Longreach and Roma drought hubs 'essential' to cater to rangelands

Announced by Agriculture and Drought Minister David Littleproud, the hub is the first of eight to be put in place around Australia to drive the uptake of new technologies and practices, and build collaboration with stakeholders across the region.

The hub includes five nodes in Longreach, Roma, Stanthorpe, Lismore and Narrabri, with a centre at the University of Southern Queensland at Toowoomba and its director, Roger Stone, said to his mind, two of the major nodes would be at Roma and Longreach.

"It was something I insisted on, that the issues in the rangelands had to be addressed - understanding Mitchell grass, stocking rates, liveweight gains," Mr Stone said.

"We made a special effort to ensure the rangelands, from central NSW to the Gulf, was properly catered for, rather than being divided up geographically.

"The value of people on the ground is so important - it gives us the chance for chats round the barbecue, a two-way flow of information, with graziers and indigenous communities."

Related: New drought centre opens in Toowoomba

The hub at Longreach will be sited at the former Longreach Pastoral College, now known as the Outback Training and Innovation Hub.

Remote Area Planning and Development Board chairman Tony Rayner welcomed the news.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's visit to the region in January gave Cr Rayner an opportunity to highlight the possibilities of using the vacant training venue for the mooted drought hub.

Mr Littleproud said then that it would fit well in the spoke and hub model being looked at, which he said should be in places such as Longreach, particularly from a research point of view.

"It is exciting for Maranoa to be included in this important research hub, which will work to address local drought resilience, increase opportunities for innovation in our region and create new jobs in these communities as well," he said.

Mr Stone said while it was early days, with agreements with the federal government still to be signed, there would be at least one new staff member per node, plus the possibility of an extension officer.

"We've done a lot of drought research work in the last 10, 20, 30 years, not just here but around the world," he said.

"A lot of good work was done by the old DPI - this is a chance to put it all together.

"The nodes will be a shopfront of the research and development, and rather than just being in Brisbane, they will have staff with business management capabilities in these centres."

Mr Stone said the emphasis would be largely on how people prepare for drought.

"On the banks of the Fitzroy River some years ago, John Bjelke-Petersen said to me that all our droughts begin with a flood.

"There's good meteorological reasons for that but it catches a lot of us out.

"Queensland's climate is the most variable in the world, and it's often in flood times that we have to prepare for the next drought."

Apart from grazing, the key industries for the hub include horticulture and viticulture, grains, sugarcane, tree crops, and cotton.

According to the website, it will "empower stakeholders and existing service providers to co-design drought preparedness activities for the region.

"Hub members will apply proven drought-resilience research on the ground. The hub will improve innovation and adoption across agriculture, industry and the community," it added.

Mental health services are one of the focuses.

Want daily news highlights delivered to your inbox? Sign up to the Queensland Country Life newsletter below.