STATE Member for Mount Isa Rob Katter says the consultation and feasibility study for the proposed dog fence to run through North West and Central Queensland was conducted on the proposal of one large fence with limited regard for other suggestions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
‘‘The questionnaire that was handed out at the community consultation was not objective enough and did not have the scope to properly capture people’s concerns over the fence,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m of the understanding that one of the questions said ‘do you think that fencing is an effective tool to control wild dogs’ (or words to that effect) and not surprisingly the response was overwhelmingly positive, but it is misleading to interpret this as an endorsement of the Central West wild dog check fence proposal.’’
Following up on issues raised by constituents in the Winton Shire, Mr Katter said the largest concern was the effect wild dogs and kangaroos were going to have on the shire after the fence was built.
‘‘And what has not been demonstrated to me at this point is the recognition of the ongoing maintenance costs of an asset this large to be kept in effective order,’’ he said.
‘‘I fully accept the fact that this fence will do ‘something’ and that some significant effort needs to be taken to bring down the number of wild dogs, but I am questioning that this proposal is serving the best interests of all the stakeholders and more importantly to me, the people in the Winton district.
‘‘At the end of the day this proposal definitely has its merits but it is a huge play in terms of capital expenditure and its cost effectiveness versus other options is highly questionable.’’
Mr Katter said the Winton program for controlled baiting run through the local landholders had been highly successful and should be seen as a model template for dealing with the threat.
‘‘Since its inception in 2011 it has been working very well,’’ he said.
‘‘I believe that the Paroo shire is operating in a similar manner.
‘‘If more funding was forthcoming from the state to run programs like this, it would be a much more sustainable solution.
‘‘The other point that needs to be highlighted is that enormous effort and capital expenditure is being focussed on wild dogs on the basis of their impact on productivity when not nearly as much is said about the impact of woody weeds that have arguably as much if not more impact on productivity.’’
