A rough and dusty stretch of unsealed road between The Lynd and Hughenden on the Hann Highway is preventing the North West from reaching its full agricultural potential.
That’s the view of Flinders Shire Council Mayor Jane McNamara who has been involved with the Hann Highway Action Group (HHAG) since its formation in November 2004.
HHAG is focused on sealing a 101km stretch of the Hann Highway and widening any floodways to a safe standard. They are also keen seal 33.56km of road from Torrens Creek to the Aramac Road.
The cost of the project, based on Flinders and Etheridge Shire Council estimates, amounts to $98.91 million.
Cr McNamara said, once completed, the benefits for the agricultural industry in the North West would be wide-ranging.
“For the beef industry having the road sealed would lead to enormous savings in freight and dramatically improve animal welfare as their would be much less potential for bruising while in transit,” Cr McNamara said.
“It would decrease truck travel time by at least a third, which will be beneficial for livestock carriers and lead to less wear and tear on the road.
“Costs will also be reduced for truck maintenance, tyres, fuel consumption and general wear and tear on machinery.”
On a wider scale, sealing the highway would allow medical help to be reached sooner, which Cr McNamara said, can be critical.
“The safety of travelers will be greatly enhanced as there are a large number of mechanical breakdowns and accidents on the road as it is now,” she said.
“Time spent on driving to town for business, supplies and social events will be cut and if it’s modified into an all-weather road community members will be able to use the road all year around.
“I heard one story which illustrates how rough the road is at present; a lady was bringing home a 7kg tin of honey that didn’t survive the trip as the tin tipped over and the lid came off on the corrugations.”
The HHAG is now administered by the Hughenden Chamber of Commerce which has created initiatives such as the Hann Highway postcard series and the Regional Road Forum which was held in Hughenden in September 2015 to highlight the need for action.
“The HHAG has had wide ranging support from Advance Cairns, chambers of commerce, shire councils and mayors from Cairns to Cunnamulla.
“We’ve also had incredible support from transport companies and horticultural growers on the Atherton Tablelands and along the coast from Cairns to Townsville.”
Cr McNamara said the Minister for Northern Australia, Senator Matt Canavan, recently visited the area and drove on the unsealed parts of the road. She said he was very supportive of the road being completed.
“Federal and State Governments are currently considering funding, but are yet to announce agreement on planning and a time frame,” she said.
“The Etheridge Shire representatives and myself went to Canberra in April to lobby the Federal Government for funding under the Strategic Roads and Beef Roads programs.
“We are hoping to have the the project completed by 2021 which would involve a five year construction program.”
Cr McNamara said sealing the highway would also go a long way to enhancing the productivity of the Hughenden meatworks facility which is expected to operating by early 2018.
A CSIRO Report commissioned by the Flinders Shire Council titled "Analysis of Cattle Transport Benefits for Hann Highway and Hughenden Abattoir" states "Supplying the same livestock to a proposed abattoir at Hughenden would lead to about a 50 per cent reduction in transport costs compared to transporting the same cattle to an existing facility."
“Building the abattoir in Hughenden will improve the availability of markets for our produce and give better returns for our livestock.
“In my role as mayor I’ll also be pushing for Irrigation infrastructure to be established in the region to support new, sustainable and innovative horticulture for our region.
“We need to prioritise water infrastructure on the Flinders River in the form of off stream storage in addition to further.
“Roads and water infrastructure will allow diversity of industry for our graziers and farmers.”
Cr McNamara would also like to see a multi-purpose Transport Hub in Hughenden for the use of road transport, rail and air freight as a transport interchange.
TopX Cloncurry’s James Coates agrees that the Hann Highway needs to be improved.
“From all accounts it’s a very rough road and sealing it would really improve serviceability for cattle transporters.
He said selling at the Cloncurry Saleyards has been competitive despite prices having come down after the highs of late 2015.
“While statewide supply is definitely tightening up we are still getting plenty of calves on the ground around Cloncurry which is encouraging for the future,” Mr Coates said.
He said to increase beef prices in the North West more markets need to be developed to create more competition with live export buyers.
