Eastern Line Shipping owner Warren Dick says he was motivated to help King Islanders by the despair he witnessed on farmers’ faces during the first State Growth convened roundtable discussion.
His decision to transport hay and fodder to King Island, highlights the company’s deep ties to the island and its commitment to supporting the farmers and community in times of need.
Eastern Line Shipping is undertaking this effort well below cost. Mr Dick said that his priority is to provide practical support to those in need.
“I won’t go into the particulars of the actual costing. But I can assure you, Eastern Line Shipping is doing this well below cost,” he said.
“It’s our commitment to the farmers and the people on King Island… I’m more than happy to put my money where my mouth is.”
Mr Dick also expressed disappointment that no government representative had reached out to discuss assistance with transporting the hay and fodder.
“To date, I have not received one single phone call from the government in any way, shape or form on how we could assist with getting this fodder and pellets from Port Welshpool or the mainland,” Mr Dick told King Island Radio.
“Gippsland Ports in Victoria rang me last week and said they will waive all channel fees and wharfage charges at the Welshpool side of things. “It’s their donation to get this fodder over to the island for the farmers and to the people of King Island,”
Mr Cockerell said the organisation began as a response to the millennium drought and fires in East Gippsland.
Mr Cockerell’s initial involvement was donating a truckload of hay from his hobby farm, which led to organising fundraisers and gaining more hay donations.
The national Need for Feed charity was adopted three years ago as a Lions Australia project and has grown significantly since 2006, providing around $45 million worth of fodder and transport assistance Australia-wide to disaster-hit communities.
Requests for assistance are received through their website, where farmers can apply for help. When a disaster occurs, they approach the affected municipality and use social media to inform locals about available support.
The organisation aims to deliver a mix of donated fodder to ensure recipients receive a variety of feed. King Island previously helped Need for Feed during the 2020 mainland bushfires. King Island Shipping Group president Greg Morris, King Island Lions and local farmers coordinated the effort and donated 700 rolls of hay and silage and $10,000 to assist farmers in the East Gippsland and Cobargo fire areas and Eastern Line Shipping took on the freight run.
Need for Feed reacts to a disaster and maintains stockpiles, so they are ready to go when a disaster or in some cases a personal tragedy occurs.
Due to Bass Strait’s high transport costs, only about 50 per cent of what Need for Feed would allocate to a community will be sent. The batches have been through Tasmanian Biosecurity testing.
“We tried to gather donations and purchase in Tassie with limited success. We came up with six or eight loads.
“A couple of loads were donated and the rest of it purchased and at fairly high prices, which is what’s to be expected with Tasmania being dry as well,”
Mr Cockerell said. Tasmanian Lions Clubs have been active and contributed financially to the hay drive.
“I think this round of assistance is going to cost Need for Feed around about $350,000,” Mr Cockerell said.
The organisation is hoping that governments will be able to financially assist with their bills, particularly the road and sea freight costs. Sunday will be one of the biggest and busiest days seen on King Island in many years.
The King Island Lions community care team and the Lions Tasmanian Disaster team, who are coming to the island, will be ensuring that all volunteers are fed, and the wider community can purchase from their barbecue.
The Lions have called for community donations – cakes, slices, sweet or savoury and finger food to assist with feeding the many volunteers involved in the unloading and transport of the feed at the port.
Donations can be left at the Post Office on Friday or taken to Grassy Port on Sunday morning. The community should expect that the port roads will be busy with truck movements and are asked to follow traffic flow instructions.