Service NSW tells farmers to put sheep planes to get around border restrictions - ABC News

Forget snakes on a plane, border residents have been told they should stash hay bales, sheep and beekeeping equipment on aircraft to overcome coronavirus restrictions.

Key points:

• Restrictions on the NSW-Victoria border have left farmers and agricultural workers unable to do their jobs
• NSW announced this week permits for farmers and agricultural workers within 100 kilometres of the border
• There are calls for Federal Government intervention to grant concessions for those outside that zone

Sheep grazier Chris Taylor said he'd been driven to the brink of despair trying to get hay from his western Victorian property to his southern New South Wales farm to feed sheep.

He was told by Service New South Wales recently that he would have to fly it to Sydney before spending two weeks in quarantine.

"I thought she was joking for starters," Mr Taylor said.

"Fly it and then sit in Sydney for 14 days, and then transport it to Euston to feed my sheep.

"So 14 days later my sheep would get a feed and the hay would have a joy flight and sit in quarantine."

Mr Taylor isn't eligible for the agricultural permits announced this week because he lives hundreds of kilometres from his NSW property.

"I've waited two weeks and it's starting to get me down.," he said.

"I need results and I need them soon."

He said he'd also spoken to contract harvesters who'd been told to put headers and other large farm machinery on planes.

"Is this the mentality of the people that are running the country and making decisions on behalf of our country?" Mr Taylor said.

"I hope not."

Sheep on a plane

Victorian sheep producer Shirley Sprenger was told on Sunday that she'd have to put her 40 sheep on a plane to get them to a NSW saleyard.

Her story was shared thousands of times on social media and she said she was impressed by the response from some politicians.

"I'm saddened for the agricultural industry that we have to experience this kind of ignorance in order to get action," Ms Sprenger said.

"It's really reassuring, from a farming perspective, to know that we do have ministers in Victoria who are prepared to go into bat for us."

While Ms Sprenger is now eligible for a permit to take her sheep across the border, there are still many others who fall outside the zone.

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Sheep and shandies don't mix

Grant Carroll is the Managing Director of CargoMaster, a company that specialises in domestic and international freight.

He said he had never heard of livestock being moved by air domestically.

"I don't think anyone's ever asked me," Mr Carroll said.

"They ring up and say, 'I want to move animals from Melbourne to Iran or Iraq', or something, you know — sheep by air, or beef, but never interstate.

"It's not practical, you couldn’t do it."

While livestock is transported internationally by air, domestic aircraft do not have the capacity to do so, according to Mr Carroll.(Supplied: Wellard Rural Exports)

Mr Carroll said domestic aircraft weren't designed to carry that kind of cargo, and said they simply weren't big enough.

"Could you imagine a whole belly full of sheep underneath your seat, bellowing, while you’re trying to sip your shandy in the smell?" he said.

While Qantas and Toll have freight aircraft, they don't transport livestock domestically.

Besides, Mr Carroll said, they're all full anyway.

"So your only option would be a special arrangement — I suppose you could get an aircraft in and a load it up and charter it from Sydney to Melbourne," he said.

"That'd be the only way you could do it.

"It'd be extremely expensive."

Tim Claridge said he doubted he'd be able to fit this beekeeping equipment into his suitcase.(Supplied: Tim Claridge)

Lonely hives

Victorian beekeeper Tim Claridge said he couldn't fathom air freighting animals, feed, or farm equipment.

He has 460 bee hives in Forbes and Griffith, in NSW, and desperately needs to tend to them so they can pollinate crops.

"I haven't found a way to put a 13 tonne truck and all the hardware I need into a suitcase and take it with me," Mr Claridge said.

"It's not a viable proposition."

Mr Claridge said he felt dudded by state governments and wanted the Commonwealth to intervene.

"It's very clear these rules are being written by people who live in cities and don't have any understanding whatsoever of how the integrated agricultural community works," he said.

"It's insulting and it really isn't helpful to the greater food security of the nation."

The NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said his Government was working with individuals to overcome major issues, and acknowledged people's frustrations.

He urged farmers like Mr Taylor to apply for exemptions, which would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

"I'm not going to stop working on this until we have operations able to work freely on both sides of the border for the agricultural sector," Mr Marshall said.

"The Health Minister in this state has committed to reviewing the change he made at my request in a week's time, and I'll hold him to that."

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2020-08-19 19:00:00Z
CBMicmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy9ydXJhbC8yMDIwLTA4LTIwL2Zhcm1lcnMtdG9sZC10by1mbHktbGl2ZXN0b2NrLXRvLWF2b2lkLWNvdmlkLTE5LXJlc3RyaWN0aW9ucy8xMjU3NDYxMNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjU3NDYxMA

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