Queensland Senator Matthew Canavan will present an assessment of the impacts of drought on Quilpie businesses to the Federal Senate on Monday night in an attempt to have drought funding initiated for the Quilpie Shire.
Co-authored by the Member for Gregory, Lachlan Miller, the report was also presented by Senator Canavan to the Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss in Canberra on Monday afternoon.
Last month, Mr Truss ruled that the Quilpie Shire was not eligible for funding under the $35 million Drought Communities Program (DCP) because the region received too much rain to meet the criteria.
The DCP provides funding for “shovel-ready” projects that could stimulate job creation and local business activity in drought affected shires.
Seventeen councils in Queensland and NSW have already been declared under the program but Quilpie and Boulia have both missed out.
But Senator Canavan’s report, which includes a survey of impacts on retail turnover and employment for non-farm businesses in Quilpie, found “strong evidence” to conclude that Quilpie should be declared under the DCP.
“The fact that the Quilpie Shire Council has missed out on funding for DCP has perplexed many in western Queensland,” the report says.
“It appears to have been just as affected by the current drought as other areas that have been declared under the DCP.
“This report has argued that this anomaly is explained by deficiencies in the rainfall data available.
“Almost 70 per cent of the rainfall sites relevant for the Quilpie Shire Council do not have a complete rainfall series.
“In addition, the lack of data make any conclusions from it vulnerable to individual rainfall events.
“This report has shown that but for one rainfall event in February 2014 Quilpie would have qualified.
“Given these deficiencies, other measures of the impact of the drought should be used to assess the impact of the drought on Quilpie.”
The report said a survey of Quilpie businesses showed that there has been a substantial impact on business conditions due to the drought.
“The average reported downturn over the past two years has been a 44 per cent reduction,” it stated.
“Almost 40 per cent of businesses have had to lay off employees during the drought.
“This data showed that the impact of the current drought has been severe on the Quilpie economy.”
The report also found evidence that the Boulia Shire could be declared using the same ruling.
Queensland Country Life will contact the office of Deputy Prime Minister, Warren Truss, for comment after the report is presented to the Senate this evening.
