Hazeldene’s Chickens set to expand

Deputy Premier Peter Ryan yesterday visited the Lockwood processing plant to announce $500,000 to help bounce back from floods and assist a $39 million expansion.

“This multi-million-dollar expansion program is expected to create up to 115 direct new jobs at Hazeldene’s by 2014 and a further 689 indirect jobs in the region,” Mr Ryan said.

“The growth of Hazeldene’s is also expected to have a massive flow-on economic benefit for the City of Greater Bendigo, creating an indirect demand for additional goods and services worth $113 million.”

Hazeldene’s employs 650 staff and pays $1.9 million in payroll tax.

Managing director John Hazeldene said he was pleased the government had supported his business.

He said last year’s floods killed 300,000 chickens and caused $3 million damage.

“We thought we planned that farm really well, there was no expense spared. Unfortunately we did have that rare event,” Mr Hazeldene said.

“When you lose over 300,000 chickens it sort of hits you, it gives you a sick feeling in the gut.

“The 300,000 chickens were about one million kilograms of chicken so we were short for quite a number of weeks... so supplying customers was a problem.

“You don’t think of the money until afterwards, (but then you realise) this is going to cost us a lot of money to recover from this.”

Mr Ryan toured Hazeldene’s processing plant with Water Minister Peter Walsh and Northern Victoria MP Damian Drum. The $500,000 is from the state government’s Victorian Business Flood Recovery Fund.

The state government earlier this year committed $2 million towards $8.7 million in works that include a seven-kilometre water pipeline, a gas-fired co-generation plant and an anaerobic sludge digester for waste treatment.