Toodyay relies on agriculture to sustain its local economy.

Most grain grown in the Central Wheatbelt is trucked to local receival depots, shifted to Northam and railed to Kwinana for shipment to overseas markets.

Buyers are offering $50 a tonne more to ship grain from newer, faster grain handling facilities in Esperance and Geraldton.

Local farmers blame grain handler CBH and the state government for failure to modernise local grain handling networks.

Large amounts of bulk grain stored under tarpaulins at Northam are from last year’s harvest – some of it already triple-handled.

CBH’s Kwinana Zone – which has 72 receival sites stretching from Coorow to Dalwallinu, Lake King and Williams, including Northam – produces about half the state’s grain harvest.

Most of it – not just wheat – is exported through the port of Kwinana to Asian countries including Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and the Philippines.

Less than 10 per cent of the harvest is sold to the WA domestic market.

Esperance has only six receival sites but these were built in the 1980s and are far more modern and can handle bigger trucks than those in the Kwinana Zone, which were built 60 to 80 years ago.

Annual WA crop sizes have grown significantly in the last 10 years, from 12-14 million tonnes to more than 20 million tonnes in just the past two years.

Many farmers believe the added strain will overwhelm WA’s outdated grain handling facilities and cause them to fail.

They say it is absurd that local grain is highly sought after by overseas buyers but can’t reach the port fast enough to meet demand.

It highlighted the urgent need for concerted action by government and industry to build better truck and rail access to the port.

Farmers say while WA has enough space to store grain, it can’t be shifted fast enough and ends up clogging the system.

They say fixing this logistical problem is of paramount importance for regional WA and the state economy.

WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan said two big harvests in a row had caused major logistical challenges in delivering grain to the port.

However, they needed to be seen in perspective, she said.

Rail networks were being upgraded and the Minister said she was confident local farmers would again get good returns for this year’s crop.

CBH has a comprehensive plan to deal with the surge,” she said.

“Projects to upgrade the Kwinana Zone rail network will start rolling out later this year.

“There will always be logistical problems with such big increases – we get that,” she said.

“It won’t be optimal but capability is being increased.

“Our focus is on getting it out.”

A CBH spokesperson said the company had added 2.4 million tonnes of temporary storage to its network in preparation for this year’s harvest.

A further 300,000 tonnes of permanent storage had also been added.

À total of 3.3 million tonnes was currently stored in the network and this level was falling as out-loading continued.

“Farmers are best placed to make informed decisions for their business,” the spokesperson said.

“However, they will not be forced by CBH to tip their grain on the ground.”

The same roads are used by local farmers to transport hundreds of tonnes of grain for the shire’s annual harvest and to cart bulk hay, wool and livestock to market.

Councillors voted 8-0 in May to adopt the new mining rate in this year’s shire budget and sought State approval on July 15.

The shire was still reponding to queries from State officials on August 10 when councillors voted 6-0 to adopt a new 2022-23 shire budget that required miners to pay $200,000 a year to cover road repair costs.

It was not until September 3 – more than six weeks after the initial shire request and a week after an August 31 statutory budget deadline – that officials rejected the new rate.

Based on legal advice, councillors then voted 6-0 at a Special Council Meeting on September 28 to ask the State Administrative Tribunal to quash the rejected rate from this year’s budget.

They agreed to postpone the new rate until next year’s budget.

Ms Haslehurst said the shire was currently reviewing its 2022-23 budget and talking to Chalice about road maintenance contributions.

“They’re being receptive,” she said.

WA Local Government Executive Director Tim Fraser said the shire needed to “re-arrange” its rates in a way that did not require ministerial approval.

The shire will become the centre’s new owner and transfer its staff to local government jobs at the new shire-owned site.

Shire CEO Suzie Haslehurst said $107,000 a year in federal money paid to the centre’s previous volunteer management to run the centre would be transferred to the shire.

Federal money supported than 100 community resource centres in WA, of which 14 were run by local government councils.

Councillors were told that the TCRC’s August closure had placed significant extra demand on shire staff and resources at the Toodyay Public library.

The library had only one public computer and could not meet increased local demand for public internet access and other services.

The closure meant also that after-school activities were no longer available for younger people living in the shire.

Councillors agreed to cover the centre’s current financial liabilities up to a total of $47,500 and amend the new shire budget in a mid-year review.

A proposed new TCRC business model would be presented to the November council meeting.

Former TCRC manager Nicole Coleman has started a new role as voluntary secretary at the Toodyay Club, which re-opened its doors last month with a series of events after closing in July due to ongoing financial losses.

The Club has re-opened with no paid staff, only volunteers.

 

The distraught owner was scratched and bitten on her hand and arm as she tried to fend off the bigger dogs.

Shocked bystanders were also injured when they tried to help.

A passing Shire of Toodyay ranger – who was also reportedly bitten – was able to rescue the injured dog from further harm.

It was rushed to Heartlands Vet Hospital in Stirling Terrace, underwent emergency surgery (pictured right) and was recovering at the end of last month.

The two attacking dogs were captured at the scene of the attack and impounded.

Shire security camera footage showed them running unrestrained (pictured top right) across Piesse Street towards the IGA store.

Toodyay Shire CEO Suzie Haslehurst said the two attacking dogs had separate owners and were unregistered.

They had escaped from a property where they had been confined and were not on leads when the attack occurred.

The shire was in the process of getting the two animals declared dangerous and issuing both owners with fines.

The owner of the mauled dog and people who were bitten and scratched while trying to rescue it received minor injuries.

The owners of the impounded dogs would each be fined $400, and $200 per dog for allowing them to roam free.

They would also each be required to pay an annual $50 fee to register a dangerous dog, and the additional cost of fitting the two dogs with clearly marked dangerous dog collars and muzzles (pictured left).

Ms Haslehurst said dogs that had been declared dangerous were required to be confined to a “stringent confinement area with sufficient signage”.

Dangerous dogs outside a confinement area were required to be muzzled at all times.