Boundary anomalies have seen over half a million dollars from South West NRM’s latest cluster fencing project directed specifically towards landholders in the Balonne shire.
Described as “residual” funds, $554,787 has been allocated out of the total $2.164m granted to the natural resource management group under round two of the Queensland Feral Pest Initiative.
According to the Agriculture Minister, Bill Byrne, when funding allocations were approved earlier this year, the oversight group raised concerns that some landholders may be able to apply to both SWNRM and the Maranoa Regional Council for funding because part of both Maranoa and Balonne shires are in the SWNRM area.
“The oversight group determined that the shire boundary would be the appropriate demarcation to provide clarity to landholders submitting expressions of interest to SWNRM and the Maranoa Regional Council,” he said.
As a result, when SWNRM called for expressions of interest from cluster groups, they advised they would deliver funds to the shires of Murweh, Paroo, Quilpie and Bulloo, and that landholders in the Balonne or Maranoa shires would be directed to the Maranoa Regional Council.
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries officers then became aware that some landholders in the Balonne shire were concerned they could miss out on funding as they were not able to apply to SWNRM and they did not fully fit the priority criteria for the Maranoa/Balonne funding.
“In response, wild dog commissioner Mark O’Brien, who is also the chairman of the SWNRM board, sought approval to reallocate around $500,000 in residual fencing funds from the SWNRM round one and two allocations to establish cluster groups within a special economic zone of the Balonne shire, in the western sheep and wool production area,” Mr Byrne said.
“This change is consistent with the existing contract between SWNRM and DAF and required no additional funding.”
Mr Byrne described it as a great win for producers and the local sheep and wool industries, saying it would deliver infrastructure that will help safeguard their flocks from the wild dog menace.
“A report has assessed economic impacts of cluster fencing in the Balonne region will improve profitability from sheep from $80/hectare to $118 per hectare,” he said.
“Queensland’s $132 million sheep and wool industry - located in central and south west Queensland as well as the Maranoa and Southern Downs regions - currently has a flock of two million head, down from 17 million in 1990.
“We recognise there are a number of conditions contributing to the decline, such as drought, but wild dog predation is also a major contributing factor.”
By the end of December 2016, grants to landholders had supported 288 properties as part of round one funding for the Queensland Feral Pest Initiative, enabling construction of close to 5000 km of fencing in priority sheep growing areas.
The South West NRM projects have assisted 128 properties to protect around 2.1 million hectares so far.