Port Hedland feedlot owner out of business after ‘negligent’ redevelopment project

After two years out of business, Paul Brown was ready to take cattle on to his Port Hedland feedlot — a property that had just undergone a government agency-led redevelopment project — only to find there was no working power or water, and the main water line had been cut, capped and buried. Mr Brown has had to tell pastoralists he cannot take on their cattle, and is now seeking compensation from DevelopmentWA for the income he and his family have not received from a feedlot that has been inoperable for two years. The redevelopment project stems back to 2020, when road modifications at the Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area threatened to cut off Mr Brown’s feedlot, the Hedland Export Depot, from Great Northern Highway. However, Mr Brown settled on an agreement for the State Government to fund road train access to the feedlot, as well as redevelopment to the feedlot’s infrastructure to meet accessibility requirements. Mr Brown said according to the agreement, construction was to start in early 2021, but development of the access route did not begin until later that year. The feedlot redevelopment itself was planned to be completed in April/May 2022, but Mr Brown said the project did not finish until October 2023. It was not until Mr Brown returned to the feedlots in March this year to conduct a routine check that he discovered the water and electrical systems were not working. He engaged an independent consultant to identify the cause of the faults, which led to the feedlot’s whole water system being dug up. Mr Brown said the consultant believed a plumbing contractor had accidentally cut the main water line, a 75mm pipe, while putting in another water line for the hospital pen. “He’s put a cap on it, buried it, and not told anybody,” Mr Brown said. “You can imagine our disgust.” Mr Brown said the consultant identified two more water lines that had been cut and buried, but neither had been capped. No one could pinpoint the cause of the electrical fault. Mr Brown said he was expecting up to 2000 cattle in May, but that would not be possible with the feedlot’s current state. “There’s not a lot of feed on the ground up here in the Pilbara,” he said. “That was going to be taking a lot of pressure off those pastoralists by putting 1500-2000 cattle in our feedlot.” Mr Brown said he had repeatedly tried to contact DevelopmentWA over the phone and via email but has received “little” response. DevelopmentWA CEO Dean Mudford said practical completion of the new access track and infrastructure relocation works to the feedlot were complete in April 2023. “Mr Brown inspected the works and listed a number of items to be addressed. All items were rectified and confirmed to Mr Brown in August 2023,” he said. However, Mr Brown said he and his family now faced bankruptcy as the feedlot remained out of commission, on top of possibly having to pay to fix the plumbing and electrical faults. “We will likely have to make the repairs ourselves at our own expense — it’s not going to be cheap,” Mr Brown said. “INCOMPETENCE” FROM THE START Mr Brown blamed “incompetence” and a lack of planning for why the feedlot redevelopments finished later then expected. “It’s just been a debacle,” he said. Mr Brown said during the start of the redevelopment, the project managers, instead of sourcing industrial steel from the feedlot’s original supplier, opted to buy cheaper material — clip-together hobby farm panels. “It (was) going to be an animal welfare and occupational health and safety disaster with the first cattle to come off the trucks,” Mr Brown said. “They (the project managers) realised then the panels weren’t fit for purpose, took them away, then got the original organisation to resupply.” Mr Brown said he was “disappointed” by the ordeal, not only because his feedlot was still out of operation, but because of the amount of taxpayer money spent on a project that “did not deliver what it was supposed to.” “Overall, it’s been a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said. Mr Brown said the redevelopment project was supposed to cost DevelopmentWA $2.5 million, but it had most likely exceeded that budget because of the re-ordering of material and contract variations. Countryman reached out to DevelopmentWA to confirm the cost. Mr Brown said he was now undergoing an arbitration process with the government agency over the loss he has incurred from the out-of-commission feedlot. “It is absolutely offensive that it’s taken this long and we’re still dealing with major defects,” Mr Brown said. “It’s really disappointing a government agency treated a client like this. “I have been treated very poorly, and it’s so disappointing for me and my family who owns this feedlot, that we are treated this way by a State Government agency.” Mr Mudford said the agency would not be making further comments during the arbitration process. “DevelopmentWA has collaborated with the Hon Mr Paul Brown for several years, including delivering design changes at significant additional expense to the State,” he said. “The matter, between DevelopmentWA and Melreef Pty Ltd, owned by Hon Paul Brown, is currently the subject of an independent arbitration, and as such it would not be appropriate to comment further until this process has concluded.”