" (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA).

"People can be infected by close contact with any material contaminated with the bacteria, Coxiella burnetii. People may also be infected by inhaling fine particles (dust) or handling equipment and animal products contaminated with the bacteria from an infected animal. Examples include handling animal skins, working on machinery or animal transport vehicles and even people working in the vicinity of high risk sites (visitors or contractors who may visit a processing plant)." (Queensland Health)

"Many people infected with Q fever may show little or no signs of illness. People who do develop signs of illness typically get sick 2 to 4 weeks after infection and are sick for 1 to 3 weeks before recovering.

People with Q fever illness show a range of signs including high fever, chills, and headache. Extreme fatigue, nausea, muscle and joint pain and severe sweats. Some people have substantial weight loss. Many sick people require time off work.

The signs are relatively non-specific and may often be mistaken for influenza or other diseases. A smaller number of people may develop more severe or debilitating illness following initial Q fever infection.

As many as 10-20% of people with acute Q fever may go on and develop signs of chronic fatigue called Post Q Fever Fatigue Syndrome (QFS). A smaller number of people may develop severe illness such as pneumonia or endocarditis and other conditions." (Queensland Heath).

I don't think there is anyone in Blayney or Millthorpe or indeed anyone anywhere along the transport route that these filthy, disease carrying, feral animals will be travelling, that wants to contract Q fever. Other town's people along the transport route are currently unaware of this proposed development and therefore have no availability to offer objections.

* It is well established that up to 60 B-Double truck movements is the current estimate. That may increase in time.

* It is fact that Q fever bacteria is hardy and survives in the general environment for long periods of time.

* It is fact that livestock transport vehicles drop animal faecal and urine material along the transport route whilst carrying livestock from one location to another.

* It is fact that this material will dry out and become "chalky" over time in the sun and when other vehicles pass and run over this material dust particles will be released into the atmosphere causing airborne bacteria.

* It is then just a matter of time before people in the towns of Millthorpe and Blayney and indeed anywhere along the transport route, become infected with the Coxiella burnetii bacteria causing the onset of Q fever.

If this reason alone is insufficient for the application to be rejected there needs to be a serious investigation into why elected officials are not supporting those who elect them.

It has been suggested that economic growth of the Blayney Shire is the catalyst for the approval of this proposed development. What should be realised is that this development will have a negative economic effect on the area.

The 165 "new" jobs that will be created by this development are not new at all. These are the positions lost to the Orange area when the Electrolux plant closed and a great number of workers were made redundant. The applicant/developer intends to hire these redundant workers benefiting from generous government assistance, (lasting as long as two years), to re-employ them at the abattoir.

These redundant workers already reside in established homes in Orange; they will just commute the short distance (less than 30 minutes drive) to their new jobs each day. If there is any employment opportunity for Blayney residents, it will be minimal, as the applicant/ developer will have to pay full rates of pay for local workers and in any case he has already stated Sec 457 visa applications will be used to recruit for any shortfall. If that is the case there can surely be no unemployment issues in the local community. Or is it that local workers don't want to risk illness themselves working with these diseased feral goats?

The continual stench from a feral goat processing plant will drive business out of Blayney. We have just established our business in Blayney relocating from the NSW Central Coast. It took us 18 months to decide on Blayney as our new home but we will not stay here if this application succeeds. My wife has Crohn's Disease and her immune system is depressed caused by her medication. An infection of Q fever could be fatal for her.

There will be no Al Fresco dining in town; there will be no visitors or tourists to our town or Historic Millthorpe because of the constant smell and noise the feral, diseased animals will bring. Many residents will want to move out causing a crash in real estate prices which will affect all home owners in the area.

So there is NO economic benefit to the local community. In fact there is just economic disaster.

The community of Blayney is clearly not against progress. Growth has been occurring within the local district for many years and Blayney is now a bustling, clean "Tidy Town". We would like to keep it that way.

If this applicant/developer believes there is a market for him to make a profit by processing diseased feral goats that cannot be sold for human consumption in Australia, perhaps he should build the processing plant in southern Queensland or north western NSW where the feral animals are captured. Why transport them hundreds of kilometres to our clean, disease free town? The costs saved in transport over time will more than compensate him for building a new plant somewhere else.

Just a short time ago this application could not have even been contemplated as the site for the proposed development had always been zoned as rural land.

Just one month before the previous Blayney Council General Manager left Council he re-zoned the land as Industrial in favour of the developer. This was done expeditiously and without any community consultation outlining the consequences. That past General Manager now works for the developer.

Just exactly why this decision, considering its controversial nature, was not left to the in-coming General Manager, remains a mystery.

We are both of the view this proposal, should it go ahead, will have a major detrimental effect on the community, the economy and the environment of Blayney, Millthorpe and their surrounds. Serious consideration and open community consultation must follow these submissions.

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