Northern Beef Futures

Infrastructure review complete

Infrastructure Manager Trina Anderson with the Northern Beef Infrastructure Review

The Northern Beef Infrastructure Review, which outlines priority infrastructure projects and how they might be developed to increase the value of the Northern beef industry in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia, is now complete.

Priority projects identified in the report include holding yards and washdown facilities at  Port Hedland, Broome and Halls Creek, upgrades at Wyndham and Port Hedland ports and improvements to roads and highways including the Wyndham Port access road and the Great Northern Highway and Duncan Highway.

The findings from the report, commissioned by the Department of Agriculture and Food's Northern Beef Futures (NBF) project, and Meat & Livestock Australia, helped inform the Australian Government’s $100 million Northern Australia Beef Roads (NABR) program.

Improvements to roads and highways will increase the efficiency of transport infrastructure through reduced travel time

DAFWA staff attended the Australian Government’s Roundtable session in Kununurra in late 2015 to help identify priorities for modelling by CSIRO in the Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool (TRANSIT) and are working closely with Main Roads WA to ensure that northern beef road priorities are considered for Federal Government funding.

DAFWA will now look to industry and regional stakeholder agencies to progress individual projects and facilitate their delivery through the provision of $600 000 in seed funding for grants.

The grants will be released later in 2016, as part of the Northern Beef Futures project.

For more information contact Trina Anderson, DAFWA NBF Infrastructure Manager, on +61 (0)8 9368 3640 or trina.anderson@agric.wa.gov.au