"It's a welcoming relief."
That's how local professional kangaroo shooter Paul Brown described council's approval for the establishment of a wash bay facility for work vehicles.
Mr Brown, who works for both the Walgett Game Meats and the Pet Food Box, has been a professional shooter for more than a year, and said this would become the first legally designated wash bay in Lightning Ridge.
At the moment Mr Brown has to wash his truck down at the chillers he works for, but there were no proper facilities there.
"The water pressure at the chillers is just not strong enough to often remove the blood stains from my truck, which means that I have to use a brush to clean it off, and that's just the last thing you want to do at around 4am or 5am in the morning after working all night."
A standpipe will be set up at the new facility and hot water could be provided saving Mr Brown time in cleaning the truck.
He said until towards the end of last year kangaroo shooters were able to use the existing domestic water standpipe next to the sporting ovals, but council had made this illegal because of the build-up of refuse water it created surrounding the facility, as there was no proper run-off.
The Lightning Ridgel Chamber of Commerce and Industries, made a request to council a few months ago for the establishment of a wash bay facility specifically for kangaroo shooters.
Walgett Shire Council's group manager for infrastructure management John Burden said while a site had been determined behind the effluent ponds at the sewage works on Onyx Street, the ground work on the set up of the wash bay still needed to be done before any draw up of plans could take place.
He said the chamber had initially asked council to finance the set up and maintenance of the facility, but council would not do that.
Mr Burden said another issue that had to be investigated was the need for a proper road for commercial traffic to access the wash bay, because at the moment there was only a narrow dirt track.
But Mr Burden said council would also look at whose responsibility it was to provide a wash bay facility.
"Why the wash facility can't be provided by the chillers, I don't know."
But he said the water standpipe that had been used as a wash bay facility last year would never be designated as one again, because it violated the Environmental Health Act.
Walgett Game Meats chiller manager in Lightning Ridge, Aub Tribe, said the company was willing to put up the money to set up the bay, but only if assurance could be given that it wouldn't become a public facility.
Mr Tribe said there were three chiller companies operating out of the Ridge.
But he said he believed council should support the establishment of a wash bay because local shooters brought more than $100,000 a month into the local economy, between the three companies.
"There is a wash bay in Collarenebri, Walgett and Goodooga set up by council, everyone has got one but us, so shouldn't we be entitled to one?"
Mr Tribe said he was a bit sceptical about the proposal and would wait to see what happens.
Meanwhile, Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Stephen Eldridge said he was happy to see that council would be supporting the local kangaroo industry and had chosen a site.
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