Outback graziers to help fix remote NSW roads after businesses 'decimated' by closures
Sam Maiden of Mt Gipps Station says the new initiative is "not fit for purpose". (ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde)
In short:
A government initiative will hire graziers with the relevant equipment to help fix roads in remote Far West NSW.
However, graziers say the program still has a lot of red tape, which will delay road repairs.
What's next?
The program will be open for tenders shortly, and Transport for NSW says it will continue consulting with graziers.
Samantha and Richard Maiden of Mt Gipps Station estimate they have lost more than a quarter of their annual business due to ongoing road closures.
The couple's sheep station, which also offers farm-stay accommodation in remote Far West New South Wales, has had about 25 millimetres of rain this year, closing its mainly dirt roads on and off for more than five months.
Sam Maiden is concerned about the safety of road users. (ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde)
While they waited for repair crews, Ms Maiden estimated they lost about $60,000 in revenue after having to cancel reservations with guests unable to get in on flooded roads.
"It's decimated the tourist business," the grazier said, whose station is located about 40 kilometres north of Broken Hill.
"We would be running at about 80 per cent down compared to this time last year."
Mr Maiden said the road is also heavily utilised by livestock trucks, which could easily tip over on the unstable road and prevent them from moving their sheep.
Getting graziers on board
Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) has launched an initiative to hire graziers and station owners like the Maidens as contractors to help fix roads in the Far West using equipment they already may own.
Craig Matthews, director of regional road network maintenance for the west region, said the decision was due to three natural disasters in the area over the past six months.
Craig Matthews says the project aims to speed up road repairs in the Far West. (ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde)
"The big challenge is we have 2,800km of unsealed road networks," he said.
"It's a very vast network of roads."
Mr Matthews said landholders wishing to become contractors would be paid hourly market rates through a tender process and would have to cover their own initial registration costs.
Red tape slowing repairs
However, graziers believe red tape is slowing road repairs because a trained spotter or safety supervisor must be present.
"We need to keep people safe, and we don't want people operating by themselves," Mr Mathews said.
Graziers say they have spent thousands of dollars for their own road-fixing machinery. (ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde)
However, Ms Maiden said it was "disrespectful" for TfNSW to think graziers did not already have the knowledge and safety requirements to work by themselves with their own workers.
Ms Maiden said the program was not fit for purpose as graziers did not want to take on "big contracts" and lengthy tender processes.
She suggested an "emergency response tender situation" where graziers who have the right equipment could be called upon to fix roads within 100km of them.
"We just want the road open. We don't want to make a billion dollars from it, [but] we need to be reimbursed for the costs and the time,"she said.
Richard Maiden wants red tape to be cut to enable faster road repairs. (ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde)
Mr Maiden said he would like to see the red tape cut, but graziers would likely resort to doing the work to fix roads by themselves, and another worker spotting, if the wait was months.
"I know they've got to have all the rules and regulations, but it gets to a point that [if] they make it that hard, nothing gets done."