The Moorlort Plains chicken wars continue I Australian Rural & Regional News

Remember the protracted battle regarding the plans to build broiler farms on the Moolort Plains, west of Baringhup, in the Shire of Mount Alexander? After court hearings and the extraordinary step of building two houses out near the proposed site for the proposed broiler sheds, that battle was won by local residents.

But the applicant, Pavilion Farms, is building chicken factories further west; still on the Moolort Plains, but now in the Central Goldfields Shire.

Intensive farming can be a controversial issue, and there is some concern regarding the two broiler farms that have already been built, and another that is in the process of being built. There is also concerted opposition to the proposals for planning permit applications for two other farms that are in the pipeline. Each farm has a capacity to house up to 400,000 chickens.

The [Tarrangower] Times spoke to Victor Young, who lives on a 15-acre property where he raises alpacas. He is unhappy about the broiler farm that is being built nearby. His concerns include issues regarding truck movements, bird flu, general loss of amenity (smell, noise, optics) and possible contamination of his tank water supply. "The road is copping a pounding already, and that's just during the construction process," he said.

Then there are the latest two planning permit applications for two six-shed broiler farms, lodged by Ian and Robert Hurse on behalf of Michael Vukodinovic of Pavilion Farms. One application is for a broiler farm on Baringhup Road Carisbrook, with the other site being proposed on the Pyrenees Highway in Carisbrook.

Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail Inc. (CMRT) is objecting to the application for a broiler farm to be built on the Pyrenees Highway site, as it would effectively prevent the rail trail development from going ahead. There are biosecurity buffer zones around all broiler farms, and as the current application stands there would be hundreds of thousands of chickens housed within 50 metres of the rail track. This would mean that, owing to biosecurity risks, all pedestrian traffic would be excluded from using the rail track.

CMRT had not been notified of the proposed development, and neither had VicTrack, who owns the rail track corridor, according to CMRT President Janice Simpson. She said that there had already been considerable investment in the rail trail project, including $120,000 from the State Government for a feasibility study. CMRT has applied for a further $400,000 of State Government funding, as part of a $600,000 war chest to have its plans shovel-ready.

When the [Tarrangower] Times spoke to Ms Simpson, she said that the CMRT would be lodging an objection to the planning permit application and was meeting with a Council planning officer this week. She said that the Shire was shaping up to be the chicken capital of Victoria. "Maybe we need to build a Big Chook!" she joked.

The [Tarrangower] Times approached Central Goldfield Shire Mayor Cr Liesbeth Long for a comment, but none was forthcoming.

The Times quizzed Central Goldfield Shire Manager Statutory Services Peter Field how Council had gone about advertising the latest broiler farm planning permit applications. He said that two signs were posted at each site, and neighbours within a 1.7km radius were notified. That included Mount Alexander Shire.

The [Tarrangower] Times pointed out that, owing to the rural nature of the two sites, the signs may have not been visible to many of the Shire's ratepayers. In the light of the fact that these are substantial developments (if the proposed broiler farms go ahead, they will cost $13 million each), had the Shire considered advertising the application more broadly?

Mr Field replied that the Shire did think about advertising in the local newspaper, but in the end did not. "We didn't think it was relevant to the entire Shire," he said.

Presumably referring to the fact that there has been organised opposition to the applications, Mr Field added, "And in the end, we believe our advertising has been effective enough."

This article appeared in the  Tarrangower Times, 24 May 2024.