The Bugle - 20 May 05
In news this week
- The changing faces of the JSC
- Have a wonderful holiday and help out
- Envirofund application rules change
- From the bush to the urban jungle
- NRM projects must comply with environmental law
- Federal Budget provides goodies for NRM
- Reef Plan Annual Report has just been released
- Stakeholders consulted on farm management system
- Wanted: Environmental heroes
- Agriculture uses 70% of nations water
- PrimeNotes CDROM - Version 17 now available
The changing faces of the JSC
With all the recent changes you may be forgiven for not knowing who is on the Joint Australian and Queensland Government Steering Committee (JSC). However, the revolving door is finally slowing down and the new membership has reinvigorated the JSC.
The two Australian Government and four Queensland Government senior officer representatives are:
- Olwyn Crimp (Co-Chair) Queensland Government NR&M (07) 3227 6587
- Dr Tony Pressland Queensland Government NR&M (07) 3224 8793
- Tony Roberts Queensland Government DPI&F (07) 3224 4711
- Debbie Best Queensland Government EPA (07) 3227 7798
- Mike Lee (Co-Chair) Australian Government DAFF (02) 6274 1112
- Alison Russell-French Australian Government DEH (02) 6274 2325
The JSC was formed to oversee the implementation of Queensland and Australian Government activities for the National Action Plan Salinity and Water Quality and was extended to include activities for the National Heritage Trust.
The JSC supports Ministers and regional NRM groups make decisions regarding the groups' proposals and forwards recommendations to the Australian and Queensland Government Ministers for approval.
The JSC meets six times a year in various locations around Queensland.
Have a wonderful holiday and help out
Conservation Volunteers Australia offers a range of working holidays that provide the perfect getaway in places most people don't get to see.
You can holiday, make new friends and have a positive effect on some of
Holidays are still available at the Great Ocean Road; Outback Murray River; Kangaroo Island; Uluru National Park and Karijini National Park.
To book, visit Conservation Volunteers Australia web site or free call 1800 032 501
Envirofund application rules change
The Australian Government is making some changes that will affect the way you apply for the $20 million on offer from Envirofund in round seven. Instead of having two calls for applications, Envirofund will have one in the 2005/06 financial year. This change will avoid the call for applications clashing with the two calls for the Australian Government's Community Water Grants. The next Envirofund round is likely to be in September - October. This will give applicants time to complete their applications and allow an adequate period for assessing them and making payment.
Two tiers of application will be introduced with a simplified application procedure. The first tier is for application for up to $15, 000. It will have a simplified applications form and fewer requirements. The second tier for $15,000 up to $50,000 will also have a simplified application form, although more information will be required.
Successful applicants will have 18 months to complete their projects, giving enoughtime to synchronise funding with optimal seasonal conditions.
To find out more go to the Envirofund web site.
From the bush to the urban jungle
At last year's Landcare conference in Toowoomba, rural Landcare members voiced a concern that urban people see rural producers as environmental villains. An exchange program was suggested to help resolve misunderstanding between urban and rural people. As it was a Landcare conference that gave birth to the idea, they decided that an exchange between an urban and a rural Landcare group would be a great place to start.
NR&Ms' Adam Richardt thought it was a great idea. He proposed that NR&M could promote and support an exchange program. The exchanges would focus around an organised activity and take no longer than two days.
Adam envisages providing a central contact point for organising exchanges and some remuneration for travel expenses for all volunteers.
There are already many urban people who don't blame farmers for natural resource problems. And it is hoped that through this program, both rural and urban people will get to understand the realities facing both rural and urban land carers.
As exchanges take place rural land managers will learn that urban people appreciate them and urban people will better understand the enormous problems facing our rural primary producers.
For further information please email Adam Richardt
NRM projects must comply with environmental law
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act benefits all Australians, future generations and the international community by protecting our environment and conserving our native animals and plants.
Under the Australian government's environment protection legislation, seven matters of national environmental significance are protected:
- World Heritage properties
- National Heritage places
- Wetlands of international importance
- Migratory species
- Nationally threatened species and ecological communities
- The Commonwealth marine area
- Nuclear matters.
Under the Act, if a project may cause an impact in any of these areas, the proponent must submit a proposal to the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage, which will decide if approval is required.
For more information go to Australian Government NRM web site or to find out about Queensland legislation, use the Parliamentary Counsel web site link on the regional NRM web site.
Federal Budget provides goodies for NRM
An important feature of the budget is the Australian Water Fund, which will provide $2 billion over six years for investment in infrastructure, improved water management and better practices in the stewardship of water resources.
Additionally, decreases in expenditure over the next four financial years will result from the expected cessation of drought measures and the finalisation of the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality.
The will be an initial increase in expenditure for urban and regional development in 2005-06, reflecting an expansion of the Sustainable Regions Program, followed by a decrease in 2007-08 that reflects the finalisation of the pilot program and lower expenses under the Regional Partnerships program.
Assistance to rural sectors include:
- Continuation of the HomeGrown campaign to promote 100% Australian grown produce in the domestic market.
- Continued support for AQIS and Biosecurity Australia and maintenance of funding for quarantine border protection.
- Continued Exceptional Circumstances drought assistance over the three years to 2007-08 and for interim income support drought assistance for the two years to 2006-07.
- Additional funding to eradicate fire ants – $24.3 million over three years ending 2006-07.
- $15 million over three years to 2007-08 to expand activities under the Industry Partnerships Program and widen access to more industries.
- $9.7 million to 2008-09 to establish an International Food and Agriculture Service within the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries to coordinate the Government's market services and to target sector access into Asia
- Continuation of the Regional Assistance Program – $1.3 million over three years.
For more information go to the Budget web site.
Reef Plan Annual Report has just been released
The first Reef Plan Annual Report has been released. The report outlines the highlights and challenges of implementing the Australian and Queensland Governments' Reef Water Quality Protection Plan from December 2003 to June 2004, as well as activities that occurred during development of the plan.
The plan's goal is to improve the quality of the water entering the reef over the next 10 years by reducing land-sourced pollutants and rehabilitating and conserving our wetlands. Since the plan's release in December 2003, government, industry and land managers have made great progress in developing policy and partnerships and instigating research and reform.
The report summaries these successes in a simple easy-to-read format and details progress made by the plan's nine main strategies, such as education and extension.
The report acknowledges the major challenges in meeting Reef Plan milestones and goals, one of which is ensuring effective communication with stakeholders over a vast geographical area.
NR&M, as a lead agency, contributed to the report through the intergovernmental working groups and the Intergovernmental Operations Committee, and many of the activities and actions listed relate directly to work in progress at NR&M.
For more information on this report download it from The Premier of Queensland web site.
Stakeholders consulted on farm management system
The Queensland Farmers' Federation (QFF) has began the second phase of stakeholder consultation about its farm management systems framework (FMS). Far North Queensland NRM, Qld Murray Darling Committee, Fitzroy Basin Association, Mackay Whitsunday NRM and Burnett Mary NRM were consulted. Consultation will continue until the end of June when QFF will review feedback and revise the Framework where appropriate.
Managing the competing risks and opportunities of economic, social and environmental demands presents a major challenge for farmers. A farm management system offers a means of addressing this challenge. A FMS is a voluntary, systematic approach to agricultural business management that can be used by producers to identify risks and manage their business soundly. The system can help a producer continuously improve their operations by focusing attention and reviewing progress made against enterprise plans.
QFF initially released a FMS concept paper for Queensland's intensive rural industries late last year. This was followed up with a working group comprising representatives from QFF, NR&M, DPI&F, EPA, AgForce, Local Government Association, Australian Landcare Management Systems, regional NRM groups and the Coastal Cooperative Research Centre in February.
For more information about the QFF's farm management system, please contact Diana Dawson or phone 07 3837 4747.
Wanted: Environmental heroes
Queensland Water and Land Carers is urging environmental heroes across the state to step forward and get involved in the 2005-06 Queensland Landcare Awards.
The search is on for local projects and people in Queensland who have helped to save Australia's precious land and water resources.
The 2005-06 Queensland Landcare Awards will be held in conjunction with this year's Landcare conference. Winners will be presented with their awards at the Queensland Landcare awards dinner on Friday 5 August in Barcaldine.
All state and territory winners will be flown to the National Landcare Awards in 2006.
For more information about the 2005 Queensland Landcare Awards, including how to nominate, please contact Brenda Walhain, Queensland Land and Water Carers on (07) 3211 4409 or email Brenda Walhain
Agriculture uses 70% of nations water
New figures produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have confirmed that agricultural irrigators are responsible for up to 70% of all water used in Australia, with pasture for grazing the most extensively irrigated crop in Australia in 2002-03. The ABS report, Water Use on Australian Farms shows that, in a period of severe drought across most of Australia, pasture for grazing used 2.8 million megalitres (ML) or 27% of the total volume of irrigation water (10.4 million ML) and amounted to 30% of the total area irrigated nationally.
Across Australia, cotton was the next biggest user of irrigation water, accounting for 1.5 million ML in 2002-03, followed by sugar cane (1.3 million ML). The crop with the highest average application rate nationally is rice.
Queensland does not follow the national trend, as sugar cane is the predominant crop irrigated, accounting for 1,213 gigalitres making up 54% of the volume of irrigation water applied in Queensland.
Further information about the report, Water Use on Australian Farms, is available at Australian Bureau of Statistics web site (ABS Cat No 4618.0)
PrimeNotes CDROM - Version 17 now available
Version 17 of PrimeNotes CDROM (also known as Prime Notes ) is now available. The CD contains 5 300 advisory fact sheets from the research of 14 respected government agencies and non-profit information organisations. It is free from commercial self-interest and is equivalent to 21 200 pages of print.
The PrimeNotes CD-ROM is a single point of access to information for primary industries and natural resource managers and can be used for a wide variety of Australian conditions and situations. PrimeNotes has two powerful search engines that instantly locate documents that meet your area of interest. Many of the documents on PrimeNotes CD-ROM have hyperlinks to important web sites for your convenience.
The product is updated annually with a new version that completely replaces all previous versions.
PrimeNotes May 2005 CD-ROM has a recommended retail price in Australia of $27.50 (includes GST), plus postage and handling of $6.15. Previous purchasers of earlier versions can upgrade for $19.95 (includes GST) plus postage and handling.
For more information about PrimeNotes or to purchase a copy go to the prime notes page of the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries web site.
We welcome your input and feedback on this newsletter. If you have any contributions, comments or suggestions please contact Carl Glen or Shona Strachan.
The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Strategic Policy and Regional Arrangements, Natural Resources and Mines, highlighting regional natural resource management activities around Queensland.
Last updated 05 April 2006