Lack of water hampered Burke and Wills in these parts 150 years ago and it was a similar problem that Burke and Wade were trying to get local help with in Cloncurry this week.
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The Queensland government has tasked past AgForce CEO Charles Burke and former Queensland Farmers Federation CEO Ruth Wade to identify improvements for future droughts in line with national drought policy.
They were in Cloncurry on Thursday for one of six forums in regional centres to hear from local agriculture stakeholders.
Ms Wade said the challenge was to look at the drought programs already in place and to work out what works and what doesn’t for today’s industry.
“We need to look at transition and preparation (for drought) as well as drought response,” Ms Wade.
Mr Burke said that although Cloncurry wasn’t currently drought affected – unless 58% of the state it was important to talk to shires that were transitioning out of drought and the question of what actually constituted a drought had come up in other forums.
It wasn’t raised in Cloncurry but what did come up was the emergency water infrastructure rebate which was “very well received” and should be expanded.
Cr Bill Bode of Flinders Shire said governments should improve their beef roads, the Hann Hwy and the Aramac Rd, though Mr Burke said the challenge was to show the link to drought so the work could be done under drought programs.
Several attendees spoke of the need to support country town businesses which were indirectly affected by drought but did not have access to drought relief schemes.
Jacqueline Curley of Gypsy Plains said the supply of molasses – used as a feed stock – was scarce and suggested governments or other bodies could fund warehouses for longer-term supply.
Ms Burke said perhaps a better bet was a “virtual storage” and Ms Wade said there were modern market mechanisms which could achieve this.
She said they would suggest to the government to do a proper study on the options.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
