Original story by Gregor Heard, The Land
AFTER nine years struggling to win accreditation to operate his yabby farm, Patyah farmer Trevor Domaschenz is angry with the lengths he had to go to be able to operate his business.
“I’ve had two years in court to get what this Coalition government promised upon election then reneged on,” he said.
Mr Domaschenz has finally gained a licence to operate his farm and sell the yabbies for human consumption – but he is still upset, claiming industry regulator PrimeSafe and the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) spectacularly mismanaged the situation, all but shutting down what was a lucrative business.
“According to CSIRO projections, we should have a $6 million per annum yabby industry in Victoria, but there’s only the shell of an industry left.”
Earlier this month Mr Domaschenz and Bellbrae farmer Stephen Chara won a case with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
VCAT overturned a previous decision by industry regulator PrimeSafe not to grant the pair licences.
Mr Domaschenz, who farms near Edenhope in the west Wimmera, said Victoria was the only state to require licencing for the sale of live yabbies destined for human consumption markets.
He said the decision was the culmination of a fight that began in 2004 when PrimeSafe brought in a series of onerous regulations.
“We’ve had some rules in relation to purging of the live yabbies that no other yabby farmer in Australia has to adhere to.”
Mr Domaschenz also said current PrimeSafe requirements included out of date best management practices for the purging and storing of yabbies.
“They want us to purge the yabbies in a tub, rather than have them stored in prawn trays under fresh running water, which has been best practice for over 20 years.
“We would rather not purge at all – it is simply starvation.”
Aside from that, he said lines of communication had not been open with the regulator.
“When I was refused my licence by PrimeSafe I wasn’t told why, there was no explanation – I’d agreed to meet the standards they’d outlined in a meeting with them in Melbourne. The refusal was bizarre at best.”
Mr Domaschenz is so incensed by the performance of PrimeSafe and DEPI over the matter he is calling for a Royal Commission into its operation.
He is also running for an Upper House seat at next year’s State election as an independent, focusing on cutting unnecessary red tape.
“I’m not against rules and regulations, but there just hasn’t been any logical rationale behind what’s happening at PrimeSafe.”
For its part, PrimeSafe acknowledged VCAT’s decision.
“In relation to Mr Domachenz, VCAT set down conditions Mr Domaschenz was required to fulfill to be granted a Prime Safe licence, and Mr Domaschenz has fulfilled the VCAT conditions and is now licenced,” said acting PrimeSafe chief executive Brendan Ryan.
Mr Domaschenz said Mr Ryan’s interpretation obscured VCAT’s decision, saying VCAT had not set out any new conditions and had in fact thrown out PrimeSafe’s astonishing conditions.
“VCAT granted me the license PrimeSafe had refused me, they ordered PrimeSafe to issue a licence to me with the same conditions I applied for and that they refused previously.
“They said PrimeSafe could not refuse the licence if I applied the same way I had before.”
For its part, VCAT questioned PrimeSafe’s purging regulations and questioned why it had never sought independent advice on food safety standards.
Mr Domaschenz said the victory was somewhat hollow, as all other yabby farmers had been forced to exit the industry since the PrimeSafe regulations came into effect.
“There were over 60 licences across Victoria selling yabbies for food plus another 150 odd supplying those licences – now there is only me.”
Mr Domaschenz said he was also disappointed the VCAT ruling did not constitute a legal precedent for others going for a licence to sell yabbies for human consumption.
“It’s a been a long road, literally, I’ve had two years of trips up and down to Melbourne.
“And even though we’ve got there (in the end), why did I have to go to Melbourne eight times to get less than what the minister for ag promised me two years ago?”
Looking at the positives, Mr Domaschenz said he was pleased to have the certainty to take orders for the busy Christmas period.
“We’ll have yabbies to sell by the end of the year.”
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