Upgrades to Queensland's inland highway network could save livestock industry more than $70 million in transport costs, research finds.
A significant upgrade to Queensland’s inland highway network could substantially reduce transport costs for the livestock industry, new research from Australia’s scientific research body has found.
The CSIRO has developed a suite of mapping tools to analyse the worth of small and large infrastructure projects to the livestock sector.
It found that upgrading 510km of highway between Clermont and Roma to accommodate type 2 road trains and removing tick clearing requirements for cattle being taken to slaughter could save the industry $75.6 million – a 19 per cent reduction in livestock transport costs.
The tools also found that building a new abattoir at Darwin could provide a $13.2 million dollar fillip to seven Northern Territory property owners, who currently send cattle an average of 2,047km to Queensland abattoirs. The CSIRO says the new abattoir would reduce average distance travelled to 835km.
The CSIRO spent two years developing the tools, which incorporate data from more than 50,000 properties, 88,000 origin to destination combinations and more than 1.5 million recorded vehicle movements.
The tools take into account truck configuration, livestock weight and changing road conditions.
“Together, they comprise the most comprehensive mapping and analysis of northern transport routes and beef industry infrastructure ever undertaken,” the CSIRO says.
Other potential projects the tools identified include upgrading minor roads and stocking routes in the Territory to improve accessibility as the wet season approaches and placing cattle yards near rest areas
“Even a minor change like co-locating spelling yards with roadhouses so cattle and drivers can rest at the same time, are relatively simple but can significantly reduce travel times and overall costs,” federal Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss says.
Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Federal Government funded the research to address a shortfall in information on infrastructure investment.
“While infrastructure investments will typically reduce producers’ costs, there has been no simple way to evaluate the whole supply chain to ensure investments maximise whole-of-industry productivity. This study…addresses this critical information gap,” Truss says.